2017.10.03

An Ideal Medium Format Camera for Eternity – Plaubel Makina67

Camera stories

The Plaubel Makina67 is a folding medium format rangefinder camera. It is renowned as a legendary model among many types of medium format cameras, and in fact, many major photographers have cherished it over many years. Some photographers still have a great interest in the Plaubel Makina67 even today.

Can you imagine why the camera has kept its popularity with so many photographers? The answer to this question is quite simple, and it is “a dream medium format camera for people”.

Besides a fact that only a few medium format rangefinder cameras can accept Nikkor lenses, the secret of its popularity can be related to a camera fan’s strong passion for the Plaubel Makina67.

Let’s see more about a medium format camera for eternity, called the Plaubel Makina67!

About the Plaubel Makina67

The Plaubel Makina67 is an ideal folding medium format rangefinder camera with Nikkor lenses. First, I am going to introduce its remarkable features!

Features and Specifications of the Plaubel Makina67

Introduced in 1978, the Plaubel makina67 is a medium format rangefinder camera with a collapsible bellow. It is often called just a Makina among camera fans.

Thanks to a collapsible bellow, the camera can be folded flat. It is also said to be “a lunch box” due to its perfect square shape.

Further, the camera is equipped with a leaf shutter that can handle shutter speeds from 1/500th of a second through to 1 second, plus a bulb setting. It has an exposure meter that requires two batteries (LR44 or SR44). And then, the camera takes 120 roll film.

Thanks to the Plaubel’s design made in Germany, there is no wastefulness in the jet-black body. In addition, the camera can use excellent lenses on the strong body.

Nikkor Lenses Designed for the Plaubel Makina

The Nikkor 80mm f/2.8 lens should be the main reason why Plaubel Makina67 is called a legendary camera today. When hearing a name “Nikkor lens” produced by Nikon (Nippon Kogaku), you will probably assume its high-performance.

The camera can deliver quite unique images that only Makina produces. It also enables to capture images with the distinguished ambiance.

Why do people choose a Makina product? It is because of Nikkor lenses, isn’t it? The reliable lenses far beyond imagination have been used by a bunch of photographers.

A Series of the Plaubel Makina

A couple of cameras were released after the Plaubel Makina67 (1978).

First of all, the Makina 67W equipped with a wide-angle Nikkor 55mm f/4.5 lens (a 28mm lens with a 35mm equivalent focal length) was debuted in 1982.

Then, the Makina670 was introduced in 1984. It is an improved version of the Makina67, and it has achieved to use 220 roll film.

A Dream Camera Created by a Camera Fan – Makina67

The Plaubel Makina67, just like a dream camera meeting the entire camera fan’s needs and wishes, was finally debuted.

About the Birth of the Plaubel Makina67

“Plaubel” is originally a German camera manufacturer. Meanwhile, a product name “Makina” is used for a folding 6×9 medium format camera.

After the 60s, as the company’s main products had become film cameras using a 4×5 or 8×10 sheet, Plaubel was forced to downsize its business.

Plaubel was bought out by the Japanese company, Doi Group, in 1975. It is also a famous story that Mr.Kimio Doi (President of the group) was a serious devotee of cameras.

Taking advantage of this new opportunity, he had begun to develop an ideal camera with a strong passion.

An Ideal Body and Perfect Lenses

Doi Group is basically a distributor of the major camera brands, so it doesn’t have the know-how for developing cameras at all. As such, the group considered outsourcing manufacturing to Plaubel in Germany once, but it eventually requested Japanese camera manufacturers to manufacture components.

And thus, Konica manufactured camera bodies on behalf of the group. The company offered a couple of hit models at that time, such as the Konica C35EF (the first shoot and point camera with a photo flash attachment) and the C35AF (the first autofocus camera in the world). Surprisingly, Mr.Yasuo Uchida (the designer of the Plaubel Makina67) designed those cameras as well.

The Plaubel Makina67 can use Nikkor lenses, the most high-end Japanese lens. By combining the best body and the first-class lenses, the camera has thus achieved an indisputable position in both name and substance.

A Camera Used as the Right-Hand of Professional Photographers

The Plaubel Makina67 has been cherished by so many photographers until today. It is a famous story that Mr.Nobuyoshi Araki (known by nickname Arākī) carried it around all the time. Mr.Naoki Ishikawa (a photographer who is active around the globe) has also brought it to a variety of fields like snowy mountains or the tropics, by taking advantage of the foldable body.

Want to Experience a legend of the Dream Camera “Makina”?

The Plaubel Makina67 is a legendary medium format camera that was inspired by a camera fan’s dream. It has gained great popularity among photographers, and I believe it will have been loved forever.

No matter what other people say, the photos taken with Nikkor lenses are quintessential in Makina products.

Why don’t you capture an image with the Plaubel Makina67 and experience what the legend is like?  

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