Mamiya 7ii advice for proper composition

[nick_higgins]

<p>Hello photo.net community,<br>

I was wondering if any forum members could please share any hints or suggestions<br>

for composing accurately with the Mamiya 7ii 65mm lense. I realize its the nature of rangefinder<br>

photography and not looking through lense, but I am struggling with estimating how much more im actually capturing. <br>

Most of the work I have been shooting has been of city landscapes. On a regular basis I will have some telephone pole, tip of<br>

building, extra foreground, etc in the frame. I prefer not cropping and this is lack of accuracy is frusterating.<br>

Is there any trick to knowing how much more is recorded? I have had the camera for about two weeks and love everything<br>

about it accept for the composition issues. I find it great for environmental portraiture, where Im focused much closer (it seems a lot more accurate)..<br>

Any advice?<br>

Thank you,<br>

Nick</p>

[Giovanni Cappai]

<p>The Mamiya Universal manual suggests to use the outer frame of the viewfinder lines when objects are far and the inner when are near. I suppose the same happens with the 7. What do you do with your photos? I do scan them so some cropping at the edges is acceptable to me.</p>

[jean_yves_mead]

That, unfortunately, is the nature of interchangeable-lens rangefinders - few if any correct for changing field of view at different subject distances. Until you get used to how it behaves, you may have to accept cropping as part of your workflow.

[nick_higgins]

<p>Hi Giovanni and Jean- Yves,<br>

I print my photographs full frame by hand. I think I will shoot a test on a tripod, where i shoot the rz 67 with the 65 and then mamiya 7 and compare the results...<br>

thanks guys!!<br>

nick</p>

[mark_denton1]

<p>Nick - The Mam7 manual says that the frameline coverage at infinity is around 83% (ie on the neg you'll get 17% more than you bargained for); this rises to 100% at closest focussing distance. This should give you a starting point when estimating.<br>

You'll also need to build in some compensation for parallax as you focus closer also. The framelines move to help with this but they're probably not absolutely precise.</p>

[mark_lewis2]

<p>I put my Mamiya 7ii on a tripod aimed at a brick wall. Then, I outlined the four corners of what I saw in the viewfinder with masking tape on the brick wall. Upon processing the film, I had a better idea of what the camera yields compared to what the viewfinder shows. I did this for each lens that I own.</p>