Mamiya RZ67

Mamiya RZ67

RZ67 Pro I ready for shooting
Overview
Maker Mamiya
Type Medium Format SLR
Lens
Lens mount Custom Mamiya Breech Lock Bayonet mount
Sensor/Medium
ASA/ISO range ISO 25 to 6400 [manual]
Focusing
Focus Manual
Exposure/Metering
Exposure Manual, Aperture Priority with AE prism
Flash
Flash Hot shoe, PC socket
Shutter
Frame rate Manual lever winding, unmodified.
Shutter speed range 8 s to 1/400 s, Bulb, Time
General
Battery 4LR44 6 V battery or 4 LR44 1.5 volt batteries
Made in Japan

The Mamiya RZ67 is a medium format single-lens reflex system camera manufactured by Mamiya. There are three successive models: the RZ67 Professional (first model released in 1982), RZ67 Professional II (released in 1995) and RZ67 Professional IID (released in 2004). RZ67 is a modular camera system, meaning lenses, viewfinders, ground glasses, film winders and film backs are all interchangeable. It is primarily designed for studio use, but can also be used in the field. The RZ67 Sekor lenses have built-in electronic leaf shutters which are cocked and triggered from the body. Focusing is performed with a bellows on the body instead of the lenses.

The camera accepts 6×7, 6×6 and 6×4.5, 120 and 220 film magazines and Polaroid as well as Quadra 72 4×5 sheet film backs. Mamiya RB67 backs are also supported via the G-Adapter. The film speed is set on each RZ back via a dial. There are two versions of the 6×7 and 6×4.5 backs; the model II versions have a second film counter to always show the film count on the top. The RZ67 operates on one 6 V silver oxide 4SR44 battery, or 6 V 4LR44 alkaline battery. It can be used in emergency mode fully mechanically with a fixed 1/400 sec shutter speed. Multiple exposures are possible in the M-mode. Mirror flip up is supported. The body has one standard flash hot shoe on its left side, one plug for a standard remote shutter cable release, and a socket for an electronic shutter trigger. The RZ67 measures 104 mm (W) × 133.5 mm (H) × 211.5 mm (L) with the 110mm f/2.8 lens, and weighs approximately 2.4 kg (5.29 lbs). The flange distance is 105 mm.

The RZ67 name is adopted from the model name of the Mamiya RB67 (in which RB stands for "Revolving Back"), which was first introduced in 1970, thus the RZ67 also takes backs which can be rotated 90 degrees to provide a horizontal or vertical composition. The orientation is shown in the viewfinder with black guides. The viewfinder also hosts LEDs informing of the state of the camera (flash ready, low battery, dark slide not removed, shutter not cocked). In addition to manual operation (photographer chooses aperture and shutter speed), the RZ67 is able to operate in AEF mode with an AE viewfinder (AE being an abbreviation for automatic exposure), which transmits exposure information directly to the body. In RBL compatibility mode, the RZ67 is able to use RB67 lenses. The biggest difference between RB67 and RZ67 is that the RB67 is completely mechanical. The RZ67 has also mechanical couplings between the parts, but the shutter is electronic, and parts are able to transmit exposure information with electronic couplings. In addition, the RZ67 has plastic exterior body, which makes it somewhat lighter.

Versions

Original RZ67 Professional (RZ67 Pro I):

RZ67 Professional II (RZ67 Pro II):

RZ67 Professional IID (RZ67 Pro IID):

Lenses

There are a wide variety of lenses available for the RZ67:

50 mm f/4.5. Two versions exist, the non ULD and ULD L (contains floating element), 23 mm equivalent (refers to the equivalent "angle of view" on a 35mm camera). The ULD version is clearly marked.
65 mm f/4, two versions (the second one has a floating element), 32 mm equivalent
75 mm f/3.5, with floating element, 36 mm equivalent
90 mm f/3.5, 44 mm equivalent
110 mm f/2.8, smallest of the RZ lenses, also has largest aperture, 53 mm equivalent
127 mm f/3.5 and an older model f/3.8, 62 mm equivalent
150 mm f/3.5, 73 mm equivalent
180 mm f/4.5, 87 mm equivalent
210 mm f/4.5 APO, apochromatically corrected design, 102 mm equivalent
250 mm f/4.5, 2 versions (newer one is APO), 121 mm equivalent
350 mm f/5.6 APO, 170 mm equivalent
360 mm f/6.0, an older lens, 175 mm equivalent
500 mm f/6 APO and an older model f/8, longest of the RZ lenses, 238 mm equivalent
37 mm f/4.5 Fisheye, (the widest RZ lens), captures 180 degrees diagonally across the frame, does not correct distortion, 18 mm equivalent
75 mm f/4.5 Short Barrel, possible to use with a tilt/shift adapter for perspective and focus plane control, needs an SB spacer for normal 75 mm use, 36 mm equivalent
75 mm f/4.5 Shift, perspective control lens, needs manual cocking of the shutter, 36 mm equivalent
140 mm f/4.5 Macro, two versions (the newer one with floating element system), able to shoot 1:3 without extension tubes or bellows and 1:1 with extension tubes 1 and 2, 68 mm equivalent
180 mm f/4 Variable Soft Focus, uses three interchangeable diffusion and spherical aberration disks for soft effect, 87 mm equivalent
180 mm f/4.5 Short Barrel, for tilt and shift adapter, needs an SB spacer for normal 180 mm use, 87 mm equivalent
100-200 mm f/5.2 Zoom, the only RZ zoom lens, 48-97 mm equivalent

All lenses have internal electronic Seiko #1 shutters with a maximum 1/400 sec speed, PC-type X flash sync plug, T-switch for long exposures, a plug for standard remote cable release for B exposures, depth of field preview lever, distance scale, aperture adjust ring. In "B" mode, the RZ67 models will expose up to 30 seconds (a warning beep will sound for the last 10 seconds). In "T" mode, the camera can expose indefinitely without drawing power from the battery. Most lenses, except for the 37 mm, 75 mm shift lenses and the 500 mm lenses have 77 mm filter threads on the front of the lens. The 75 mm shift lenses and the 500 mm lenses have 105 mm filter threads. Some lenses have a floating element; focusing these lenses involves setting a subject distance ring on the lens after focusing with the bellows.

Accessories

Polaroid also made a radio transmitter and receiver for the RZ series.

Famous photos

Arguably the most famous photo taken with this camera is the "Bliss" photo used as the default background for Microsoft Windows XP. Seen by many millions of people every day this photo was taken by photographer Charles O'Rear in 1996.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Diaz, Jesus (2014-04-10). "Photographer reveals the secret of the Windows XP desktop image". Sploid. Retrieved 13 April 2014.

Further reading

In English:

In French:

In Japanese:

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.