Is the Mamiya 645 the Best Medium Format Camera for Beginners?

My film journey has been a breath of fresh air. Being able to be flexible in my creative-making process is a refreshing experience, and having something more hands-on in my photo-making process is super rewarding. The Mamiya 645 has been my favorite film camera I’ve used so far, hands down. It is unfortunate, though, that in my recent trip up to Alaska, my Mamiya 645 broke. The neck strap unlatched from my body while on a photo walk. The camera fell and took a hit on the icy concrete. The shutter is now stuck and is pretty much unusable. I only had the Mamiya 645 for around 6 months, but I used it in every situation possible, so I’ll be able to share my full experience with the camera.

If you are already using 35mm, consider the transition to the 6x4.5 aspect ratio. In film, you can have anything from half-frame to 8x10. The Mamiya 645 is a medium-format camera that uses 120 film instead of 135. This means bigger film, more detail, but also fewer exposures per roll (15 exposures). The perfect tool for high-quality portraits and grand landscapes. In my old loadout, the Mamiya 645 was used for exactly that. I kept my Canon A1 for quick snaps of most scenes, but for breathtaking views of the coast, it was the Mamiya's job. Most of the Mamiya 645’s come with the 80mm, which is personally too tight a focal length for my liking.

The Mamiya 645 has a crop factor of 0.62 compared to a full-frame sensor. The 80mm on the Mamiya 645 would be equivalent to a 50mm. Something more my style would be the 55mm for the 35mm focal length. Despite my short time with it, I only used the 80mm, and I still loved what it produced.

Built-In Controls I Actually Use

The Mamiya 645 lets you change the viewfinder and comes with a few fun buttons/switches to mix into your photo-making process. The option to change the viewfinder on the Mamiya 645 is one of the best things about it, in my opinion. Changing the viewfinder can make it feel like a whole different camera. On my own Mamiya, I used the hip viewfinder and the prism. The Mamiya body alone doesn’t have a light meter, so when using the hip viewfinder, I needed to meter on my own. When using the prism viewfinder, it had its own light meter, so it was the most convenient to use. The only drawback I found with the prism was that the viewfinder was darker than the hip viewfinder, making it hard to focus in low-light situations. For this, I use the prism during the day and the hip viewfinder at night, since the hip viewfinder has a brighter screen for focusing. There are switches for locking your shutter so you don’t accidentally take unwanted shots, for shooting double exposures, and for setting a timed shot for self-portraits. I really only use the lock because I was too scared to mess up with the double exposure or the timed shot function.

Size, Weight, and Learning to Carry Less

Compared to most medium-format cameras, the Mamiya 645 is relatively lighter and smaller. Cameras like the Pentax 645 will really get you working out in the gym without you even realizing it. On walks, it was a lot to carry my full loadout. At the end of the day, my back and traps would be sore from carrying my Fujifilm XT5, Canon A1, and the Mamiya 645. Was it worth it? Of course, but I’m also stubborn. A more honest recommendation: head out with the Mamiya and one other camera for a less achy time. With fewer exposures per roll, it should take longer to pick out scenes to snap. Having too much gear started to overwhelm me at times, and I felt like I was missing potential moments for a good frame.

Why a Tripod Matters With the Mamiya 645

Because the Mamiya 645 is a heavier camera, it is important to use a sturdy tripod that can support it at slower shutter speeds. My hands alone are already pretty steady, but from my time with the Mamiya 645, I found I wasn't able to shoot as slowly as I do with my other cameras. When snapping with the Mamiya, the shutter slaps inside the camera, making the body shake. It feels like a cannon going off in your hands, which is very satisfying with every shot, but that means paying more attention to the shutter speed you will be shooting at.

Another satisfying thing with the Mamiya 645 is simply loading the camera. Maybe it’s normal for most long-time film photographers, but even in the final days of using the camera, loading it was engaging for me. It was hard for me to learn how to load it at first, so I wanted to touch on that a little bit. When loading it, you need to take the back out and roll the film behind and around to feed it to the other spool on the other end. Feeding it in was the easy part, but when advancing the film to line it up with the arrow, it kept falling out of the spool. A small but impactful thing I noticed I was doing was that sometimes my fingers would slightly hold down the film as it looped around on the backside. It was hard for me to notice this because it wasn’t in my line of sight. Just being more aware of where your fingers are when loading the film will help when it's time to load a new roll in at record-breaking speed during the golden hour.

It really is heartbreaking that my Mamiya broke, and out of all times for it to happen, it happened during my yearly work trip to Alaska. I really enjoyed my time with the Mamiya 645 and plan to purchase a replacement body so I can continue making photos with it. Feeling the mechanisms slap and move inside the camera with every shot, the quality of the ocean waves from the negative, I can’t wait to get back to that. If I did have the money, I would love to have a loadout with the Mamiya 645 Pro body. The body I personally owned was the Mamiya 645 1000s. With the Pro, I’d have the option of interchangeable backs. I would get 1 to 2 120 backs and a 135 back, so I can shoot multiple film stocks and mediums at once with one camera. For now, I’m more than happy to continue my experience with the Mamiya 645 1000s and hope to get back out there with it soon.