C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →rangefinder-medium-format
The original Mamiya Six is a folding 6x6 medium-format rangefinder camera introduced around 1940 by the Mamiya Camera Co., then based in Setagaya, Tokyo. It uses 120 roll film, produces 12 exposures per roll at 6x6 cm, and features a self-erecting bellows design with a fixed lens — typically a Zuiko or Lausar optic — in a leaf shutter. The camera is notable for its coupled rangefinder with a prismatic finder window, an unusual feature for its era and price class. It is largely unrelated to the much later Mamiya 6 MF (1989), which shares only the name.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the — format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →C41
Kodak Portra 160 is a professional C-41 color negative film with fine grain, soft contrast, and natural color.
View profile →C41
Kodak Ektar 100 is a fine-grain C-41 color negative film with saturated color and high sharpness.
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About this camera
Japan's first folding medium-format rangefinder: 6x6 on 120, self-erecting, prismatic finder.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 120, 6x6 cm (12 frames) |
| Mount | Fixed lens |
| Years | ~1940–~1958 (various versions) |
| Lens | ~75/3.5 Lausar or Zuiko (varies by version) |
| Shutter | 1s – 1/200s + B, Seikosha or similar leaf |
| Flash sync | ~PC sync on later versions |
| Meter | None |
| Modes | Manual |
| Weight | ~700 g |
| Battery | None |
Mamiya Camera Co. was founded in 1940 by Seiichi Mamiya and Tsunejiro Sugawara. The original Mamiya Six was among the company's first products — a folding 6x6 self-erecting camera with a coupled rangefinder, competing with similar Japanese designs of the era (Minolta Automat, Olympus Six). Early units used Olympus Zuiko lenses from the Takachiho Optical Industries connection; later versions moved to Mamiya's own Lausar optics as wartime supply chains shifted.
Several variants appeared through the 1940s and early 1950s — commonly designated Mamiya Six I through IV, though Japanese-market documentation is inconsistent. The line gave way to the Mamiya Six IV and then ceased as Mamiya pivoted toward the professional medium-format segment (TLRs, the C-series) in the mid-1950s.
The original Mamiya Six is historically significant as Mamiya's founding product — the camera that established the brand. Its prismatic rangefinder integration set it apart from cheaper contemporary Japanese folders that relied on uncoupled viewfinders or ground glass. For collectors of Japanese prewar and early postwar camera history, the Mamiya Six is a key reference point.
Optically, the Lausar and Zuiko lenses used are capable performers for their era, resolving enough for modern 120-film scanning at moderate print sizes. The camera is not prized for ultimate sharpness but for historical value and the self-contained elegance of a compact folding 6x6.
BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →Mamiya Six
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