Mamiya C33 Review
I reviewed this camera some time back and found that it had spacing problems that resulted in just 11 frames being usable. In every other respect it worked fine. Well, it has been repaired and it is back for a 2nd review.
There are a couple of things that make the camera less than top quality, but if you can get round them, this camera is good and a bit of a bargain. There is a small chip on the taking lens, but this has had no effect on image quality. The creases in the bellows are a bit puckered in places, but the camera is completely light tight and there are ways to fix this. The focusing screen is poor and really should be replaced, this comes at a cost, but will vastly improve the experience of using the camera. The spring to which the magnifier is attached is a bit floppy and tightening this up would be a good idea.
Last time I was out and about in Lipson Vale, this time I thought I could test it in the studio with some low key shots. The Mamiya is a good all-round camera, but because it has a bellows it is great for close-up shots. It is worth mentioning that a paramender is invaluable if you want to work up close as it moves the taking lens up, thus avoiding any parallax problems. The other is to have regard for the markings on the side of the camera that tells you how much exposure compensation you need to make for bellows extension. I chose to ignore this as I wanted the images to be low key, but then chose to compensate with some extra time in development, the result of which was some blown out high-lights: I would have done better to control any shadow detail with a reflector. Nevertheless, I am not entirely unhappy with the results as I channelled my Edward Weston wannabe.
The main challenge, after the lighting and metering, was focus; although I was shooting at f11, the depth of field was still very narrow and the focus screen at the centre was a bit of a challenge. The slow shutter speeds worked effectively and I think that I managed to focus where I wanted to, having taken maybe a bit longer to get it right. Obviously, the point of focus is very specific and not across the whole picture plane.
An advantage of the C33 is that you don’t have to set the shutter manually before firing; the Mamiya lenses are superb, so you are getting just about everything you would expect from a C330f but for much less. This is a camera to consider and maybe invest in re new focus screen.
Richard de Bulat
