For the advanced photographer who prefers rangefinders, a dream camera

If you have never used a rangefinder, this may not be the place to start. And, if you don't have a fairly strong knowledge of photographic theory, this camera will be frustrating to use. But if you have experience with rangefinder cameras and you appreciate their benefits, you know what a gray card is, and know at least a little about zone system theory, this might be your favorite camera. It's my favorite by a wide margin.

What are the benefits of this camera? Incredible image quality thanks to the excellent optics and giant negative size. Light weight for a 120/220 camera. Stripped down controls that give you just what you need, with no clutter. Super-quiet operation, synching at all shutter speeds, and ease of focusing in low-light conditions.

The camera's characteristics make it particularly good for outdoor landscape and environmental portraits. If you shoot outdoors often and you are a fairly advanced photographer who rarely uses auto-anything on your current camera, it's a wonderful choice.

One important note about the metering system on the Mamiya 7 II: on wide angle lenses (I have the 65mm-- there is also a 43mm and a 50mm), the meter functions in spot mode only. This is perfect for zone system photography, but is probably the deal-breaker for those who want, or depend on, an averaging meter system. There is a short-cut, though: if you carry around a gray card and meter off that, you will get acceptable results in a hurry.

[The 80mm, 150mm and 210mm lenses use a center-weighted averaging system, although I have no experience with this.]