In the early days of the pandemic I purchased a Mamiya 7 kit from an old timer at a reasonable price. This had long been a dream camera of mine and I had been searching for one year after year waiting for “the right price.” In a disappointing turn the 80mm lens was a write off due to severe balsam separation, but that earned me a big discount on the remaning camera and 43mm lens. It was “the right price” I had waited for and thus could not turn down. I quickly shot a few rolls of black and white film with the working 43mm lens as the previous owner had done for years. I developed them in my modest home set up and was unimpressed with the results at best and let down in all reality. I did as so many photographers do and decided to remedy the issue by buying more stuff, namely the 65mm lens. Then the camera sat for 2 years… probably more but who is counting. Always with a hope I could “flip” it for a small payday.
In more recent months I finally tried to sell the camera to a few photographer friends none had the interest or the money. One of them did suggest I should have shot color film since that is where the system shines. I toyed with this idea for a while and after seeing that the arrival of Kodak Gold in 120 format, I decided to give the camera a second chance.
![Kids on a bike](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/000665360003-1024x836.jpg)
![Native dance demonstration](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/000665360010-1024x836.jpg)
After carrying the camera around and selectively shooting a few rolls (very conscious of the cost of color film and developing) I sent them off to a lab for development and was presently surprised to see what I had wanted all along, good photos with a distinct film look, almost a large format look. I still have a dozen rolls of the Kodak Gold and decided to shoot them all by summers end without getting too concerned with the cost of film or lab development costs.
![An altered land scape.](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/000665370010-1024x836.jpg)
![Junked reel-to-reel tape players.](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/000665380004-1024x836.jpg)
I can’t say there is much of a moral to this story other than not under estimating the power of patients and perseverance. But I can’t help but feel that I should have just used the camera more to begin with and not concerned myself with the cost of film so much. The Mamiya 7 with its 6×7 frames does only get 10 shots on a single roll of film, which is quite concerning to many not so accustomed to film. But if used with intent a keen eye can get more out of those 10 shots than many can squeeze out of a 32GB memory card. While I don’t think I can claim such a grand feat, I do feel the shots I pulled off the first few rolls were more exciting than most of my digital work as of late.
![dishes in the distance.](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/000665400006-1024x836.jpg)
![Train crossing the border](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/000665410005-1024x836.jpg)
looking back I think the idea of “fetishizing” the camera came into play. I knew well before I bought the camera that Mamiya 7s and 6s were both valuable and sought after by many, including some of the great photographers of recent decades. Thus there was a high level of awareness and matching hi demand to own the camera. In theory the camera could be sold for quite a bit more than my initial purchase price, If I could find a willing buyer. I made a mistake that is becoming all too common in the modern camera collector driven world and saw the camera not as a medium for photography but as an investment.
![Sign for an old PI office.](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/000665410002-1024x836.jpg)
![Old gas station](https://www.35mmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/000665410007-1024x836.jpg)
Rather than meeting the world with camera in hand and forever capturing memorable photos in negative format, I was trying to cut costs by shooting cheaper film stocks. I was not going out and interacting with the world as I had dreamt of when I first the saw the camera and the work created with it by so many of the great photographers out there, I was guarding the camera away in a bag in a box so as not to damage or devalue the investment. While obvious in retrospect, I never had much to work with or look forward to when using the camera and the camera languished in storage as I tried to convince myself the purchase was not a waste of money and would indeed provide a capital gain. I now, with the benefit of hindsight, realize I wasted time and opportunity, the most valuable of resources.
So I guess this story does have a moral after all, get out and shoot. A photographer should be concerned with the images not the cost basis analysis of each frame of film or a small pay off from a gear flip. A good photo is the ultimate goal.
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Timothy Hancock on The Cost of the Mamiya 7
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Ken Rowin on The Cost of the Mamiya 7
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Miguel mendez on The Cost of the Mamiya 7
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
DeeDee Yelverton on The Cost of the Mamiya 7
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Jeffery Luhn on The Cost of the Mamiya 7
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Gary Smith on The Cost of the Mamiya 7
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
All of that is sorted now but I've decided the rig is just too heavy to shoot without a tripod. I still have a couple of rolls of 120 Gold 200 but I'll likely shoot those in the Perkeo. Your shots above are well exposed and sharp but I understand the pain of sending them out for processing. Yesterday I developed film for the first time in 50 years. Unfortunately the film wasn't loaded correctly and I ended up with nothing (other than the experience). Looking forward to your next round from the 7.
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Art Meripol on The Cost of the Mamiya 7
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Tony Warren on The Cost of the Mamiya 7
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Comment posted: 21/07/2024
Simon Casson on The Cost of the Mamiya 7
Comment posted: 22/07/2024
Weddings went digital (mostly) and then disappeared totally for me, so I sold one body but retired the remaining kit to light duties/personal work.
It travelled locally and OS with me. The 150 never seemed to come out though...
In recent years I found myself using it less and less, instead using my Leica M's and R's and even more recently an SL.
When it took eight months to finish a roll I knew it was time.
Plus, I knew that one day the electronics will do what electronics do...
I'd kept all the original packaging and ended up selling everything early 2023 for more than I had bought it for all those years earlier!
That wasn't the plan but a fortunate outcome.
And I know it was going to be used a lot more by it's new caretaker.
When I have work road trips now I take my trusty RB67 kit along for ride and that satisfies that big neg desire.
If I'm honest the one thing that bothered me about the Mam7 was the rangefinder - even with super careful framing you invariably would be cropping afterward - compared to say the RB where what you see in that viewfinder is bang on what you will get in film.
But what amazing cameras they are and what fabulous images they gave me!
Comment posted: 22/07/2024
Arthur Gottschalk on The Cost of the Mamiya 7
Comment posted: 23/07/2024
Comment posted: 23/07/2024