Im new here and looking for advice w/ a m7

[petrakka]

Hey guys,
My name is Peter and I was just wanted some input on my situation here.
This seems like a great place first off, I was pointed out here by a RapidOmega user from skateboardphotography.com

Ok well I'm thinkin about getting an M7 w/ 80 mm.
My photo professor is offering to sell me his for 850 which seems like a great deal
(its in great shape except he said i need to get somethin fixed cuz it will only load 120 and not 220 film)
Bein a poor college kid this is a hefty dime for me to drop, but I love shooting medium format and hardly bother with 35 mm as I have a d70. I'd like to use this mostly for travel and landscape stuff. I've read all kinds of reviews but just wanted more input I guess, especially how the slides look because I rarely shoot color negative unless im printing myself in a darkroom. Is the built quality that bad? It feels alright to me.

I realize this is similar to a previous post, but I don't shoot 4x5 at all, so I would use this for my high quality work. Also, I know it's not built for studios, but does it do ok? I can't understand why it wouldn't?

Thanks for any input, I've never shot rangefinder before so I have some learning to do.

I'm looking forward to givin any help out too with non rangefinder issues as well that I may know a lot about.

 

[julianphotoart]

1. The body gives the impression of being pretty well-built. In my case, I actually dropped it from 5 feet onto a big rock and it still works fine; didn't even know the rangefinder out of alignment.
2. The rangefinder shows decidedly less than the actual image that shows up on film
3. The in-camera meter gets easily fooled; use a separate meter that you trust.
4. Very good lenses.
5. Great for trekking about with. When the lens is off the body the two pieces stow away quite compactly.
6. When mounted on a tripod, you have to take it off to change film.
7. It has AE lock which can be useful.
8. It can either be used manually or with AE
9. The in-lens shutter makes it very quiet and can allow for handheld exposures for longer periods of time than focal plane shutter RF's and certainly SLR's. I made a 11x14 print of a shot I did handheld at 1/15 and it's very sharp.
10. 6x7 transparencies are so magical that you will not regret buying it.

 

[jan normandale]

You were probably talking to Stet here at RFF. I think Julian has covered it. Here is a link from a RFF member who uses a Mamiya 7. This link is in his post of earlier today.

http://www.crowmountain.net/Urban/IT3/

 

[naturephoto1]

Mamiya 7

Mamiya 7

If you use an Arca Swiss Quick Type Release System and an Arca Swiss Type mounting plate for the camera, you should not have to remove the camera from a tripod in order to change film. Kirk Enterprises makes an Arca Swiss Type Quick Release L bracket that allows flippng the camera from a horizontal to a vertical without much effort; you won't have to recompose the camera for positon (except fine tuning composition) and adjust for the position of the camera on the tripod head.

The camera is a bit challenging to use with a Polarizing filter unless you get one of the Mamiya Polarizing Filters designed for the camera.

Additionally, using Graduated Filters, including Graduated Neutral Density Filters can only be estimated for positioning, but with some testing should be possible. If using a Graduated Filter, whenever possible use Soft rather than Hard edge Graduated Filters because you will not be able to find the exact line. The soft edge Grad filters will be more forgiving.

When using transparency film in particular, I prefer to use a spot meter with this and my Large Format (4" x 5") cameras rather than an averaging reflected or incident meter.

Rich

http://www.nelridge.com
richard@nelridge.com

 

[Ariya]

I'm a 6 user, but I am well acquainted with Mamiya Service. If you intend to send the camera to Mamiya to have the camera repaired, it may become expensive very quickly, especially if there is a problem with the film counter/winding mechansim. You can get a used outfit in Excellent condition from KEH for as low as $1200 and you could easily hit that $350 difference with the repair. Mamiya will give you a repair estimate at no charge (you pay shipping) and it makes sense to send it to them before hand to find out exactly what condition it really is in before buying. If your professor is a stand-up guy, he won't have a problem with it.

Peter

 

[tom7ii]

At the end of the day, is it a big deal you are unable to load 220? If not, and it works perfectly well with 120, why bother fixing it??

 

[petrakka]

thanks for your help everyone.

Bottom line- he let me shoot with it, I just got back the transparencies, I'm buying this no question. I love how it handles, 220 is more expensive than 2 rolls of 120 at my lab, and yeah it worked great. I even shot on AE for half the roll and got perfect exposures (though I know I shoudn't rely on that because it's heavily spot weighter I hear). The meter seems to do well enough though, these slides blow that of my yashicamat out of the water. I'm bringin the check to class on tuesday woohoo.

You can put me on that list of M7 owners now =)

 

[naturephoto1]

Peter,

Good luck with the "new" M7. I hope that you enjoy it. When you are ready to get additional lenses we'll try to guide you or look at other postings on the forum. Also, look over my posting earlier in this thread to help you in using the camera. If I can be of any more assistance just ask.

 

[petrakka]

Rich thanks. I already know the 50 mm is next on my list, followed by the 150 and then I think I'll be good. I just gotta wait for a lot more small paychecks to finance that, being a college student and getting paid crumbs as a photographer for the local paper haha.

by the way amazing landscapes man.

 

[naturephoto1]

Peter,

Thanks for the compliments regarding the landscape photos.

I think you may definitely want to think about your tripod mounting system as one of the first things you need. Again, the Arca Quick Release System is the Pro Standard. If you go that route, rather than get a ususal Arca Swiss QR type camera plate, consider the Kirk Enterprises BL-7II L bracket for the Mamiya 7:

http://www.kirkphoto.com/lbracketso.html

The Bracket ($139.95) actually weighs about 5 oz, not the 2.3 oz on the website. But, with an Arca Swiss type QR you will be able to switch from horizontal to vertical photographs with little or no recomposition.

 

[caspert79]

A Mamiya Press (6x9) could be a cheap solution. The 50mm and 75mm lenses are more than excellent. Offcourse the Press is bulky like hell but it takes great pictures.
I recently bought a fine Press camera with 65, 75, 90 and 150mm lenses and 3 different backs for 200 euros.

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Peter,

The M7 is very well built and I've never had a problem with mine. The 80mm is a superb lens, probably the sharpest in MF right now.

One thing I love about the M7's viewfinder is it is virtually totally glare-free (unlike my Leicas). I usually shoot Velvia on it, and the slides with its increased real estate over 35mm are just breathtaking.

Finally, I've had sucess shooting as low as 1/15 and 1/8. And the leaf-shutter is whisper soft. You will hardly hear it. But then again, you already know all this ! ;-) congrats

By the way, if you check film stocks, 220 is disappearing much faster than 120, so I would not be overly concerned about not being able to load 220 film.

 

[Jeroen]

I recently bought a fine Press camera with 65, 75, 90 and 150mm lenses and 3 different backs for 200 euros.


Man, if you ever want to sell it... Drop me a line 🙂