Mamiya rz67 pro II DARK images

[Miesjanssen]

Hi all,

I’ve ran into a problem with my Mamiya, It’s consistently giving me back way too dark images for the situation and I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong.

It’s not on the emergency mode. I brought it in to a camera shop and they checked it but couldn’t figure out anything wrong with the mechanics and said it was the problem of some dirt on the lens.... which I don’t believe.

I can’t attach links yet as I’m a new member but the photos were shot on 2.6f and 60 seconds in a bright daylight studio

I’m not sure if it could be a battery problem? I can’t recall the light blinking. I did take the camera to a very cold destination and haven’t changed the battery since. When I test it out and hold the shutter for 20 seconds it’s not blinking.

Please if anyone has any ideas..

 

[Miesjanssen]

Alas! See attached photos

 

[Kevin Allan]

There is a limit on the length of time the shutter can stay open in B mode, in order to save battery life. I think it's 50 seconds. If you use the T mode, then batteries are not used, and you also don't have to hold the shutter open. That may not be your problem here, but is worth knowing if you do long exposures. Or did you mean 1/60th second ?

 

[Miesjanssen]

There is a limit on the length of time the shutter can stay open in B mode, in order to save battery life. I think it's 50 seconds. If you use the T mode, then batteries are not used, and you also don't have to hold the shutter open. That may not be your problem here, but is worth knowing if you do long exposures. Or did you mean 1/60th second ?

Oopsie yes I definitely meant 1/60th!

 

[Asha]

If you can post up photos of the actual negs that would make easier to see how the emulsion of the film has reacted.

I get the impression that there is a metering issue.
How did you meter?...Camera prism? handheld meter?
Did you meter incident / reflected
Did you meter the guy or the scene in general as it looks to me that the camera has exposed for the background, thus pushing the white of the guys jacket towards it's lattitude limit for highlights, whilst leaving tthe darker areas underexposed

 

[Miesjanssen]

I metered with a handheld meter, reflective.

The problem is that I have photographed in the exact same studio with the same guy and the same kind of light conditions before, and the photos turned out fine with a different camera.

This camera has had this problem every since I brought it with me on holiday in cold conditions in a lot of different situations and studios, except for when I'm shooting outside. It does seem to have a light-leak in the back—but that shouldn't necessarily make the images darker?

Please also see a different shoot I did

 

[FruitFlakes]

I'd change batteries even if you're not getting the battery check light.

Secondly I'd set the body to 1 second and see if the shutter in the lens actually stays open for a second. The leaf shutter in the lens may be running fast and need a service. Also clean the contacts on the body and lens. If you have another lens try that (or borrow one), so you can narrow it down to a body or lens issue.

 

[medwaygreen]

Looks to me like the you have metered for the brighter background and therefore not the subject. If you can repeat the process meter
close to the subject using incident metering and I think you will get a competently different reading.
Good luck.