Mamiya RB67 and 6 x 8 back (horizontal shooting)

[tribal-warrior]

I have been reading a little bit about the 6 x 8 back for the Mamiya RB67 lately. And I was a little dismayed when I read that the 6 x 8 film size could only be utilised when the back is set to the vertical orientation. That's a huge limitation in my book. I mean just think of the potential you could have if you were able to shoot 6 x 8 horizontally with an RB67.

Then I got thinking......suppose you did set the 6 x 8 back in the vertical position and then rotated the whole camera sideways so that the RB67 was in a horizontal position on a tripod. Would you then have a horizontal 6 x 8cm frame? Obviously, you would not normally rotate this camera because it has a rotating back to switch between horizontal and vertical orientations. Though in this case, it may be the only way that you could shoot 6 x 8 horizontally.

I'm still not 100% sure that this would work though.

 

[Required]

I belive that late Pro-S and all Pro-SD bodies can do 6x8 in landscape orientation.

Pro-SD
The 6x7 back has a picture area of 56 x 69.5 mm
The 6x8 power back has different picture areas depending on orientation.
Vertical orientation: 56 x 76 mm
Horizontal orientation: 56 x 75 mm

All according to Mamiya's RB67 Pro SD Brochure.

 

[tribal-warrior]

Ah good to know that 6 x 8 is doable in the horizontal orientation with many of the later models.

Though I do wonder if it's really worth it. It sounds like it's a lot of trouble getting a 6 x 8 back to work on an RB67 (with a number of accessories involved.) And in the end, you're only gaining about half a centimeter more or less. The 6 x 8 back should really be called 6 x 7.5.

I think a better option would be to use a roll film back on a 4 x 5 view camera and perhaps shoot 6 x 9cm. It would nice to use an LF wide angle lens with such a format like around 47mm or 50mm. I wonder if a center filter would be necessary.