Does anyone in Central Ohio have a Mamiya 7ii?

[williaty]

I'm having a terrible time finding a camera I can see through easily with my changing eyesight. I've exhausted the affordable options and one of the only remaining chances is a Mamiya 7ii. It's a big enough chunk of change I don't want to just take a flyer on ordering one from eBay and hoping I can use it.

I live just to the east of Columbus, Ohio. Does anyone in Central Ohio have a 7ii and feel like getting together somewhere in the area for a little while to hang out, talk photography, and let me see if I can, well, see through the 7ii?

If so, let me know because this is a question I really want to answer.

Thanks!

 

[Johnmcd]

I have both a M7 and Fiji GF670. Love them both but if you want a huge, clear VF, you can't go past the Fuji.

Good luck - John

 

[williaty]

I tried the GW6790III. Wonderful output but I couldn't see the frame lines or edges of the viewfinder.

 

[CMur12]

Were you not able to see all of the finder because you wear glasses? This is a critical bit of information for any meaningful feedback here, but it would still undoubtedly be best to be able to handle one and look through the finder yourself.

- Murray

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I don't have a Mamiya 7, but I have a Mamiya 6. The frameline visibility with these depends on the lens you use. On my Mamiya 6, the standard 80mm lens's framelines are very easy to see; there is a lot of space in the finder outside the 80mm frames.

The 50mm framelines are harder; they're near the edges. The 6 only has three lenses, a 50mm wide, the standard 80, and a 150mm.

If you intend to use your 7 with the standard lens, which is also an 80mm, then I don't think you'll have any trouble seeing the lines. Wideangles may be a problem, but that's true of every rangefinder camera I have owned. I have owned a couple of Leicas and a Bessa R2.

 

[Archlich]

I tried the GW6790III. Wonderful output but I couldn't see the frame lines or edges of the viewfinder.

The G/GW and the GF series are different cameras. The GF670 is a modern (2008) camera with Voigtlander Bessa-like finder (I believe it's taken directly from a Bessa R2 and fitted with different frame lines).

I used to own all three of Mamiya 6, 7 and GF670 and now a GF670W. The Mamiya finders are good by late 1980's standard (better than the Plaubel Makina's), but the Fuji finders are just brighter, larger and clearer by quite a margin.

Both Fuji GF and Mamiya 6/7 can be fitted with diopter adjusment lenses. The Mamiyas use dedicated push-in ones, while the Fujis use round screw-in lenses readily available as it also fits Nikon FMs and Cosina Bessas.

 

[williaty]

Ah, yes, I forgot the GF was the one that was also a Voightlander.

Yes, the problem for me is that the shape of my face makes my glasses have ot set quite far from my eye. This leads to not being able to see the edges of the viewfinder on most cameras. Sadly, I can't fix this by adjusting the diopter and leaving my glasses off because the majority of my correction is for astigmatism, which can't be corrected on the camera. So I'm stuck wearing the glasses and trying to find a camera that will work with them.

Years ago, pre-glasses, MAC would bring all their fancy brands to campus and turn us students loose with a hundred grand of Mamiya, Sekonic, and Profoto for the day. I was able to shoot several times with a 7ii then and liked it a lot but I have no idea how it'll work with my current glasses.