Mamiya 6

A Mamiya Six Folder camera with Fuji Provia on the side.

5 Frames of Milan With a Mamiya Six Folder and Fuji Provia – By Rodrigo Verissimo

What’s a more portable way to do a trip and still shoot medium format? A folder camera of course!

Back in October 2019, I needed to go to Milan with some friends for a conference and I needed to pick a single camera and lens to go with me since I like to travel light. I could bring a 35mm camera, but since this was my 3rd flight away from Portugal I wanted to have more impactful images from the trip. This made me opt for my medium format camera, the Mamiya Six Folder rangefinder camera with its Zuiko 7.5cm f/3.5 lens. The choice of film was simple, I already had a couple of rolls of Fuji Provia which fit exactly what I wanted – to look directly at the slides years from now and remember it.

5 Frames of water taken on Fuji Reala with a Mamiya 6MF – By Keith Beven

In 1996 I purchased a Mamiya 6MF rangefinder with the 50, 75 and 150 lenses to replace an Olympus OM1/OM2 35mm system.   The Olympus cameras and lenses were, of course, compact and good to travel with and that was also the main reason why I went for the Mamiya, also compact and lightweight but now with a huge 6×6 negative.   And, in this case at least, a change in gear did make a real difference to my photography.   

Mamiya 6 MF camera and 150mm F4.5 lens

5 Frames with the Mamiya 6, 150mm F4.5 lens, and Fuji Provia – by Simon Foale

I acquired my Mamiya 6 MF and all three lenses just under 20 years ago, after deciding against a long-held aspiration of getting a Hasselblad. A decision I haven’t regretted. This compact, travel-friendly camera has produced a big collection of images from around the world that I continue to treasure and share. After a not-too-long period of inactivity due to the predictable move to digital, I have, for various reasons, found myself using this marvel of photographic engineering and design again.

That time I shot Instax film in a Mamiya 6, upside-down – By Gilbert Townshend

I have over the past five years developed either passion or an obsession for instant films, depending on who you should choose to ask. Growing up just on the cusp of the digital imaging revolution I remember quite a lot people shooting on film as I grew up but somehow Polaroid passed me by almost entirely. There’s a teenage shot of me shaking my head but that’s about it. By the time I reached university I ended up shooting a couple of packs of the now sadly demised FP-100b/c as proofing material but never got that excited by it, it was just something that was there until it wasn’t.

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