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Your portraits at the end were kick ass mate. Job well done. I especially like the first one, a woman's back, and she is looking out at the water.

I owned a Makina 67 and later a W67, and really loved the cameras. They were so mechanical and tactile, with the loud shutter noise and winding. It did feel fragile though, and I had to pay a fortune and ship the camera from London to Florida to get the W67 repaired. The lens rendering is beautiful, sharp with an extremely smooth bokeh. I eventually sold them and got a Voigtlander Bessa III instead, which felt like a spiritual successor to the design, but with aperture priority. Great camera and feels less vulnerable, but I do miss the drama of the Makina!

About a decade ago, I had the opportunity to shoot a Makina W67. And yes, that camera is beyond amazing. However, with current prices... if you have money to burn, go for it. For me, that amount of money would be better spent on several other (almost) equally nice medium format cameras...

It is indeed a fragile camera with potential issues but the lens is legendary and the design is unique.

Thanks for the review. There are multiple places that still repair the Makina - in UK, Amsterdam, Portugal, Germany and the US. They will go wrong if badly treated but so will many delicate objects. The key is to find one which looks well cared for. Most likely to come from Japan where the camera was predominantly sold. You will pay import duty though. The reality is any modern top spec digital SLR will out perform any medium format film camera in terms of sharpness, cost effectiveness, weight etc. etc. The only reason you would want to own a good condition Makina is because you want to shoot on a Plaubel Makina. This is why I use them. They are old fashioned for sure and the shutter clunks when released, the bellows need to be well cared for but if you want to limit your shooting so you don't have to edit 10,000 images everytime you come back from a shooting trip then 10 rolls of 120 will give you 100 photos. If 10% of those are really good then you are doing great. You've just added 10 more images to your portfolio. Shoot wisely and well. If you want to hose the scene down in a tricky focus situation - stay away. Use modern tech. These cameras were £1100 in 1981 I believe. They are now around £1300 for the 67, £1500 for a good W67 and £1800 for a good nick 670. That isn't too bad considering inflation over the past 40 years. If you are UK based then BNW cameras in Bristol can service Plaubels. Hope this helps. Now to load up a roll of 120 in the 220 version ( the 670) and see if I can squeeze 11 frames out of it. I hear it's possible - I'll let you know if I succeed.

EXCELLENT VIDEO Matt IMO one of your best, well explained, easy pace, very useful information. What a beautiful camera, pity you only showing just a couple of photos Any place where I can see more photos made by you of this camera. Thanks for sharing, you really nailed it.

I had the one with the Nikkor 80/2.8 and I stupidly sold it many years ago. A wonderful camera

great video, but a correction, 80 mm is the standard lens for the 6x6cm cameras, like the hasselblad V 500 series,or the 645 H systems( the 6x4.5 is for the film back {HM16-32}- it is 33x44 with it's digital sensor box attached and is also this focal length) , the 6x7 has a standard of either 90 or 127 depending on preference( what is regarded in the Mamiya RB67 line of cameras, and their users), 645 has a standard of 75 mm, what you said was a generalisation, as the size increases, the crop factor changes, same with the lens on the front, aka the angle of view is simmilar to this focal length, ONLY due to it posessing the same angle of view of this lens in 135 format.

YES! I've used both the 670 and the W67 for a few years now, and I swear by them, used them rigorously and I've never had serious issues with them. They do need some more care then the average camera, but once they're taken care of (I would recommend a CLA as soon as you get them, to check over everything), they won't disappoint. Another thing as said in the video is that the 670 and the W67 were made at a Mamiya plant instead of the Copal plant like the original 67, which I think does affect the built quality, therefore finding a later model might help with longevity.

I had a chance to buy one these in the early 80s from what was then Pelling & Cross in Manchester. Even then they were pricey. The best thing about them is that Nikkor lens.

The Martin parr camera

Excellent video!! I'm looking for 1) mechanical shutter 2) rangefinder 3) build quality/ durability 4) relatively light weight 5) medium format - is there such camera that exists? I found PB67 to be closest option but you mention its fragility for being a bellow camera... Unless I find a credible user and meet in person to check the camera, otherwise I don't think ebay will be my go to place either P.s. I don't like Fuji camera for some reason so...

Thanks for the very interesting video. For the price of the Plaubel you can get a Hasselblad 500 with 1-2 lenses, the Mamiya is even more expensive. Given this, I would definitely prefer a Hasselblad.

I want one but i have my fuji gf670 and seems too similar

matt, at 11:03 you are forgetting the X1D series 80 mm 1.9, and the Hasselblad H series 100 mm 2.2; both stellar digital lenses when it comes to macro, and bokeh blur.

The Machina is indeed a quirky camera and the older ones even more so. But for my money , the quirkiness camera I have ever seen is the Swiss made Compas camera. Built like a Swiss watch.

67 only has a cold shoe ;) great video!

Not for me. Film is just too expensive and I’m way over the cool factor. Keeping my GA645, M6, and FM3A.

Plaubel Makina iii with 100mm f2.9 would be my choice.

The Plaubel bellows struts are inherently unstable and prone to wear. The most stable and positive bellows struts are those on the Ensign Selfix series with the Ross Xpres lens. Mostly modestly priced apart from one model. The Epsilon shutters are their weakness.

I use Camera Raw, Photoshop and Capture One, but not Lightroom. I'm interested in your Leica SL presets. Can I use them / apply them outside Lightroom somehow?

I would prefer the Mamiya 7 II !

Fragile and easy to misalign, get a Fuji GW690III or earlier, they are rugged with great lenses

Hi Matt, have you ever used a Fuji GF670W? Like the GF670 but wide angle lens and NOT a bellows camera...

Great video 📸! Cool camera, way to fragile

As you speak of fast medium format cameras, have you ever tried the Norita 66 with the 80mm f2.0 lens? if so, I'd be curious to hear your take on it. Cheers!

Wow Matt, you are brave buying a Makina, never mind two! An appalling record for reliability and difficult to find people willing to repair them. However when they work the Nikon lens is sublime, but I may be biased because my Makina experience just lasted eight weeks before selling it. You can get a Fuji GW670 (if its the 6x7 format you are after) and its a superb rangefinder camera and half the cost of a Plaubel.

When do you sleep? Do you sleep? ;o) Thanks for the review.

I’ve also considered this in the past, but the fixed lens is a limiting factor for me, along with the fragility. The Mamiya 7 is a better bet if you don’t absolutely need f2.8 or don’t take closeup portraits. Fun to own tho’.

06:21 IS that a hot shoe? It doesn't look as if it has a sync contact in it, just a slot for clearance. If it doesn't have a hot shoe, you'd need to run a sync cable to the contact on the lens. (Not that I'm going to buy one either way - cameras that are easy to break and hard to get fixed give me the willies!)

I wouldn't spend $2000 for this. The Fuji 69 as an amazing lens, even the Voigtlander would be a better buy and has the Helier lens.

The answer is NO. Too ugly :). Marcel Dassault (famous French plane builder) used to say : to fly well a plane MUST be beautiful … I think the same for cameras , so definitely NO 😜

Not a word about using filters on this camera. Sigh....

Never wind the camera and never focus when the lens is not extracted!

When GAS hits you in the ass...... ask yourself one simple question. "Will I make your photography better?" Answer: No