Mamiya 7II meter: comments and tips?

[Ligament]

Hi All,

I've been shooting my Mamiy 7II primarily with a hand held meter so far. I'm getting tired of that and would really love to using the built in meter exclusively. I usually shoot with the 80mm or 150mm lens attached.

Do those of you who use the built in meter have any tips or comments for me?

Is it accurate?

How is it weighted?

Thanks!

 

[segedi]

It's all I use and seems to be pretty accurate and works well with slide film too. Seems center weighted. I've adjusted exposure for things like backlit scenes, maybe 1/2 stop. Give it a try!

 

[johnwood]

It's centered slightly below and to the right of center, from the shooter's point of view. Put the camera on the AE setting; Turn off all but one light (preferably a bare bulb) in a room and keep depressing the shutter halfway to get readings as you point the finder closer and closer to and around the the bulb. You'll soon see the shutter speeds spike up as you reach the edges of the hot-spot on the meter. Indeed, on the 80 and wider, it can pretty much be used as a spot meter. Just get to know your camera's consistent readings and zone-meter away...
Now, for the 150, the hot spot is quite a bit larger (as the angle of view is narrower), and the meter acts more like that seen in the 7's predecessor, the Mamiya 6, or, for that matter, most 35mm metered rangefinders. With the 150mm you can pretty much point-and-shoot.
Like you, I tired of carrying a meter...so I know what you're feeling. My 2 cents, compare your consistent readings with the 80mm on to your trusted hand-held spot meter to have a baseline reference for the Mam7's sensitivity...then just essentially spot meter smartly with the camera; and, again, with the 150mm, the hot spot on the meter is a bigger percentage of the finder, so it'll take more of an average of what's in the mid-low 35% of the scene. Many more here know much more than I, and they'll help you out more...but, just sharing my experience. Happy shooting.

 

[seakayaker1]

I use the Mamiya 7II / 80 f4 with the built in meter and have not had any problems to date.