Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/05/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]> After a couple of years of drooling over it, yesterday I purchased a Mamiya > 7 II along with 80mm and 50mm lenses and 35 adapter. > > After less than 12 hours of handling and shooting it I find the ergonomics > impressive. The rangefinder patch is quite Leica-like although not quite as > bright. The contrast is fine. I have not yet processed any film but will soon. > > This will replace my seldom used Koni-Omega (now for sale for $150 + > shipping) as well as my Yashica Mat 124G (also for sale) Mamiya is sending > me a 6x7 projector and I'm looking forward to the huge transparencies. (may > also have a 6x6 projector for sale soon. > > Any LUGgers using the 7 or 7 II? Oddities of operation that I should be > aware of? (And why did Mamiya make the meter to change pattern with > different lenses?) I own and use a Mamiya 6 (or the Japanese M6) quite regularly. It is my square-format Leica. The metering pattern varies because it is not TTL. The SPD is in the rangefinder assembly, so it measures light from a fixed area. I am quite fond of its AE lock. You aim the camera at an area to meter, lightly press the shutter release, recompose, and shoot. The initial measurement is maintained. I find it so intuitive that I rarely use the camera in the manual mode. I find it difficult to read the LED shutter speed reading to the left of the viewing agrea, especially outdoors. I would have much preferred a needle. The rangefinder is trickier to use. The magnification is low, and it is absolutely critical that you align the viewing eye in the centre. If you don't, you will get misalignment of the superimposed images, resulting in inaccrate focussing. The Mamiya has even less vibration than Leicas, thanks to its lens shutter. While not quite as quiet as a well used M3, it is still quite surreptitious, despite its look. I find the Mamiya rangefinder excellent for normal to wide angle photography. It is barely larger than modern 35mm SLRs, and its optics are certainly excellent. The construction seems durable, although I haven't tested it. I think Mamiya 7-II is a formidable system for those who are looking for a medium format alternative to Leica.