Day one with my Mamiya 7

[atlcruiser]

I got one! It took a while and some horse trading but the Mamiya 7 arrived from Oz and the 65mm lens arrived from NJ this AM.

So far 2 rolls of tri x thorugh it......

cant believe how quiet the shutter is 🙂

Bigger than I thought yet MUCH smaller than my 645AF.....about 1/3rd the size!

 

[Harry S.]

Congrats on the purchase! Out of all my cameras, my best photos have come from my M7 and 65mm. The only thing I hate is that lens' hood. It fits so cheaply and is very fiddly to get the lens cap off. But that is of minor concern 🙂

 

[sojournerphoto]

Congratulations. They are a great tool and once you develop the film you will be even more pleased!

Mike

 

[chris000]

You have done it now, you'll get hooked on the quality. I never leave home without mine.

 

[Johnmcd]

Congratulations. I'm a recent owner too and totally in love with the camera and the big negs.

Enjoy and post some pics!

John

 

[surfer dude]

Congrats on the purchase! Out of all my cameras, my best photos have come from my M7 and 65mm. The only thing I hate is that lens' hood. It fits so cheaply and is very fiddly to get the lens cap off. But that is of minor concern 🙂

What my son has done with his 65mm is to replace the Mamiya lens cap with a Nikon cap that works by squeezing in the middle - no more fumbling under the lenscap!

 

[atlcruiser]

Did 4 rolls last night ....the size is just crazy!

The good news is that they are very easy to scan; my scanner has no issue at all with them.

I will post some pics later but the main issue so far is that many/most are overexposed .5-2 stops. I figured out the actual location of my meter patch and was using what i though was it yesterday....maybe not so well 🙂

What about AEL? I used it on day one to jsut get a feel for things. In each photo I composed/focused more or less what i wanted then picked a neutral spot to meter, pointed where i think my meter patch is to that spot, pressed the button 1/2 way to lock then recomeposed and shot.

tomorrow i will get the hand meter out

 

[jplomley]

I always use a hand held spot meter when using the M7II. I do however find that my shutter speeds are off by about 0.5 stops. I know its the mamiya and not the meter because my 35mm and 4x5 chromes are spot-on.

 

[icemendicant]

Congratulations on the Mamiya 7 - you'll have a lot of fun with this camera - the lenses are wonderfully sharp and the camera is so pleasant to use. I tend to use a handheld meter and manual mode most of the time, but actually have had no problems with the built in meter when I have used it. You need to remember it meters from an area just below and to the right of the rangefinder patch in the viewfinder though, but with a little experimentation you soon get a feel for it.

I bought a Kirk L-plate for mine which makes tripod work very easy, and I can certainly recommend this accessory. I've noticed that it is very easy to trip the shutter accidentally when using a cable release and tripod, so I've got into the habit of switching the camera off when moving to a new spot or changing position, to avoid wasting frames. I should add this is not normally a problem with handheld use.

 

[atlcruiser]

yep...pics on the way.....


not real happy with my first 3 rolls. metering is an issue. I am used to an M6 ctr weighted meter but i thought the 645af spot meter would be similiar to the mamiya 7 spot meter in how it works; its not 🙂

 

[Rogier]

AMEN

Show us your failures so we all can learn.

 

[WDPictures]

My 7II is a favorite. Kind of bulky but not very heavy. Carried it all over Italy on vacation. They can be quirky cameras so you have to get used to them as some posts have mentioned. Mine will sometimes expose frames when its turned off.

 

[john_s]

What my son has done with his 65mm is to replace the Mamiya lens cap with a Nikon cap that works by squeezing in the middle - no more fumbling under the lenscap!

Good move. The Tamron lens caps are even better. I get them from B&H.

Actually, I "improve" them by grinding a tiny groove where the fingers hold the things in the middle so they are even less likely to slip. I use a Dremel tool. It looks a bit rough, but it really works well.

 

[john_s]

Also the non-TTL meter is close to a spot meter with a wide angle lens. I found that mine was not metering exactly where the viewfinder frames indicated. Now I point it towards the spot where it actually meters and that improves accuracy a bit.

In a dark room with a single bright light, play around with the meter until you find the location of maximum sensitivity

 

[atlcruiser]

PICs on the way...really...I promise..... 🙂

My meter is exactly 1 stop over. I messed with it a while yesterday while using my handheld, my M6, and the x pan. I found that if i set the exposure comp to one stop under it agrees 100% with the other meters.

 

[atlcruiser]

Here they are..this is actually from rolls 4-6...1-3 were just fubar 🙂

 

[atlcruiser]

 

[jamesdfloyd]

Cool. I love the luck of chrome or polished metals in Black & White.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Hi David,

Is the last "tidy" one also from the last rolls? The previous three look fine...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[atlcruiser]

Hi David,

Is the last "tidy" one also from the last rolls? The previous three look fine...

Cheers,

Juan

it is.....lets say the large contrast stripe from not enough developer is really a shadow 🙂

one of the first ones is form the other roll in the bottom of the big tank