Mamiya Instax Wide V2 – a Mamiya Press Lens powered Instax Wide camera

Description

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Introducing a second iteration of the ultimate portable Instax Wide Camera that offers the user complete control over the creative process.

The camera uses Mamiya Press Lenses – originally made to fit the Mamiya Press / Mamiya Universal Press cameras.

Why do this? Because you can suddenly use instax film with FAST (F3.5 or evern 2.8 ! ) lenses, with complete creative control. It means you can shoot concerts in very low light if you have a steady hand and then go shoot your travel photos. Same camera.

These Mamiya Press lenses this camera uses are beautiful fully coated professional lenses made for 6×9 film, and some designed to cover old 3″x4″ packfilm, set in Seiko/Seikosha shutters with speeds from B, 1s to 1/500s.

A lens is NOT included. Buy one on ebay, they’re priced to about $200-250 depending on the lens.

All Mamiya Press lenses fit the camera, but I recommend the 75mm 5.6, 90mm 3.5, 100mm 3.5 and the 127mm 4.7 . The 100 2.8 also works, but you will have vigneting, as it’s not designed to cover the necessary image circle for the 60x100mm instax wide image. The same for the wide 65mm F:6.3. I have not tested the 50mm, but I expect similar vigneting. Doesn’t mean a wide is not fun, I have a 65mm myself and makes for a very compact wide angle camera with plenty of background blur even at f:8, despite the extreme corners vigneting.

The included viewfinder – not coupled, with parallax lines for the closest distance, is designed to work with 90-100mm focal length lenses. A wide angle viewfinder is available – but I don’t have a separate source for these and cannot include one.

The lens attaches to the Mamiya Instax Wide camera via a reversed engineered Mamiya Press Breach Mount.

Everything is manual, including the focusing. You will need a separate method of estimating /measuring the distance to your subject, be it a rangefinder attached in the top cold shoe, or your newer generation phone with a Lidar app installed, or for studio settings, a tape measure – measure from the eject slot, that’s where the film plane is. I use my phone with lidar app and it works great. Or just get used to estimating the distance, you’ll get pretty good after two packs.

If you really want a rangefinder and instax wide and real glass, I make Polaroid Land x Lomograflok mods, head out to that product page and order one.

Do watch the how to video (will shoot later) on how to guide the print during the eject if you have anything attached to the cold shoe) – put your finger in between the back of the rangefinder/ flash and the print as it ejects and gently guide it out of the way. I use a small Goxox IM30 flash with these (sometimes) and the print will hit it during the eject unless you guide it out of the way.

Needless to say, these being _real_ lenses, they have a PC socket for off camera strobes, and that’s what I use

The eject action is wired to a button on the back of the camera, highlighted by a square frame. Press it for about 1s, then release, the eject will be automatic. Don’t keep it pressed for long though, it will eject a second frame – blank.

This is, like its V1 predecesor, my favorite and most compact travel professional instax wide camera.

I offer these in white and black, priced similarly. The white body has some black accents, including the lens breach mount, white plastic is difficult to make light proof for thinner parts.

I also include a body cap to keep dust away from the inside of the camera when travelling / but beware, there is no dark slide so removing the lens will fog the photo on top so try to finish the back before removing the lens.