For a number of years now I have been on a quest for the perfect hiking camera. There have been one or two candidates over that time that started promising but ultimately didn’t entirely meet the expectations.

My current camera of choice in this regard is a Rolleiflex. Its big strength is the simplicity and the fact that it’s built like a tank. Its big weaknesses, for my purposes, is the fixed ‘normal’ focal length lens, and the square image.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with the square as such, there are many times it is the optimal choice. But I am a large format photographer at heart, and have grown comfortable seeing the world in a vertical 4x5 ratio with a slightly longer lens (210mm for the 4x5 camera). It just works for me, and I tend to compose my large format images on the ground glass, and virtually never crop.

In addition to that, my interest is in finding ways of constructing visual narratives, rather than producing isolated images, and mixing cameras with different image ratios makes it hard to produce a consistent body of work (think a series of framed prints, rather than a digital gallery).

Of course, 6x6, like the Rolleiflex can be cropped, but I find it hard to compose images well for ratios that don’t match what I can see, plus it further reduces the negative size, which has bearing on visual consistency of the prints.

And so a while back I got myself a 6x7 camera, Bronical GS-1 (6x7 cameras actually produce 4x5 ratio images, and the negative quality is significantly better than a cropped 6x6).

Now, the GS-1 is a superb camera, with excellent optics, but it is not much of a hiking camera. First of all, it’s rather heavy, especially with multiple lenses. Second, WLF cameras are extremely hard to shoot in portrait (just about possible with a tripod, but not handheld), so that means replacing the WLF with a prism, which again is a very heavy accessory at that size. Also, the precision mechanics around the big mirror mean it needs to be handled with care.

And so again, the GS-1 is subject to the ‘biggest camera I can carry’ criterion, when I have something specific in mind, rather than being a camera I just pick up.

The obvious answer to the above is, of course, a rangefinder 6x7. My current thinking is that Mamiya 7 II with a 150mm lens would be just about the optimal choice for my purposes (well, 120mm lens would be the equivalent of 210mm for 4x5, but there isn’t one). I have mentioned this a few days back, together with noting than Mamiya 7 IIs sell for silly money at present.

Now, imagine that, the very same day I wrote that, I was (purely by chance, you understand?), idly browsing some online listings, and guess what? I spotted a Mamiay 7 II body with some small cosmetic damage from a reputable dealer I used before for a (relatively) reasonable price. As it happens the 150mm lenses are pretty cheap … the body came on Friday, and looks in excellent condition, a lens should arrive tomorrow, and I can’t wait to put a roll through. 🙂

Naturally, it would make sense to also own the ‘normal’ 80mm lens (which is really slightly wide angle rather than normal, that would be ~100mm for 6x7). Thing is, those are not cheap at all, and they all seem to be in Japan. But it doesn’t make sense not to have one, right?

(Yes, Gear Acquisition Syndrome, aka GAS, is a Terrible Affliction; my one consolation is that all my film cameras are constantly appreciating in value.)