Help me with my Mamiya 7!

[blank]

Hey guys. I just bought a Mamiya 7 from a reputable ebay seller (Brooklyn Camera Exchange). The camera was advertised as in pristine condition and they told me that the rangefinder was calibrated correctly. I just got it yesterday and it's in very good shape, but I don't have a lens yet. So I went down to a camera store that rents equipment and they let me put the 80mm f4 on of theirs and test the camera out a bit. Well, I could never get the images to align totally. It looked like the problem was just that the image in the center patch was lower, so it would line up and be parallel with the other image but it would be one above the other. I tried it with the shop's Mamiya 7 and it was perfect.

So anyway, the ebay seller had told me that it was calibrated correctly but it's not. However, in the ad they state "your purchase is covered by our 100 Day Mechanical Guarantee, parts and labor, for any defects not mentioned in our description." So right now I'm trying to find out how much it would typically cost to have the rangefinder adjusted, and then I'm going to ask the seller whether they'll agree to pay the price. I've got to wait until I have my own lens, though, I assume? I'd most likely bring it to Kurt's Camera Repair in San Diego.

**Also just as a note, it looks like some time in the past someone attempted to calibrate it themselves. The little plug looks slightly messed-with but not too bad. Any chance they messed something up?

Thanks!

 

[t.s.k.]

I just had my M-6 calibrated at Precision Camera Work for $110.
I don't know how much any technician can do without a lens though, because they'll need it to match the RF.
FYI, full CLA (body or lens) is $275 labor only.

Also Essex Camera does good work on Mamiyas. good luck

<edit> sorry, forgot a hearty welcome to RFF! 😀
I hope to see some shots soon from your M-7

 

[blank]

I don't need a full CLA though, right? I'll probably have either Kurt's Camera in SD or Precision Camera Work do the calibration, and yeah I'll wait until I have a lens to send along with the camera.

 

[t.s.k.]

You'll never know until you run a roll through it. And you can't run a roll through it without a lens, right? I guess there's a lesson somewhere in all this....

 

[blank]

Well at least I was able to load some film and advance to '1' and that seemed to go smoothly. 😉

 

[gerkshinobi]

are you able to return the camera under that 100 day guarantee? might be a good idea to just return it and look for another one in this case. the 7's arent tooooo hard to find a good condition one, and it'd probably be better to start off with a good copy than to start off with one that you're already having minor issues with

 

[martin s]

I just bought a Mamiya 7ii a week ago, and its rangefinder, too, didn't align correctly. Simon sent me a link to this thread, which explains how to adjust the rangefinder. Took me about 5 minutes to correct the vertical misalignment, and another 5 minutes to correct the horizontal misalignment. They were both minor, yet I increased the problem by turning the screw a little too far. In the thread it's mentioned that 1/16 might already be too much, and it indeed is.

I never fix anything myself, yet aligning the rangefinder was really simple. But if you have a warranty, returning it is the better solution, of course.

martin