Mamiya or Hasselblad for 120 film works?

[Rdmax]

Hi there,
Want to get into 120 film. Anyone use both the 6x7 and 6x6 cameras? How do they compare?

[Bo_Dez]

Hi there,
Want to get into 120 film. Anyone use both the 6x7 and 6x6 cameras? How do they compare?

They compare well, with differences. Just take your pick which you prefer.

[Chris Livsey]

Hi there,
Want to get into 120 film. Anyone use both the 6x7 and 6x6 cameras? How do they compare?

Compare which, cameras, or the format or both?

On film comparison it depends on your intended output 6x7 crops nicely to the 4:5 aspect ratio then you get about 50% more film area compared to cropping 6x6 down to 4:5 with 6x7, but with no crop only 20% more, see below.
You lose less on 6x7 when you enlarge to 8x10, 11x14, 16x20, enlarge, now there's a thing we don't mention much, but you can crop comfortably either way from 6x6 same frame. You'll get two more shots per roll with 6x6 and you won't have to tilt the camera differently for landscape and portrait and if you shoot Hasselblad V you won't want to.

6x6
56x56mm 3136 sq.mm
(3.6x as large as 35mm format)

6x7
56x67mm 3752 sq. mm.
(4.3x as large as 35mm format; 1.6x larger than 6x4.5)

On cameras are we talking 6x7 rangefinder or big huge studio jobs that people still shoot street with for some masochistic reason? Are we talking 6x6 SLR, Hasselblad and similar or TLR Rolleiflex or similar or a folder? Do you need interchangeable backs or quick loading? Do you want/need foresee using a digital back on your film camera?

Why are you looking at film? Is it some work /photographer you admire? What do they shoot?

Apologies just noticed you specified Mamiya/Hasselblad, my bad. Still need to know which 6x7 Mamiya though!
 

[Pablovi]

I have a Mamiya RZ67 Pro II, and I chose it above the Hasselblad 501CM because of the price difference of everything, the body, lenses and accessories.

The Mamiya is pretty cheap, and has superb lenses that you can buy pretty cheap as well.

It's a great camera, with a very bright waist level finder, that you can focus very close to your subjects, because of the bellows. The 6x7 quality is incredible and a lot better that what I can buy in 35mm DSLR. Being a cinematographer I like the rectangle format better, that's what I'm used to while composing.

[Joe Towner]

Well, it's a wide open discussion.  What do you shoot now and what focal lengths do you want?  Would a rangefinder ala Mamiya 7 work, or even a Fuji 690 match up? 

You can get into something like a Bronica damn cheap for a 6x6 (a fraction of what a Hass V will cost) but there isn't a digital back setup.  Do you want an eyepiece or does a waist level match your idea?  Will you be shooting with available light or are you wanting to match up strobes & leaf shutters?  Is there a reason you're bypassing 645?

[Wayne Fox]

Shot 120 film for 25 years.  Still have a Mamiya RZ67 as well as a Pentax 67.  I sold my Hasselblad system years ago, but also shot with Bronica and Mamiya 645 systems.

Biggest difference to meis size.  The 6x7 cameras and lenses are much larger and heavier.  6x6 cameras such as the Hasselblad are easy to work with because you don't have to turn the camera sidewise to shoot a vertical.  On the RZ67 you can rotate the back to get a vertical shot, but it's a huge camera.   On a tripod not bad, but can't imagine hand holding a 6x7 for much.

The other main difference is resolution.  the difference between a 6x7 negative vs a 6x4.5 negative  will become apparent pretty quickly in image quality once you get up to about 20x24 in size.  Not that the 6x6 looks bad, it can hold up decently if you have good glass, but the reason I went to 6x7 is 30x40 family portraits just weren't crisp enough.  So it was 6x7 camera on tripod for portraits, Hasselblad for weddings. I bought the Pentax 67 to do landscapes with, nice camera for that, although the shutter shakes it pretty bad, where as the RZ can use the shutter in the lens.