Mamiya Medium Format owners group

I've entered the market for a 45mm 2.8 for my 645 Super.
 
I've just developed 2 rolls of film and most images came out really soft. I don't know if my shutter speed is too slow or if i'm missing the focus completely! :(
 
hsuffyan said:
I've just developed 2 rolls of film and most images came out really soft. I don't know if my shutter speed is too slow or if i'm missing the focus completely! :(

Can you share the exif data with us :p
 
f1.2 doesn't leave much room for error and in bulb mode it could just be camera shake. Is anything in focus?
 
Last edited:
f1.2 doesn't leave much room for error and in bulb mode it could just be camera shake. Is anything in focus?

Was only messing about Nick, in all honesty I can't remember the settings. Most would have been 1/30 or 1/60 at f.28. I know thats a bit slow but it looks like I've missed focus a few times, even though I haven't recomposed etc.
 
hsuffyan said:
bulb mode, f1.2 and iso 3200 :p

Lol very good :)

It is annoying when that happens though isn't it. Like last weekend I could get to keep my daughter in the same spot'ish outside. She just didn't get it to kick the leaves. But with fixed iso, and handholding an rb67 I couldn't refocus quick enough. Increasing dof was another option but then I got so slow I'll have that problem to turn them soft. There is something about digital ;)
 
I think I might not be fully appreciated the shallow depth of field on these cameras and handholding at too slow a shutter speed.

This was something like 8" @ f16 rested on the railing. But it is sharp (and a cheesy and overdone shot!)

img036.jpg
 
(and a cheesy and overdone shot!)

One man's cheesy is another man's classic ;)

I like it, though I find the movement in the birds distracting. Next time, before you take the shot, jump up and down while waving your arms and shouting to drive them all out of frame before you hit the shutter. This is where a 30' air release helps.

:thinking:

:wacky:

:nuts:




Moving on, here's a quickie from my RZ67 on Ilford Pan+. Minimal work in post other than to make the triptych as I wanted to compare the effects.


Pineapple Triptych by Strappster, on Flickr

From left to right:

  • Sekor 90mm f/3.5 lens, 1s @ f/8
  • Sekor 90mm f/3.5 lens, 1/4s @ f/3.5
  • Sekor 150mm f/4 SFC lens, 1/4s @ f/4

Window light, incident metered using a Weston Master V with invercone after checking the readings against my F100 for the first picture (the 150mm image).

While the 90mm is sharp, the 150mm gives the picture a kind of luminosity that I rather like, despite the feeling that I need to use it exclusively for backlit permed hair. Perhaps the slow shutter and low light have enhanced any IR quality the film has, though I'm guessing now. I'll have to take some landscapes with the 150mm on Pan to check.

I'm definitely smitten with the RZ and I've just loaded a back with Velvia 50 to try out once the weather improves. If the results from the Pan are anything to go by, I may fall in love :D
 
If its like that on the neg, I'd take a closer look at the 150...rear element and internals..
Some lenses have "character", nuances that set them apart, sometimes its a coating thing, sometimes its a design thing, that looks like neither to me.
What about condensation ??
 
It's the RB-version 150mm SFC (soft focus) lens. When I inspected the lenses with a high-power torch before buying, the 90mm was the one that raised most concern for a cloudy element, the 150mm was clean and clear. The negs look pretty sharp so I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was caused by my scanning technique, though as I scanned the 90mm images in exactly the same way I think the likelihood is reduced. Further tests will prove it one way or another :)

The kit had sat in my centrally-heated flat for about 14 hours before I took those pictures so unlikely to be condensation.
 
It's the RB-version 150mm SFC (soft focus) lens.


well why didn't you kin say so ??



  • Sekor 90mm f/3.5 lens, 1s @ f/8
  • Sekor 90mm f/3.5 lens, 1/4s @ f/3.5
  • Sekor 150mm f/4 SFC lens, 1/4s @ f/4

duh



ahhh......it all becomes clearer........hence the "test"

yes you're probably right about the hair thing, mebbe pineapples won't pull the best out of this lens..:)
 
ahhh......it all becomes clearer........

Well, it's not really clear, it's a soft-focus lens but I didn't have any of the diffuser filters fitted so it should have been clearer, clearly, that's what I thought would be clear ...

... wait ... :thinking:




yes you're probably right about the hair thing, mebbe pineapples won't pull the best out of this lens..:)

How dare you?! I'll have you know that the pineapple and I are in a relationship following these photos, I love the way the light plays across her rough exterior and she loves the way I haven't chopped her into bits for a fruit salad. It's a match made in Reading, that will only be put asunder once I get a bit peckish.










I've been drinking. :runaway:
 
'twas a boring day at the office!

img045.jpg
 
Here's one from in the studio with my latest portrait model Santiago.

8452805577_e224ec2429_b.jpg


Comments would be muchly appreciated, he admitted to being very shy in front of the lens but wanted himself captured as he has a large story behind him.

Thanks,

Tom
 
As some of you will have noticed I'm in the group now, sorry for lowering the tone :D.

My RB67 should arrive later this week what I need now is a bag for the bloody thing. For my smaller gear I use shoulder bags, an old gas mask bag from ebay for my OM's and modern slightly padded holster thing for my digi stuff. I'm trying to decide whether to get a larger shoulder bag that can carry a 35mm and the D3100 then be converted to hold the RB. Failing that any recommendations for large bags?
 
I use a rucksack for my Mamiya 645 stuff and that just a body, prism finder, two lenses and two backs. Think it's a low end Lowepro Orion model.

Can't whip it out quickly (ooh err) but once 'on location' I have the camera in hand or on a tripod anyway.

I'd imagine a RB67 system in a shoulder bag might feel heavy on the shoulder after a while.

I'll keep an eye out for you 'round Edinburgh - can't be too many RB67 users around here!
 
I have a flight case for my C330f and associated stuff as I have so far only used it when I've been in the car, but it fits very nicely into a cheapish Jessops bag I bought last year for when I finally pluck up the courage and stamina to take it out on a hike.

Andy
 
Des I expect your right about the weight on one shoulder. I'll wait till it arrives and size up a couple of bags. Its days like this I miss jessops, taking the gear in to size up and buy there and then saves a lot of hassle.

Andy, I'm thinking about a flight case to stick it and the digi (light meter) in when I'm away in the car for longer especially with the bike in the boot but I don't think I'd use it "on location".
 
I'm going to sell my Mamiya gear, change of circumstances means most of my film stuff has to go :(
 
My ProS was battered when i bought it, looked like it's previous owner had dragged it across tarmac between shoots. With a bit of car touchup paint and replacement leather it looks good enough. (y)
 
Yeah I'm waiting till I get home, will give it a complete overhaul and service. Got new light seals coming too. Where did you get the leather from?
 
Yeah I'm waiting till I get home, will give it a complete overhaul and service. Got new light seals coming too. Where did you get the leather from?

I bought the leather, some tools and glue from Micro Tools in germany. I replaced the grimy leatherette on the camera with some nice thinly cut real leather, feels much nicer now.
 
I bought the leather, some tools and glue from Micro Tools in germany. I replaced the grimy leatherette on the camera with some nice thinly cut real leather, feels much nicer now.

Wicked thanks!

I'm thinking of even rawing and polishing the body of the camera/revolving back - think it would look super cool.
 
OK I'm confused, but I'm sure someone can help me out. I was reading the manual for the Mamiya 645, and it makes no mention of any meter except for a "metered prism". Does this mean using the WLF means you don't have a meter? And is there any kind of apperture/shutter priority when using a "metered prism"?
 
AFAIK there is no meter on the basic Mamiya 645 with WLF from a quick search it looks like only the 645E had a built in meter but that had a fixed finder.
 
There's a cracking looking C330f kit for sale at what I consider a very bargainlishuss price in the classifieds. Some bits in there that I've been after as well, wonder if he'll split....:thinking:

Andy
 
OK I'm confused, but I'm sure someone can help me out. I was reading the manual for the Mamiya 645, and it makes no mention of any meter except for a "metered prism". Does this mean using the WLF means you don't have a meter? And is there any kind of apperture/shutter priority when using a "metered prism"?

An M645 like the 1000S doesn't have a built in meter and when using it with a WLF it is unmetered. You can by different prism finders to clip on top in place of the WLF: a plain prism (unmetered), a PdS prism (metered with the capacity to alter the shutter speed) and an AE prism (an aperture priority meter but I haven't played with on of these).

I find my PdS prism rarely comes off my 1000S and it meters accurately.

Mike
 
... and the prism finder means holding it up to your eye?
 
Yes you do have to hold it to your eye though you can get a good angle finder that connects to the prism's eyepiece. The only time I use the WLF is for portraits when I have the chance to meter the light; it lets me avoid having the camera as a barrier between me and my subject.

Mike
 
Just purchased a 645 super with the 80mm, 2.8 lens. This is my first foray into medium format so its all new to me, loading the film was easy and I've only taken a few shots so far but really liking the whole process.

My one issue is the location of the shutter release which seems kinda silly.. but i'm going to be using it mainly for portraits and landscapes so I guess its not so bad.
 
Had my new RB67 out for an hour on Saturday and I realise its bit of a cliché but wowser that viewfinder is fantastic. Shot a roll mostly wide open because I didn't bother with a tripod so wanted to keep the shutter speed up for hand holding. I'm currently trying to decide if I mucked up developing (again) or got a light leak when I didn't quite shut the back correctly. Which ever this roll appears to have no camera shake despite hand holding though my horizons have gone completely wonky!

I fixed this one but lost a chunk of negative!

FP4-RB67-Mar13002 by steveo_mcg, on Flickr
 
Does anybody have a 90mm Sekor C lens they'd like to part with? Mines faulty and I am desperate for one over the next week or so! :(
 
What sleeves to people use for the 6X7 negs? I've just bought a packet from firstcall but I think they're actual A4 and are only long enough to hold two frames. I don't know what brand my last log of MF holders were, I got them from a mate with out their packet.
 
What sleeves to people use for the 6X7 negs? I've just bought a packet from firstcall but I think they're actual A4 and are only long enough to hold two frames. I don't know what brand my last log of MF holders were, I got them from a mate with out their packet.

I use kenro ones, hold 3 negs a slide I believe. Work okay, not too shabby!
 
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