brett_kosmider Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 Am I missing something when doing long exposures on the Mamiya RB67? The "instruction manual" leaves much to be desired when describing timed exposures (aka "bulb" for the rest of the photography world). What baffles me is how you close the shutter after making an exposure - do you really have to "turn the shutter speed ring toward the 1 sec mark"? Doesn't this defeat the purpose of timed exposure photography, where by touching the camera will introduce camera shake in the exposed photo? I guess I'm used to a bulb settigng where you press the bulb and count one...two...three... Then release the bulb and the shutter closes. What is the proper way to achieve long exposures on the Mamiya RB67? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychophoto Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 Yeah, the time exposure system does leave a lot to be desired. Eventually I found that the best way was to just pack a black card with me or the dark slide from an old 4x5 film holder and use that to block the lens at the end of the exposure before turning the shutter speed ring. This effectively ends the exposure in such a way that you don't have to worry about camera shake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brady_dillsworth Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 On the RB67 Pro-S, to end a timed exposure you can turn the film advance lever just a few degrees forward. As long as the camera is mounted on a steady tripod and locked down tight, moving the camera isn't that big of an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enrico__ Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 ...especially if its stopped down to say f22 or more. dont think an RZ is any better.. drives me nuts. black card or cloth over the lens then advance the lever slightly forward (as stated by the above post). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 <i>Doesn't this defeat the purpose of timed exposure photography, where by touching the camera will introduce camera shake in the exposed photo?</i><br><Br> Not really. All you have to do is put a hat or something in front of the lens to end the exposure, and then you can turn the shutter dial to close the shutter without any fear of camera shake. The advantage of the Mamiya method of long exposures is that you don't need a locking cable release (don't need to carry one, and you don't need to worry about it accidentally becoming unlocked). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brett_kosmider Posted April 29, 2004 Author Share Posted April 29, 2004 Enrico, the specific reason I stayed away from the RZ is that, from what I have read, it limits your time exposure to 60 seconds since it drains the battery to have the shutter open. So I assumed the RB would be simple. Guess I didn't read up on the details of making long exposures with the RB. Either way I'll just take it in stride. I purposely got the RB to change the way I shoot - to make me think of things differently, to develop a different routine, to slow down. I plan on having a gray card to meter off of, so why not a black card? Thanks for the advice BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enrico__ Posted April 29, 2004 Share Posted April 29, 2004 hehe.. brett - i figured the issue with RZ would be non existent with the RB, so youre not the only one! I didnt mind shooting 6x6 so I instead added a mamiya TLR to my gear and pretty much exclusively use the TLR for timed exposures (outdoor night photography). If I want to shoot 6x7 then I resort to the RB. As for the RZ - dont use for exp longer than 45 sec. In all, the hat/car over the lens method is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajiv1 Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 when you are doing timed exposure, the vibration you introduce while cocking or rotating the shutter dial lasts for a fraction of a second. This will not be seen on the film because the light available is very little in the first place (that's why you are using long exposure). Don't worry about introducing shake... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross_chambers Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 My problem was more to do with timing. I recently shot a bunch of 4 second exposures, using a digital metronome. It does seem to work well. I set the metronome for 1 audible beat per second with an accent on the 4th beat. It allowed me to dry run in my mind the 4 second countdown and get the feel of it, so that when the exposure was made I didn't succumb to my previous panic stations practice of opening the shutter -- counting and/or looking at a watch hand -- grabbing the cocking lever -- missing the count with no rehearsal, then doing it all over again! Regards - Ross Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_waller Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 I have a piece of black velvet stuck on a piece of card which I hold over the lens-hood just before I close the shutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brett_kosmider Posted April 30, 2004 Author Share Posted April 30, 2004 Chris, great idea! I love it. And I was thinking I would find some matte black paint or flocking material, but the velvet is even better. BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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