The Plaubel Makina W67 is a professional medium format camera that was presented at Photokina in 1981. Its introductory price was 198,000 yen and the camera was manufactured in Japan. A total of around 3,500 units were produced. It is a sister model of the Makina 67.
Thanks to its unique scissor-spreading system, the Makina W67 combines a compact design with a generous image area. Equipped with a Nikkor lens specially developed for this camera with a focal length of 55 mm and a maximum aperture of f/4.5, it delivers particularly sharp images. The lens is permanently installed and cannot be changed. The focal length corresponds to approximately 28 mm in 35mm format.
Exposure
The aperture of the Makina W67 can be continuously adjusted from f/4.5 to f/22. The shutter is a Copal leaf shutter with mechanical shutter speeds from B, 1 to 1/500 second. Both shutter speed and aperture can be adjusted manually.
A built-in light meter helps ensure correct exposure. The camera supports film with an ISO sensitivity of 25 to 1600.
The camera's viewfinder is a bright bright-line rangefinder equipped with a coupled rangefinder and offers automatic parallax compensation.
Tripod & Flash
A flash can be attached to the Plaubel Makina W67, and the camera is also compatible with modern radio triggers, making it ideal for studio shooting. A tripod thread is located on the bottom of the camera. However, there is no self-timer.
Films for the Plaubel Makina W67
The Makina W67 uses 120 film. Although this format has existed for many years, there are still manufacturers who offer new films. For color or black and white shots, for example, the Kodak Portra 160* and the Ilford HP5* are highly recommended. Both deliver excellent results and are solid companions for everyday use.
The camera exposes in 6x7 format. One roll of 120 film is enough for ten shots in 6x7 format. The film must be wound manually because the Japanese medium format camera does not offer automatic film transport.
220 films
The Plaubel Makina W67 can also be operated with 220 films. These films offer twice the number of shots compared to 120 films. However, the use of 220 films is rather impractical because only a few films are available in this format and they are also very expensive.
Size and batteries
The Plaubel Makina W67 measures 16.2 x 11.5 x 5.65 cm and weighs 1240 grams. It is powered by two S76 batteries (eBay / Amazon*), which are easily available online.
