Why are so many folks selling their practically new Mamiya 7's?

[sergio_ortega]

I have been thinking of getting one of these cameras/lenses. Before making the rather large investment, I would like to ask former owners why so many of these are being sold in "practically new" condition. Was/is there something wrong with the camera? Thanks for your opinions, Sergio.

[andreas_carl]

1.) Some people may find the rangefinder design is not for them after all.

 

2.) Some people may have bought it for about 40% of US retail sales price in Japan and make a neat little profit selling it here.

 

Just some thoughts.

[Spearhead]

In addition to Andreas' two reasons (the latter of which I think is the primary reason), it seems to be a camera often picked as the first medium format camera by 35mm users. Then they find out that they don't want to do their own developing or there is no pro lab nearby or they can't get 4x6 reprints from Costco.

 

FWIW, mine met Andreas' second reason. I bought it "used" from a dealer in the US with connections in Asia and it was obvious that it had not been out of the box more than a week.

[don___5]

Ever wonder why you hardly ever see practically new Rollei's for sale? or for that matter, 20 year old Rollei's... :-)

[john_hicks___]

Many are bought by people who rapidly discover that these cameras aren't remotely like the 35mm system cameras they're used to, and they just can't adapt.

Another big problem is processing; it's not going to happen in an hour in that spiffy machine in the drugstore.

[andrew l. booth]

Are users upgrading to the new 'II' version?

[john_hicks___]

I've had only one customer upgrade from the M7 to the M7II; he said there was no reason other than that he wanted it. <g>

[russell brooks]

I think the main reason is that the $/Yen exchange rate is still around 120 and makes it profitable to import one at a time. The ones you see used on the market are probably mostly Japanese.

I had one for a year and sold it. Besides the fact that I needed the money the problems were:

1) still too big for my taste to travel with

2) focus / blur with the 150mm was a pain

3) the 43 may be wide but I can't focus less than 1 meter with it. most wide angle shots I'd take are near-far where I want to be as close as I can to the near part. my nikon 20mm gets within 8 or so inches.

4) near-far and parallax relationships were iffy with the 43mm.

 

If I had to do over again I'd just get the 65mm lens. Its as wide as you can get without an external view finder and has enough depth of field. Then I'd use the camera much like a leica with prefocusing and mucho cropping in the dark room if needed.

[ken_rockwell]

I bought one of those nearly new M7s used.

 

Mine indeed was from a guy who sounded fishy when I phoned asking why he was selling it ("received as gift from a freind," he said), only to discover when I showed up at his cmera store that it indeed was brand new equipment he bought in Hong Kong and he was trying to avoid detection from Mamiya USA who of course tries to stiffle this.

 

Hey, the M7 is a wonderful instrument if you want photos beyond belief in sharpness and conveniance. Buy one now!

 

If one is a just a dabbling amateur snapshooter then it's probably not the best choice, nor is any MF camera. If one wants an MF camera, then The M7 (or M6) probably is the best MF camera for an introduction to the format and still the best for experianced travel and landscape photographers wanting a light camera with a big image.

 

I'll be dipped in that the results on my M7 are a bit sharper on delta 400 than the 4x5s I made backpacking in Utah on tmax 100. I'm still trying to sort out that one.

 

Of course the M7 I bought required a bit of tweaking to get the focus right as many M7s and M6s do if you're picky; Mamiya USA would have done this for free with a new camera but of course I had to pay my local repair shop $135 to do this for me on my used camera.

 

Live it up, go buy the whole setup and it may be the last camera you'll ever need. 1/500 flash sync, silent and vibrationless shutter, etc. So long as you need no macro, fisheye, long telephoto or tilt/shift operation you're set for 99% of real photography.

 

Salut!

[ken schwarz]

No mirror lockup! :0)

[_____]

Because there's no mirror which needs to be locked up :O(

[sergio_ortega]

Thanks to all respondents for their thoughts.....even to the fellow who contacted me directly and offered to sell me his own "practically new, only five rolls through it" M7 system (M7 body,150mm and 43mm lenses). Sergio.

[enzo_campagnolo]

I'll tell you why:

1) Rangefinder goes out of adjustment. As received brand new mine

needed to shipped back to the factory for adjustment. Even

after that I dont think it was never right...

2) Leaf shutter has same sound quality as a $5.00 disposable

camera.

3) 80mm lens is too wide angle to be a "Standard" Lens, next step up

is 150MM lens which is also non-standard, and difficult to focus

properly.

4) Strange lens flare or ghosting on many outdoor photos that I was

never able to eliminate even when using the lens hood 100% of the

time.

 

I could probably think of more, but those are the main ones. I was glad to get rid of mine, even though I practically had to give it away...

[geoff_murray1]

There are some remarkable answers here " leaf shutter has the sound quality of a $5 disposable camera", can't cope with non-standard lenses and flare/ghosting. The poor rangefinder setup is fairly well known and easily self-adjusted, the silence of the shutter is an advantage ( unless you like shutter vibration and intrusive CLUNKS) and the lenses are the finest in medium format with very good flare control.I guess some people just aren't very adaptable. It can take a while to get used to but once you do it is superb as a travel/street photography/wilderness camera.

 

Geoff

[brian walsh]

<I>Rangefinder goes out of adjustment. As received brand new mine needed to shipped back to the factory for adjustment. Even after that I dont think it was never right...</I><P>

 

Yeah, that's what did it for me, too. Imagine, even after calibration at the factory and then recalibration at a factory-authorized service center, they <I>still</I> couldn't get it right. Despite being a brand new user with a brand new, unfamiliar camera with a fairly steep learning curve, I'm <I>absolutely positive</I> that I was using it exactly right, too. All that crap about needing to center my eye in the viewfinder, focus near to far, then stop with no hunting, and using the interface between the rangefinder patch and a line, rather than just superimposing images for precise focus -- who needs it? I paid good money for that camera, and it should have worked the way the way I wanted it to work!<P>

 

<I>2) Leaf shutter has same sound quality as a $5.00 disposable camera.</I><P>

 

What a pain! I had to synchronize a tape recorder to my shutter, so -- instead of that pitiful little "snick" -- I could hear the sound of an E series Mercedes sedan door closing. Now <I>that's</I> the sound of quality.<P>

 

<I>3) 80mm lens is too wide angle to be a "Standard" Lens <P></I>

 

This is the kind of thing that threatens America's stability. When you rent a Taurus, you know just what you're getting. But what if you go to Hertz and all they have left are Saabs? How do Saab owners ever find out where to put the key?