Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/05/17

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Subject: [Leica] Re: BIG Leica
From: Ken Wilcox <wilcox@tir.com>
Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 08:07:41 -0400 (EDT)

Thanks for the info. I'm processing my first film tonight.

Ken Wilcox


>-----Original Message-----
>From: Ken Wilcox <wilcox@tir.com>
>To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
>Date: Sunday, May 16, 1999 10:12 AM
>Subject: [Leica] BIG Leica
>
>
>>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.
>>
>Congratulations on your new "baby"! I had a Mamiya 6 and  found the shutter
>wonderfully accurate--one of those fancy quartz-timed jobs in which the
>timing circuitry is in the camera body, hence, less chance for variation
>when switching lenses.
>
>The lenshoods, I could take or leave. I prefer not having to remove  hoods
>at all.
>
>I do not know what changes might have taken place in the Mamiya Seven
>metering system, but the Six used pretty much the full viewfinder area for
>metering, regardless of lens, and this caused some folks to grumble loudly
>that the Six was underexposing all of their photos. Not true! They simply
>failed to grasp the basic nature of the meter, and were inadvertently
>metering a lot more sky than they realized. The trick is to always use the
>full viewfinder area for metering the appropriate proportions of earth and
>sky, in which case, you can pretty much leave it in auto, using the AE lock,
>which works very well. In this sense, the Mamiya Six and Leica M6 are very
>different indeed.
>
>You can call Mamiya USA and buy small parts, like caps, pay by credit card,
>and wonder of wonders, the prices aren't bad at all. Dealers in my area tend
>to drag their feet on the small items, so this can be a nice alternative.
>
>If you want a tripod QR plate, it'll either have to be a custom Arca-Swiss
>type unit, or the Perfected Photo Products system, which looks like a
>pint-sized Arca (If you want the PPP, let me know--I've got one sitting
>around). Most others block the film hubs.
>
>Weak points? Mine was iffy with 220 film, skipping a frame here or there.
>And on the Six anyhow, there was a small (RF alignment?) access plug which
>might be best lightly(!) cemented into place with Pliobond.
>
>Jeff
>
>PS: Anyone own Fuji's zoom AF 6x4.5??


- ----
Ken Wilcox                                Carolyn's Personal Touch Portraits
Davison Middle School                        preferred---> <wilcox@tir.com>
600 Dayton, Davison, MI 48423                              <kwilcox@gfn.org>