Plaubel Makina 671979

History

Plaubel was a German camera brand established 1902, sold to a Japanese consortium in the 1970s. The Makina 67 (1979) was a clean-sheet design built in Japan that used the Plaubel name. A wide-angle sibling, Makina W67 (1981), used a 55mm Nikkor lens. Production ran 7 years until 1986. Roughly 4,000 Makina 67 bodies were produced — extremely low volume — making it one of the rarest medium-format rangefinders ever sold.

Why It Matters

The Makina 67 occupies a peculiar place: it's a German-branded, Japanese-made, Nikon-glass-equipped medium-format folding rangefinder, which is a sentence that doesn't fit any other camera. The 6×7 negative is large; the folding body packs to coat-pocket size; the Nikkor 80/2.8 is excellent. For travel photographers who wanted maximum negative size with maximum portability, the Makina 67 is the legendary choice.

Used prices reflect the rarity. A clean Makina 67 commands $3,500–5,000 in 2026. The wide-angle Makina W67 is even rarer and pricier.

Lenses & Accessories

Lens fixed. Original case is leather. Compatible flashes via standard hot shoe.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• Cult travel/landscape photographer body, 1980s onward.
• Joseph Koudelka has used Makina 67 for parts of his work.
• Featured in many "rarest medium-format" collector lists.
• Sebastião Salgado has been seen carrying one in late-career interviews.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Plaubel Makina 67
• Wikipedia: Plaubel Makina 67