Crooked Mamiya 6 Viewfinder?

zenza

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So I've noticed that almost all the shots I take on my Mamiya 6 are consistently crooked to the left by ~5 degrees. This does not happen when I use any of my other cameras, I've always been pretty good about having a level horizon. Is it possible that the viewfinder is somehow crooked? I can't figure out why my shots are always slanting to the left.:bang:
 
I don't know about your Mamiya, but I have a couple of cameras that are not straight (VF). Both RF and SLRs, it drove me crazy for a while but now I live with it.
 
Here's a straight scan that's just been resized. It drives me crazy having to rotate and crop in on almost every shot.
 

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Here's another example just to show the consistency. This was a different roll of film on a different day.
 

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Yes, the frameline mask can get out of adjustment. It should be easy to check: Put the camera on a known level surface and look thru the viewfinder whether the horizon is parallel with the framelines or not. If it isn't, I would check the framing over with ground glass in the film gate.
 
Hmm, I live in a 100 year old house...I don't think there are any level surfaces LOL.

I did try it on my balcony railing looking out at the ocean and the horizon appeared to match up to the frame lines. I can't open the camera up as I'm about halfway through a roll of film. Let's say the VF is crooked though, would it be an expensive fix?
 
Put the camera on a tripod and a align the top plate with some straight line in the view, then compare how it appears in the VF? Or just use a spirit level in the accessory shoe?
I don't know about the cost of a fix, if nothing is broken it's probably the cost of taking the top plate off, plus half an hour of calibration.
 
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