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Hassy vs. Mamiya 7II

richardman

Well-known member
I am so glad that I posted this 2 days ago, because every few hours or so, I would say to myself:

"Yup, I should just get another Mamiya 7II" (which would make it the first camera that I would ever re-purchase)"

but then a few hours later:

"Ah, but I can do long exposure with the Hassy, and the 110/2! and..."

and then
"You would NEVER carry the Hassy anywhere because it's heavy but you have carried the Maimya 7 with 2 lens everywhere.."

and then
"But you see on the ground glass with the WLF, just like the 4x5! And if you want carry-everywhere, you would just use your Leica M9 anyway"
...
...
Argghhh...
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Richard

If it's any conciliation I've been through the Mamiya 7 buy/sell/re-buy cycle three times. It's one of those outfits that are worth keeping hold of long term I think.

I had the same experience with my xpan which I've vowed never to sell again. Replacing the camera/lenses isn't a problem but replacing things like the RRS or Kirk custom tripod plates gets really difficult as they tend to no longer be in production.
 

David Schneider

New member
Richard,

Your first sentence of original post said, "My goal is to have a more portable but "almost as good" alternative when I don't want to lug around the 4x5 or 617 view camera." Both the Hassie and Mamiya are portable, but the Mamiya 7 is lighter. If the Mamiya 7 series lenses work for you, you can't go wrong. You give up some versatility, but if you are using it for landscapes, that usually means some traveling and some walking. Plus film size is closer to 4x5 than the 6x6 of the Hassie.
 

carstenw

Active member
The Hasselblad 110/2 only works with the focal plane shutter cameras, i.e. the 2000 and 200 series cameras, and these are very different than the 500 series cameras. The 2000 series had very fragile shutter, and are often damaged, and the shutters can no longer be replaced, as there are no spare parts, and the one company which had a side-line in offering alternative shutters has stopped making them. To top it off, I do not believe that Hasselblad support them any longer.

The 200 series cameras are well loved by many, especially the 203FE, but I had one of these, and just couldn't get along with its weird and quirky operation, and the offset strap holder on the left side drove me batty with the camera hanging at an odd angle, so in the end, I sold it again.

I now have a Sinar Hy6. This system is much more modern, and also has the 110/2, this time with a leaf shutter (!), but unfortunately it was never well represented in north America.
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
The Hy6 is a fantastic camera...I only ever got to use it with the 645 film back, but I imagine it is a real joy with the 6x6 back. That said, the 110/2 for the Rollei is much bigger and heaver than it is on the Hasselblad, and it is also limited to 1/500th, which makes it harder to use outside at wider apertures. I found that for field work I preferred the 203FE (also because the 6x6 back was not available when I had the Hy6) because of its lighter weight and the higher shutter speeds. I never found it to be weird or quirky to operate, but I mostly stuck to AE, which made it very quick and straightforward. Some of the other modes were a bit less straightforward. The Hy6 is a tremendously good camera, but hampered somewhat by its rarity and expense as Carsten mentioned...it is a lot harder and/or more expensive to put together a Hy6 system than a Hasselblad or Mamiya one...It is not that heavy with most of the lenses, but some of the good ones like the 110/2 and 180mm f/2.8 are beasts.
 

carstenw

Active member
True, but at least they are there! Many of the Schneiders are great (40, 80, 90, 180) and do not exist for Hasselblad. Anyway, my point was more that the 110/2 does not work with the 500-series Hasselblads being discussed, and the 2000-series equivalents are fragile and unsupported.
 
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