Mamiya 7; how do you meter?

[atlcruiser]

I have read all of the rave reviews and rabid complaints on the mamiya 7 meter...what are youre experiences? How do you use it or do you jsut blow it off and use a hand held?


Here is what i have found:

I found my super secret meter patch 🙂

In bright light, especially outdoors, it is one stop over in manual, A/AP

Normal light in or out it is dead on

Low light it is waaaaay off. At times 3-4 stops underexposed.

The low light issue is much worse when using A or AP mode. It is as if the meter cant talk to the A/AP fast enough to get a good reading.

The low light issue is much, much worse when using 800 or 1600 EI settings.

Low light manual is within a stop and I blame that more on me and the "spot" aspect of the meter when used with the 65mm I have.

I measured all of the above on my digi flash, 645AF, X Pan and Leicas.

I love the camera but I wanted it as a fast shooter for street and documentary work. So far it really does not excel 🙁

Any thoughts on how to calibrate the meter? I need to replace the batteries again and see if that makes any difference.

 

[degruyl]

Personally, I utterly ignore the meter in the Mamiya 7 and instead use the external voigtlander shoe mount meter. I like spot meters, but I like them to be accurate (or at least consistent).

 

[eavis]

I just use the meter as a guide. If the light in a scene is of consistent brightness across that scene I just go with what the camera says. but if it's varied, I meter for the zone i want to expose properly. one can get quite fast at that. for street shooting, i never use less than 500s shutter speed, i rarely take it off 500, and i actually adjust the aperture to get the right exposure. despite all that, it is still the best camera for street shooting, because you don't have to adjust the aperture AND the shutter speed on the lens barrel, like you do with the voightlander and the plaubel makina.

I have read all of the rave reviews and rabid complaints on the mamiya 7 meter...what are youre experiences? How do you use it or do you jsut blow it off and use a hand held?


Here is what i have found:

I found my super secret meter patch 🙂

In bright light, especially outdoors, it is one stop over in manual, A/AP

Normal light in or out it is dead on

Low light it is waaaaay off. At times 3-4 stops underexposed.

The low light issue is much worse when using A or AP mode. It is as if the meter cant talk to the A/AP fast enough to get a good reading.

The low light issue is much, much worse when using 800 or 1600 EI settings.

Low light manual is within a stop and I blame that more on me and the "spot" aspect of the meter when used with the 65mm I have.

I measured all of the above on my digi flash, 645AF, X Pan and Leicas.

I love the camera but I wanted it as a fast shooter for street and documentary work. So far it really does not excel 🙁

Any thoughts on how to calibrate the meter? I need to replace the batteries again and see if that makes any difference.

 

[atlcruiser]

for street shooting, i never use less than 500s shutter speed, i rarely take it off 500, and i actually adjust the aperture to get the right exposure. despite all that, it is still the best camera for street shooting, because you don't have to adjust the aperture AND the shutter speed on the lens barrel, like you do with the voightlander and the plaubel makina.

I agree it is the best MF for street shooting 🙂

I guess I have a bit of frustration in that the Leica M6 that i use is old and beat to hell but is crazy quick to meter with and it is pretty damn accurate with the TTL.

I will get used to the Mamiya 7 in time.......

 

[Bob Michaels]

I use my brain, like Eavis said, when determining exposure. The meter is only one indication. If I am shooting Neopan 400 on a sunny day, I know it is f11 @ 1/500th no matter what the meter says. If I am photographing a negro, I know it is f8 or f8 1/2. If it is a pale skinned woman in a white dress, then it is f16.

I do frequently use AE, but I always check to make sure it is giving some reading that is logical. If it does not seem logical, I use the AE lock while spot metering on a mid tone scene. That always does it.