Mamiya 6 with 50/4.0

C

Calzone

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I just developed some HP5 in ID-11 at 1:1. I was surprised at the nice moderate level of contrast in my negatives with this modern lens. Generally I tend to perfer old glass that is single coated, but I like how this relatively new lens tones down the contrast of bright afternoon sun.

But indoors the performance was less than stellar. Almost seemed like I underexposed by two stops. I think I got the hang of cupping the VF and using AEL mode, but indoors is it better to go to full manual exposure? I also realize that with the 50 wide-angle there is a bit of center weighting happening, where with a 75mm normal there isn't. Any hints on getting a better exposure indoors. Seems like I'm missing something.

I love shooting a 28/3.5 Canon/Seranar on a Leica IIIG, but I find that I have to overcome the physical size barrier of the Mamiya 6 and get as close as I get with the IIIG. This is a very sharp lens that gives great detail.

Thanks in advance.

Cal
 
Cal, I find the meter in the Mamiya 6's to be unreliable for my personal B&W work. Both of my M6's tend to under-expose. I use a hand-held spot meter all the time with my M6's and get great results.

My advice if you don't have a hand held meter would be to set the ISO dial on the camera one stop slower than your normal EI. So if your shooting HP5 at 400, set the dial on the camera to 200. Then you can view the results and go from there. HP5 in ID-11 1:1 is my standard combo too!
 
This issue comes up occasionally: there is nothing wrong with the 6's meter, but rather the way it sees the scene. Unfortunately, the meter's window is overly influenced by light from the side and above. It's easy to prove by metering with your hand blocking the light over the viewfinder. The meter will then read a stop or two more exposure.
 
Just learn to shield the finder from side light and your exposure will be ok. Indoor development should be longer anyway, to make up for the lower contrast.

Using the 50/4, the M6 meter is a semi-spot meter rather than a centre-weighted meter as it is with the 150.
 
Thanks for the responses. I learned the trick about shielding the VF from other threads on this subforum; and, when I remembered to use it the results were great.

Doing the forensics I discovered it was relying too much on AEL under dim lighting that caused bad indoor exposure. Nothing bad about the Mamiya 6, all operator error. LOL

Really getting spoiled using the Mamiya 6 with 50/4.0 for street shooting in NYC. A very fast shooter. I love the results.

Cal
 
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