Question about the panoramic adpator for M7

[eric_ung]

Hello,

 

I am going to buy a Mamiya7II for its 6x7 format and panoramic

capability. I read from one user comment that he prefers to use

120/220 film with the images reduced in size after printing than

using the 135 adaptor for panoramic shot. As I know nothing about

optics, may I ask will the move make any difference in terms of angle

of view,..etc. Or, what should I expect when using the adaptor.

 

There were some comments about the inconsistency about the built-in

metering system, reasons include different compositions

(sky/ground...) and different metering characteristics with different

lenses attachment ( like a spot metering with longer focal length

lens...), however from the Mamiya forum (?biased), the technican

claimed different lenes attachment is not a problem, the meter

behaves in the same way. Any comment. Thank you very much.

[david_henderson]

Mamiya have sent me the metering patterns for the various lenses, and believe me they are different. This is not to say that the meter is grossly inaccurate with any lens fitted, just that the meter is taking its information from different parts of the frame with different lenses fitted, and unless you understand how this is working then you aren't likely to get the best results, exposure-wise. For example let's imagine that you have two landscapes, both of similar content, but one you have to take with the 150mm lens and the other with a wide-angle. In both cases the top 1/5 of the image consists of a really bright sky. With the telephoto, the meter will pick up the effect of the sky quite strongly and reduce exposure accordingly, because the metered area is in fact about as big as the frame. In the wide-angle shot the meter will not pick up the sky at all because the metered area is much smaller than the frame. Therefore you're likely to get two different readings on subjects that require the same exposure. I should add that Mamiya is not unique in this issue; nor am I saying the meter isn't useful. I am saying that you need to invest some time in understanding how it works with various lenses before you can expect great exposures every time. Either that or avoid the issue by using a handheld meter.

 

Where I agree with Mamiya is that irrespective of the area covered by the metering cells, the meter remains centre-weighted. However the coverage point is important and should infuence how you use the camera.

 

The panoramic adapter is in essence a mask. It has no influence on angle of view which is controlled by camera/subject position and lens choice. Bear in mind that the mask works on the film, not in the viewfinder so the adapter provides you with no aid to composing your panoramics, it just constrains the vertical size of the image through the lens so it fits on 35mm film. My view is that the adapter is clumsy to fit, inflexible to use, and in the end an unnecessary expense.

[ed b.]

I own the adapter but have rarely used it. Framing is difficult at best, and accurate framing is impossible. It makes more sense to crop your medium format negatives--you will have greater flexibility that way.

[Spearhead]

I think David has slightly mis-stated how the metering works. The metering pattern does not change with lens changes, what changes is its how much of the <i>frame</i> it is now metering. This is identical to how a hand-held meter works, in that when you point it at something, it only meters a certain area regardless of what lens you are using. Once you understand this, it is fairly easy to use it like a handheld meter by mentally compensating for the lens being used. Point it, like a handheld meter, where you want it to be metering, and it will meter that consistently.