Portraiture with M7ii

[Tony_5130]

Hi guys:

I guess you all know how difficult it is to do portrait photography with LF gear.
I am mulling over the idea of treating myself to a Mamiya 7ii for general reportage stuff and wondered (prior to saying goodbye to some heavy bunce) whether it is useable for portraiture.
More to the point, with a standard 80 lens, how much model/background am I going to capture?
Any one out there got any examples of people shots under studio conditions?
Or would I be better off buying a prosumer digital toy?

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

The 80mm lens for the Mamiya 7 is killer sharp. I think that would be very unflattering for portraiture. I also think using a rangefinder would be difficult for studio use. I would suggest an slr with an older 150mm lens or a dedicated soft focus lens. Have you considered using a rollfilm back on your LF gear? Most normal lenses would be good for 6X7 portraiture.

[Ron Marshall]

Tony, on the Mamiya website they list the maximum magnification (at close focus) for their lenses. I had the Mamiya 6 (about the same reproduction ratio), a great camera for travel, but none of the lenses focussed closely, so tight head and shoulder shots were not possible.

[Juergen Sattler]

Why not look into a used Mamiya RB-S. They are dirt cheap on the auction site and so are the lenses. They have a 150mm soft focus lens which is ideal for portraits. The back rotates for either landscape or portrait shots. I bought a complete outfit (body, prism finder, 90mm lens, 120 back for less than $400).

[Scott Rosenberg]

the lenses for the mamiya 7 tested at 0ver 100 l/mm... some of the sharpest ever. not your best option for portraits.

[Arne Croell]

I have the 7 II and its a great travel camera when LF is not an option. As others mentioned, none of the lenses focus close, so close portraits just showing the face are _not_ possible - this is also true for the 150mm lens.

[Ted Harris]

Edward,

First, let me challenge your statement "you all know how difficult it is to do portrait photography with LF gear." Many of us do not think it is difficult, just very different. No doubt you lose some of the spontaniety ofshooting with a smaller format but that is not necessarily bad, just different. There are a number of things you can do to make a sitting less tedious for your subject. Example, I always things nominallysetup using a dummy before engaging the subject so that only final lighting and focus adjustments normally need to be made.

Having said all that I think th eidea of doing portraits with the Mamiya 7II is fine. Personal taste to a certain extent but I like and always have liked rangefinders, find them faster and more accurate to use than SLR's. I use a /Fuji GW690II for 6x9. I agree that the 80mmlens is likely not the way you willwant to go though. The 150 is perfect for portraiture but, as already mentioned, you will not be able to get very tight head shots because of its minimum focusing distance of 5+'. Should be simple enough to try out in a store. It is not your only option though, there is little difference between the current 7II and the earlier 7 and you willsve a bundle buying used (Midwest Photo usually has them in stock). There are also a number of MF SLR's that can work for you. The RB has already been mentioned (waaaay big and clunky for my taste but preference again). I use a Rollei SL66 for portraiture and lots of other stuff where I need to shoot fast and change film fast (I carry a couple of backs when working hot and heavy). Great Zeiss optics and fast to use. You know allthe other options I am sure.

If you have chosen the Mamiya system because you oprefer to work witih a rangefinder then stick with it if it meets your needs. But you willwant to try it first. If Midwest or Badger have a used camera and lens available they will let you try them out.

[Steve Hamley]

Tony,

Traditional portraiture with the Mamiya 7II is doable, but above and beyond the call of duty if you're doing anything critical or more often than incidental. The 150mm is difficult to focus critically at wider apertures, and waist-up shots are about the best you can do since 6 feet is the closest focus.

Steve

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

Ted, I think you mean Tony.

[Tony_5130]

Try as I might, my old MPP (and me) are just not quick enough for most sitters especially the young, as they can't sit still for more than 20 seconds. It takes me that long to put the film holder in the camera.

I had not even thought of the Fuji til you mentioned it, do you have an online gallery anywhere.
I am not sure I truly understand the sharpness issue, I feel confident with a bit of darkroom creativity I can soften the image. Or perhaps I could use a poor quality UV filter smeared with something opaque.
I did think about an old RB, as you rightly say, they can be picked up at yard sales for the square root of nothing but they are not exactly reportage handling.

100 lppm, that's really something!