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just dreaming here - digital Mamiya 6 / 7?

faneuil

Member
Anyone every cobbled together a Mam 6 or 7 with a digital back?
Seems like a dream combination for people shots.

Problems off the bat:
Getting eye to the finder over the bulk of the digiback
Triggering back to capture -- use x-sync port?
I assume shorter distance to sensor may also play havoc.
Just need a CNC machine, some aluminum and someone who knows how to use it..

Just dreaming over my morning coffee (and fish oil and 81mg of aspirin).

Eric
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I have had the same dream. However I dont see it as great for people shots (because using the 150mm lens the viewfinderframe gets pretty small and also the closest distance is still too long IMO).
However for landscape and travel I would find it a great option.
 

Graham Mitchell

New member
I don't know much about that DIY project, but you can start here: http://lowendmac.com/misc/06/0802.html#0

Certainly would be a fun project, especially if you already have a back which takes adapters. You would need to be able to rotate the back too, unless you are using a square sensor.

PeterA, thanks - I'll keep an eye open for it and let you know when it's arrived.
 

Geoff

Well-known member
Of course, that would open up the discussion about precision in the focusing, etc....
 

Graham Mitchell

New member
Of course, that would open up the discussion about precision in the focusing, etc....
If I were to adapt a TLR in this way, the adapter would include some kind of micro-adjustment to allow for perfect calibration with the screen. Mechanically this is not such a tough project. I am wondering how the sensor would handle light thrown from these lenses though. That could be the deal-breaker.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Anyone every cobbled together a Mam 6 or 7 with a digital back?
Seems like a dream combination for people shots.

Problems off the bat:
Getting eye to the finder over the bulk of the digiback
Triggering back to capture -- use x-sync port?
I assume shorter distance to sensor may also play havoc.
Just need a CNC machine, some aluminum and someone who knows how to use it..

Just dreaming over my morning coffee (and fish oil and 81mg of aspirin).

Eric
Back when I shot a Mamiya 7-II, I had a Polaroid back for it which worked fine. I use two bodies and would swap them out with a quick release. Shoot, check composition and exposure, then swap cameras. You removed the hinged back door and replaced it with the Pola back.

So, I think attaching a digital back most certainly could be done on a MAMMY 7.
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
I think the closest you will find is a Hasselblad Superwide with a digital back or an Alpa/Horseman/Cambo type camera. The real beauty of the Mamiya 7 is the symmetrical wide angles, and this is something that you can get with a technical camera. You don't get the simple operation, 6x7 negative size and easy AE/rangefinder focus, but at least you get symmetrical wide angles and great lenses.
 
Might just have to have hack my extra Holga first.
Digi-Holga?


Eric
Several years ago I saw a blog where someone hacked a Holga and rubber-banded it to their Phase One H back. Just did a search and can't find it, and I can't recall whether it was visually that striking. If it had been I'm sure it would have been done again since.

I keep my Mamiya 7 in the hope that, besides providing dynamite chromes and negs, it will some day have the opportunity to have my P45 mounted on it. However when I look at the distance between where the shutter is mounted plus how far back from the camera mount surface the sensor plane is on the back I would think that the shutter would have to be moved forward, essentially reconstructing most of the camera. Especially tricky if you wanted to use the 43mm, with how far it extends back into the body.

On the other hand I used to have an NPC polaroid back for my Nikon F3, and it accomplished the distance problem by having a thick piece of glass mounted between the camera film plane and the polaroid film plane to transmit the light. No problem with quality on a 1x1.5 inch image on polaroid film but with the resolving power of a MFDB it would have to be one special piece of glass!

Mark
 
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Let_Biogons_Be_Biogons

Guest
Hard to get rid of my Mamiya 7.

The closest digital thing you could do right now would be an Alpa, Silvestri, Arca Swiss R-line, or Cambo-wide with a digital back, a digital LF lens with a focusing helicoil, and an electronic rangefinder. Would be expensive, especially to match the Mamiya 7 quality, which would buy A LOT of film and processing to feed the Mamiya 7 you already have.
 
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