Mamiya 645 pro tl: tips or hints?

[rbiemer]

My "new"camera got to the US late Sat/early Sun and apparently I don't understand the phrase "processed through the sort facility"...🙁
The tracking page on the Japan Post website reads a bit differently; "package arrived at inward office of exchange". Still, I am an optimist and hope the dern thing shows up here in Raquette Lake this week. 🙂
Rob

The mail boat dropped off my new toy about 11:45 this morning!😀
Better looking than the ebay pictures and, so far, it seems to be working just fine.
As to the 135 backs; they aren't especially cheap and the pano format with them is 13x36...I've got some p&s camera that will do that and it's mostly not worth it.
I can happily live with the 80/2.8 that came with it but will still be wanting something wider and I did see some Mamiya brochure that showed an external battery adapter. Might want that in the winter here.
But, I'm not buying any more stuff for this camera uuntil I get the first film back from my lab. 🙂
Rob

 

[rbiemer]

I have used Optech straps on the 645es. Fiddly, but apart from that the attachment appears to be safe. Are there several versions, with only some incompatible?

written on the road

Op-tech have two slightly different versions of their strap that attach to the kind of lugs that the 645 has but on their website, Op-tech shows a type "a" and "b". One is for Pentax, Hassleblad, and ( maybe?) Kiev. The other is listed for Mamiya EXCEPT for 645 Super, Pro, or Pro TL...
But the seller I got my camera from threw in a wrist strap and I bought an old stock Mamiya strap and if the neck strap isn't one I like, I should be able to just use the attaching clips with another strap...probably one of the op-tech neoprene ones since that strap on my Arax/Kiev 60 made lugging that beasty around much more pleasant!

 

[rbiemer]

Hmmm, I am hoping I am at fault here but the "new" camera is acting oddly...
According to the manual, when using the ae prism the shutter button will activate the meter with a "half press" and then fully pressing it will fire the shutter.
I have noticed that the meter is NOT displaying anything until the shutter is fully pressed. To put it another way, there doesn't seem to be any halfway point.
The camera I got came with the ae prism N, not the FE401, I have new good battery in it, the shutter is firing and the meter readings that are showing make sense so I think the meter itself is OK.
If I leave the dark slide in, the camera will not fire (as it shouldn't), the meter does light and the display blinks as it should to let me know the dark slide is still in the film back.
I have cleaned the contacts between all the bits; prism/body , film back/body, battery contacts.
I have tried using a VERY gentle touch on the shutter button but it will fire every time before there is any display in the VF.
Doesn't matter where I've set the shutter speed dial but the meter display, when it displays, is showing apparently correct info.
I have used quite a few other cameras over the years that used a similar "half press" to activate the meter and some are certainly more sensitive than others--it did take me a few shots to get used to the Minlota X570, for example--but I have always been able to get 'em to function.
So, I see this as four things that may be my trouble:
1)I am much more ham fisted than I thought
2)The new battery I got is not really as good as the battery check light is telling me
3) the AE Prism N is not actually compatible with the 645 Pro
4) there is something wrong with the shutter release.
Frankly I'm hoping for 1 or 2 to be the cause but I have mostly decided that 1 is not the case and I am about to put a different new battery into the camera but the batteries metered the correct voltage and are the correct type as recommended by the manual for the Pro.
Any of you who've had this camera ever had this happen? Or do y'all have any other ideas/theories/suggestions? If need be, I can return this to the seller--and I have emailed him about this and not heard back yet, maybe he has some insight, we'll see--but I am hoping to avoid that!
Another reason to look for a WLF, I suppose!
Rob

 

[sevo]

Some sources have claimed downward compatibility issues with the FE401 finder on the Super, but I never something like heard that about the other way around. My N has always worked fine on my proTL.

I suspect there could be more causes than the three you listed, like contact issues or the prism or camera erroneously believing it runs on marginal voltage. Any member with a M645 around you, to try another prism?

written on the road

 

[rbiemer]

Some sources have claimed downward compatibility issues with the FE401 finder on the Super, but I never something like heard that about the other way around. My N has always worked fine on my proTL.

I suspect there could be more causes than the three you listed, like contact issues or the prism or camera erroneously believing it runs on marginal voltage. Any member with a M645 around you, to try another prism?

written on the road

I don't have access to another prism, unfortuneatly. But I'm not convinced it is a prism problem anyway.
Since my earlier post, I have again cleaned all the contacts and checked the batery and have also noticed that the shutter buton itself has a little bit of free play; when I press it, there is very little spring resistance until just before it fires the shutter and reaches the inward limit of its travel.
This shutter is a switch? Not a mechanical release? Maybe the spring or electric contacts are at fault?
I did "hear" from the seller who asked me to set the shutter dial to A and try it and report back. Which I did.
I could just use this as an unmetered camera I supposr...
Rob

 

[runny]

I have experience exactly the same issues - along with sometimes inaccurate shutter values being show or sometimes the over exposure warning blinking. It all came down to the contacts - especially the ones between the back and the body. If you have more than one back, try each one after cleaning - with the ISO set on the back the same - and see how consistent the results are.

 

[rbiemer]

I have experience exactly the same issues - along with sometimes inaccurate shutter values being show or sometimes the over exposure warning blinking. It all came down to the contacts - especially the ones between the back and the body. If you have more than one back, try each one after cleaning - with the ISO set on the back the same - and see how consistent the results are.

The batteries are good, the contacts are clean--I cleaned them gently with a microfiber cloth and a bit more aggressively with a pencil eraser--and the readings from the meter are consistent and make sense compared to my other cameras and my experience of about what a good aperture/speed combination should be.
I only have the one back for this camera and am becoming pretty well convinced that my problem is in the shutter release it self.
Am about to send the film I've shot with this camera for develop and scan and I will then know if the shutter and meter are working well and just not displaying correctly. Or not.
Ahh, the joys of buying second hand!
Rob

 

[Spanik]

Next try with this bl..dy tablet.

The pro-tl is my most used camera. If you plan to use it in portrait mode a grip and prism is almost essential. I prefer the simple drive and sportprism. If you don't plan to use the n/l lenses then the simple drive is fine and lighter. You can still use the n/l lenses manually. And the fk402 has build in adjustable diopter and brings your nose further from the back.

Concerning lenses, the zooms are fine but heavy. I rarely take the 80/1.9 as it is heavier than the f2.8 and if you want more than a sliver of dof you need to close to f4 at least anyway. The 80/4 macro is also nice

I don't think the Arsat 30mm is a good idea (tried it myself). As it is a fish-eye it has more distortion than the mamiya 35mm, is heavier and you loose the coupling to the meter. Can't say I ever ran into flare issues with the 35mm. If you need really wide there is always the mamiya 24mm. Rare, like a small Arsat with build-in filters.

If you do have P6 lenses then the Arsat 55PSC and CZJ 180/2.8 are better choices. The 55 isn't mechanically as nice as the mamiya 50 shift but far easier to use, you do need an external meter anyway. And unless you can afford the mamiya 200/2.8 the czj 180 is a good alternatif. I like it better than the mamiya 150/3.5, but again you loose the meter.

Two backs is a good idea as you can keep 2 different films ready. But the 135 back is not very usefull. It isn't more thana a crop to 24x36, not pano like some other 135 mf backs.

 

[sevo]

And the fk402 has build in adjustable diopter and brings your nose further from the back..

The former is the reason I switched - the corrective lenses for the eyepiece of the other prisms must be mounted in the eyecup accessory, which stacks up to a rather horrible eye point, making them barely usable if you need a corrective diopter on top of glasses. Plus the FK402 is much lighter.

written on the road