LAUNCHED 1976
PRICE AT LAUNCH Approximately £400
GUIDE PRICE NOW £350-400
WHEN Mamiya entered the medium format SLR market, it did so with a bang. First there was the RB67 in 1974, a lovely camera but big and heavy. Later, in 1982, an electronic version called the RZ67 arrived, just as big but even heavier. In between came the smaller, neater, easier-to-handle and – let’s be honest – totally delightful M645. Launched in 1975 with a top shutter speed of 1/500sec, it was upgraded the following year, with its 1000S name denoting a new top speed of 1/1,000sec.
Like its big brothers, the M645 takes 120 film, but achieves trim dimensions of 15x11.5x9cm by nicking an idea from cameras of the past, which doubled up the then traditional eight 6x9cm…
