Mamiya 7 a good choice for wedding candids?

For all you wedding shooters and PJ style masters....I would like

opinions regarding using a Mamiya 7 for shooting wedding candids. Is

the close focusing distance a problem for you? Is the f4 aperature a

problem for you when shooting with available light?

I currently use a 6x6 SLR and would like to add something more agile

to the mix while staying in the medium format world. Does anyone have

some real world experience with the Mamiya 7 and weddings?

F4 is not a problem for a wedding.

 

If you are a "zone" focuser, you won't have any problem with rangefinder. If you aren't,

buy a Rollei 6001 or 6003 with a fast focusing handle. The handle can be memorized to

be at "o'clock" positions for your 2-4 major zones, like a gear shift on a Corvette. A much

faster camera is a Rollei 6003. It reloads film in under 8 seconds or so; leaf shutters up to

1/1000th!

 

Sorry, I don't have experience with Mamiya 7. I thought I would throw some thoughts in

regarding usage of rangefinder cameras in general and a recommendation to a known

speedy film camera.

I will add that I used a Mamiya Press Super 23 6x7 for a decade. The Mamiya 7 is certainly

in that category of camera. It had a f3.5 aperture; very simiilar; and all manual.

I haven't used a Mamiya 7 but would suggest that you also look at the Fuji GA645 series. Some have fixed focal length lenses, one model has a zoom. They all have autofocus and wind the film like modern 35mm SLRs. The maximum apertures are not very wide though. But for staying with medium format, they look to be good for candids, since you're going to mix formats (isn't a Mamiya 7 a 6x7?). I would think you'd be looking at the discontinued Mamiya 6, since it is square format. If you're going to be carrying around two cameras, I'd go for a 35mm on the candids camera, which is what I do--I have a Canon system.

not being able to see my actual depth of field--would not be welcomed.....a SLR is a must

"... not being able to see my actual depth of field--would not be welcomed.....a SLR is a

must"

 

Tell that to Jeff Ascough, and a number of us who use a Leica M for wedding candids.

 

Sorry to be offering counter-points to your posts C JO (I do respect your work a lot). But

the rangefinder camera is well suited for wedding candid work IMO. I also used a pair of

Mamiya 7s for weddings for a couple of years, and found them to be fabulous performers.

Much faster and easier to focus than any MF SLR. 120 films like Delta 3200 are quite

usable due to the huge neg size, and provide final album images that look like Tri-X from

a 35mm camera.

 

Ronnie, for fill flash work, Stroboframe makes a very light, flip-flash Pro-T bracket that

doesn't require you to remove the bracket to get to the film release buttons on the base of

the M7. Also, an effective and accurate fill flash for the M7 is the Nikon SB28 using a short

off-camera cord. Just read the Nikon SB28 manual to set the flash to NOT go to sleep

when not in use ... because the M7 doesn't have the electronics to wake it back up.

 

Here's an example of a M7 shot, with 60% of the image cropped off, shot on Delta 3200.

Quickly focusing a MF SLR (like a Hasselblad) would've been a nightmare as the only light

was that from the candles which were moving to come together. I used the Nikon SB28 on

a bracket with a diffuser for fill.<div></div>

Oh, I forgot to mention that I held a star filter over the lens, The Mamiya 7 is so light that

you can hold it with one hand. The star filter somewhat acts as a diffuser, or this shot

would've been even sharper ; -)

As for focusing --a 2.8 glass from canon ~~ on their latest EOS system~~ is fairly fast for capturing a candid. I just need to see what is actually focused in the finder...also learned from my mentors "you are responsible for everything in that frame!" When I first started, 25 years ago, I was assisting in the biz....after each job my work would be critiqued. Every images would cost me a $1, so at first >> "I was paying to work." All densities had to be 86+ (Kodak standard was mid 70'sthen ) out of focused images were deducted, etc. Every single image was scrutinized......So today when we are approached from a client-we guarentee that 33 out of every 36 exposures on a roll will be welcomed!!<div></div>

I haven't had experience with the Mamiya, but I have used the Bronica RF645 quite extensively for any formals that I have had to do.

 

f4 is a problem to me inside without flash, but fine outdoors. This afternoon I was shooting at f5.6 for most of the afternoon, and zone focusing, on my Leica M's. I could have easily used the Bronica (or Mamiya) for all the outdoor stuff today, although the DOF would have been shallower.

 

The bottom line is to use what you are happiest with. That way you will think less about equipment and more about the pictures IMHO.

 

The point about DOF and the need for an SLR is irrelevent for me. A good DOF scale on the lens barrel is all I need, and it is faster to use than using a DOF lever on an SLR, and the VF doesn't go dark!!!

Actually, that's one of the things I hate about Canon lenses. There isn't a aperture ring to

determine DOF at a glance, or to set hyper-focal distance and just shoot. Sometimes the

1950's technology of a Leica M (or like camera) is superior to the latest, greatest : -)