There are several things to consider before deciding to buy a rangefinder camera. I had never owned a rangefinder prior to the '7', but took the plunge anyway. I think that people find the fact that the 7II is a rangefinder camera to be the biggest hurdle, or biggest unknown, when deciding whether to commit to it, and for good reason. Unfortunately it's a characteristic of wide angle lenses and is a problem even in very high-quality large-format lenses. It's not a big issue if you're aware of it, but is more apparent with circular things (they tend to come out elliptical). You'll note that the tall structure in the upper left appears a little flattened out and elongated. The physics are such that while some types of distortion have been minimized, there is still the usual wide-angle distortion of shapes as you get closer to the edges. One thing I'd like to comment on is that with all the hype about the 43mm lens, one should be careful that you'll actually use a lens that wide. The lenses for this system are as good as everyone says they are. I still keep some 220 around for those times I might be shooting in higher volumes. I tend to prefer 120 after having standardized on 220 Tri-X for a while, since the shorter roll usually means unexposed film sits in the camera for shorter periods of time until I can finish it off. While this is true, the Mamiya 7 is also capable of handling 220 roll film with just a twist of the pressure plate. One thing a lot of people mention as a problem when stepping up to MF from 35mm is that with 120 roll film you only get 10 exposures per roll with a 6x7 camera. For those time when you can't find your cable release there is an easy to use self-timer.
It's an unusual place for a cable release, but it works well as it is out of the way of the exposure controls. The camera accepts a standard cable release in the lower front left corner of the body.
Since most of my exposures are tripod mounted, though, I use the manual shutter speed setting along with the appropriate aperture setting derived by using my handheld spot meter. This mode works very well for most handheld photography.
With that, you aim the metering patch in the viewfinder (it's not marked, but is a bit below the center rangefinder square) at an appropriate spot in the scene being photographed, you half-press the shutter button to lock the meter at that reading, then recompose while keeping the button half-pressed, and trip the shutter when you have everything set. The "AEL" (auto-exposure locking) mode is likely the most often used automatic mode. Shutter speed and film speed are set via the dial at the top of the camera (see photo below). apparently makes a much higher profit on its sales. There is much better info on the camera there compared to the US site, even though Mamiya America Corp. See cool viewfinder pix at the Mamiya UK site. It is easy to use, lacking the oversupply of electronic gizmos that detract, in my opinion, from the essential task of taking photographs. The controls are laid out well, attesting to the simplicity of its design. You can tell that everything is put together solidly by just holding the camera in your hand.
The Mamiya 7ii has a very nice, solid feel in your hand. Also, it is light enough to carry easily (it's 2.8 lbs w/80mm lens It has a set of the best lenses in any format (as far as MTF measurements I've found it to be just about perfect for all of the hand-held photography Hopefully the observations that follow will be helpful I've had mine since the fall of 2001 and have exposed a fair The Mamiya 7II is a 6x7 medium format (56mm x 69mm image size) rangefinder camera system withĦ available lenses. Hopefully, I'll have some new pictures to put up on Flickr before too long. Once they're back, I'll thaw out some film and start taking photos again. I'm sending my Mamiya 7ii kit and my 4x5 off to Precision Camera Works for a complete CLA on everything. So, I'm going to sell my Nikon D3 and maybe the Leice M8. fairly easy proof printing) I've come to the conclusion it isn't really that satisfying for me. While I like some aspects of digital (e.g. Since people come to this site as much for info about the Mamiya 7 as for largeįormat info, I'll try to keep this info updated as much as possible.įeb 2012: I've let the Mamiya 7 sit in its bag for about the past 4 or 5 years while I made an earnest (and expensive!) attempt to wrap my head around digital capture and workflow. Mamiya 7 II 6x7 Medium Format Rangefinder