You want to look for the ProS model which had the film/shutter interlocks. Also ask about the felt seals on the film backs. In lenses, you want to look for the "C" type, which were better coated/more contrast. In the RB's a 90mm/127mm is a standard lens, 65mm is wide angle. The 150 soft focus (make sure you get the disks) and the 180 make very nice portrait lenses. The RB's (and a lot of the 6x6 and 6x7's) used a leaf shutter in the lens. The top shutter speed was 1/400 and was rarely accurate, although the slower speeds were usually close enough. The RZ's used an electronic shutter, but I think they're still spendy since you can fit them with a Leaf back.

The RB was really a studio camera. I dragged mine into the field as it also made an awesome landscape camera but I got a good workout doing so. The 645's are way easier to handle, but I wanted a bigger step up from 35mm. There is NOTHING like looking down into that ground glass with both eyes. The 6x7 negs are pretty amazing too.

Wow. My RB was way easier. If the body and the lens weren't in sync as far as the shutter being tripped, it didn't break anything. You just took the lens off and pushed in a pin. Lock ring style mount. Plus the body was made for manly men and manly women. It was built like a tank, and only weighed a little less. When the shutter tripped, nearby seismographs would record the event as the mirror swung up to the stops. I used to have to sandbag the tripod to keep the whole thing from going airborne.

Only wimps and girly men expect their film to advance when the shutter is cocked. Not the RB. No sir. Setting the shutter/mirror and advancing the film were two different levers both of which moved with the smoothness of the brake lever on a steam locomotive.

The original RB didn't even try and keep you from shooting with the darkslide in, or double exposure. Only later did they cave into the lightweights.

You want TTL metering? They had it. Built into the chimney finder (made out of real chimney bricks) was an arm that you swung into position. At the end of the arm was the light sensor the size of a frisbee and a match needle the size of the speedo from a '68 Caddy. And the meter took manly toxic mercury batteries that would kill you if you held them. It came with special tongs for handling them.

Then there were the massive, blacksmith like bellows that would let you track the lens out so far, it had to have an exposure compensation scale on the side.

And the tripod socket? Ha! It took a 3/8's carriage bolt and came with it's own torque wrench for tightening.

If you dropped the camera, you didn't check the camera for damage, you checked the floor!

;) Only parts of the above are true, but hey....

Only an RB owner would know all of this.
Hello cousin!

Work provided me with 'blads.
When I bought for myself, I went with the RB.

You want to look for the ProS model which had the film/shutter interlocks. Also ask about the felt seals on the film backs. In lenses, you want to look for the "C" type, which were better coated/more contrast. In the RB's a 90mm/127mm is a standard lens, 65mm is wide angle. The 150 soft focus (make sure you get the disks) and the 180 make very nice portrait lenses. The RB's (and a lot of the 6x6 and 6x7's) used a leaf shutter in the lens. The top shutter speed was 1/400 and was rarely accurate, although the slower speeds were usually close enough. The RZ's used an electronic shutter, but I think they're still spendy since you can fit them with a Leaf back.

The RB was really a studio camera. I dragged mine into the field as it also made an awesome landscape camera but I got a good workout doing so. The 645's are way easier to handle, but I wanted a bigger step up from 35mm. There is NOTHING like looking down into that ground glass with both eyes. The 6x7 negs are pretty amazing too.

I have just about used them ALL. I have Kiev 60's - They are junk ! The best investment in medium format IMHO is PENTAX 645N. Built in 2FPS motor, runs on AA batteries, a superb prism/viewfinder and takes excellent Pentax 645 lenses, pentax 6X7 lenses, or Zeiss/Kiev lenses made for the Pentagon six/Kiev 60 cameras with adapter ! Since Pentax makes the digital 645, all thses lenses are desireable for use on that camera as well - so there is a continueing market instead of a dead end.....See Ken Rockwell's reviews of Pentax 645 and lenses !