Dustin McAmera

<p>I quite like colour in winter. If the colours are muted by the season, you can only show that by shooting in colour.<br> I like Portra. I don't like too much saturation; I haven't used Ektar much but I know I prefer Portra. I like Fuji films too, but you will like or not like the greens and purples you get with Pro 400 H. Try it and see.<br> If you enjoy developing your own B&W, consider doing your own colour too. C41 kits are cheap, and it's really easy. I tried E-6 once, and I won't be doing any more. The chemicals are just that bit nastier (I wore gloves and used my usual care, but got scary rashes anyway!)</p>

<p>I've never done this before: I keep my pictures at Flickr (bigger than they can be here!), and link to them if I need to. I tried it out with a random picture, and had no trouble:<br /> I went to 'My workspace', and from there to 'Your portfolio management page'. Then I clicked on 'Basic single photo uploader'. That gave me a button marked 'Browse' from which I selected a file (which is a <strong>jpg</strong>: that may matter!)<br /> I guess you must have cookies enabled, you must be logged in, and you must be allowing script on photo.net. I am using Firefox, if that helps; I have the NoScript add-on, but have allowed cookies and script for photo.net. Depending on what browser you are using, how you control these things may differ from my case.<br /> Good luck!<br> <br />(I discovered I already had two <em>followers</em>: why would I have followers before I even have pictures to look at?)</p>

<p>Have you used the camera without problems before? Have you used it <em>with this viewfinder</em> before?<br> The shutter might lock because the prism is now working, but there isn't enough light, I guess, or because the camera and prism aren't communicating.<br> I note in the manual for the RZ67 Pro II that you can't use the prism made for the older RZ67 with the newer camera.<br> If you don't have a manual, they are available at the Mamiya Leaf site: scroll down the page to 'Legacy' products: http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/documentation.html<br> Mike Butkus has manuals for some Mamiya accessories in his archive (if you find his copy useful, it's decent to send him a couple of dollars to help pay the costs of his hosting): http://www.butkus.org/chinon/mamiya/mamiya_lenses_accessories/mamiya_lenses_accessories.htm</p> <p>Good luck!</p> <p> </p>

<p>Probably worth cleaning the contacts that take power from the body to the prism too.</p>

<p>How are you tearing your film? I use a Zenit 1 and a Zenit 3, which load just the same as the FED, and have never damaged the film yet. I keep small scissors in my camera bag to cut the long film leader (you know about that? see <a href="http://jay.fedka.com/index_files/Page345.htm">Fedka's page about film trimming and loading</a> if not). Are you sure your film is tearing during loading? I have only ever torn film in cameras where the rewind-release failed to release properly (the original Canonet was the worst for this).<br> If you are enjoying using an SLR, but want a smaller one, the classic answer is an Olympus OM-2.</p>

<p>Not relevant to your problem, and I guess you just forgot to mention it, but there should also be several stages of washing between the fix and the rinse with wetting agent.</p>

<p>It's true that focusing at f/12 is bound to be tricky (maybe you make your sitter hold a lit sparkler while you focus?)<br> I'd still like to get that lens. </p>

<p>Not a technician, just another owner. <br> My Pro, with the back removed, will fire its shutter, and you can watch the blinds move back into the cocked position (as you know). It looks like your camera (or maybe the winder) can't tell whether there's a film there or not, and it's trying to wind to frame 1.<br> I notice that you have the WG401 winder; my winder is a 402, so has a position on the shutter button marked 'Start' for winding to frame 1 with a fresh film. I <em>guess</em> this is an automatic function with the 401? Could it be that the winder has simply lost good contact with the body? Try taking it off and wiping the electric contacts on the winder and body. That's all I can think of. Good luck!</p> <p> </p>

<p><a href="http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php?Film=HP5&Developer=&mdc=Search&TempUnits=C">http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php?Film=HP5&Developer=&mdc=Search&TempUnits=C</a></p>

<p>If you had a longer rail, would your bellows draw out long enough to use it?<br> I don't know about that extension. On my camera, the rear end-knob is missing from the rail, and the end is plain, and wouldn't attach anything. I can't say about the front end. You need a small Allen key, I think, to get the knob off and see if you can fit an extension. I doubt it; an extension is not mentioned in the manual for the cameras (which is reproduced at Camera Eccentric: <a href="http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/info/calumet_3.html">http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/info/calumet_3.html</a> ).</p> <p>I have the opposite problem; I have just bought a CC-401, with 22 inches of rail, and I'm trying to use it with a five inch lens, so I have to lean over quite a lot of projecting rail to look at the screen. It's perfectly usable, just a little inconvenient, so I'm not tempted to cut the rail down; I may want it for a longer lens later. I am thinking about getting a local metalwork shop to make me a shorter rail, as Leszek suggested above; haven't investigated how hard it might be to switch rails.<br> Good luck!</p>

<p>The manuals for the RZ67 and RZ67 Pro II are both available as pdf at the Mamiya Leaf site:<br> http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/documentation.html (and scroll down for the older cameras).</p> <p>In the one for the original RZ67, the prism finder is mentioned as to be 'available in the future'. The 'parts' pictures on page 4-5 shows an 'electrical contact cover' under the finder. This must be there if you're using an old prism finder made for an RB67, and must be taken off if you're using a finder with electrical contacts, made for the RZ67. It would be worth checking if that cover is in place, but I guess you'd have noticed if your finder had nothing electrical to connect to.</p> <p>The manual for the RZ67 Pro II also mentions a similar cover. Again, this must be in place if you use a finder made for the RB67.<br> Page 39 of this manual says this:</p> <p><em>The previous models of AE Prism Finders or AE Magnifying Finders cannot be used with the RZ PRO II unless their circuits are modified. Contact your country's Mamiya Distributor for further information.</em><br> <em>The AE Prism Finder FE701 can be directly mounted on the RZ PRO II.</em></p> <p>I think that means if you have the Pro II body, you must have the FE701 prism for the meter to work.<br> <br /> </p> <p> </p>

Which camera do you have? I think the oldest prism may be incompatible with the II.

<p>I use the same plastic bowl that I wash my plates in (dinner plates, not 4x5-inch ones!). Depending on the season, I sometimes need to maintain the temperature of the water during a session. I have a fish-tank heater, and have used it with some success; mine is only 75W though, and I think a more powerful unit would be better. I often just keep an eye on the temperature, and have a kettle of hot water handy.<br /> <br /> I think hot air would be a poor method, because the heat capacity of air is so low relative to the water you're trying to keep warm. The noise of a hair dryer would drive me crazy, too.</p> <p>This question has been discussed in the Flickr 'Do It Yourself Color' group, and you can read other people's solutions there (e.g. in <a href="https://www.flickr.com/groups/diy_color/discuss/72157652462230395/">this thread</a> about how critical temperature is/isn't).</p>

<p>20% is nothing, I think; certainly within the error you might get just by using reflected-light metering in interesting light. 50% might be worth allowing for, maybe by setting the film-speed half a stop faster. Not sure what the film-speed dial is like though; you may have to choose between one-third and two-thirds of a stop. I wouldn't bother even doing that, unless you're <em>seeing</em> overexposure in your pictures.</p>

<p>I can't see a filter thread on that lens, or on the ones pictured at camera-wiki (<a href="http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Super_Ikonta_531/2">here</a>); I think it must be a slip-on filter/hood. That thing about putting filters on backwards sounds like someone's home-grown solution to fitting screw-fit filters where there's no thread.<br> Wait till you have the camera, and measure the diameter of the front, before buying anything. </p>

<p>The 6x7 lenses are bound to be big, since each one has a shutter in it. On the other hand, lenses for the 645 AF cameras will have the AF parts in, which will make them more expensive, and I would expect bigger too, than manual-focus equivalents. I would consider a manual-focus 645 camera just for that. In addition, as Craig says, you can't change the finder on the AF cameras; I wouldn't be without my waist-level finder.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Yes - it only makes sense that way, understanding 'smaller' aperture to mean a physically smaller hole.</p>

<p>The RS402 is mentioned in the manual for the AFDIII (which you can get from the Mamiya Leaf website), and uses the same socket as the electronic cable release RE401. The manual doesn't give any more detail than that, however. </p>

<p>My quarter-plate Ensign Reflex (about 1930) has 1/1000 second. It doesn't synch flash at all though.</p>

<p>The OP isn't asking what to do with the filters and lamps; he's asking if he can preview the picture.<br> You could take the picture with a digital first, and take it on film once you like the result; or you could use Polaroid; with the RZ, you can even take the Polaroid in the same camera. <br> If you're using wide apertures anyway, why use flash at all? If you used continuous lamps, you could see the picture in the viewfinder.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Have you not tried the battery check? I don't have an RZ, but my 645 Pro uses the same battery, and they do seem to die quite suddenly. I change the battery as soon as I start to suspect it, rather than keep worrying.<br> It's always worth cleaning the electric contacts on the finder (where the meter is) and on the film back (where you're setting the film speed).<br> I'd change to cheaper film until you've found the problem! Maybe run the camera without film, just to see if manually-set shutter speeds sound right.<br> Good luck!</p> <p> </p>

<p>This all seems a bit high-flown to me. I push film to keep on photographing hand-held as it starts to get dark.</p>

<p>The Mamiya 645E has a fixed prism finder, where the 645 Super, Pro and Pro TL have interchangeable finders. This means you can't use a waist-level finder with the E; I would miss that (I have a 645 Pro). On the other hand, I can only think of a couple of times I've changed film backs part-way through.<br> Also, these parts being fixed, you will never get problems due to dirty contacts of the film back or finder, which are sometimes reported here. Importantly, all Mamiya's manual-focus 645 cameras can use the same range of lenses and macro accessories.<br> Lenses for the AF cameras will cost a lot more.<br> You mentioned slides: do you already have a medium-format projector?</p>

<p>Are you using auto or manual focus?<br> If auto, I understand this camera has five autofocus points in the frame, and you can choose which ones are used, to some extent. Check which points your camera is using.<br> Still with auto-focus, you should have a Single AF mode, and a Continuous mode. If you focus in Single AF mode, and then move (or the subject moves) while you're still holding the button down, the focus may be wrong.<br> If you're using manual focus, what focus screen have you got; plain, grid, or with the split-prism? I find a split-prism an enormous help.<br> You could always try using shutter-priority exposure.</p>

<p>You can buy film ready-loaded for red-scale use (e.g. from Lomography; expect silly prices). There are other films made to give unusual colour rendering: search for Adox Color Implosion, or Kono films (both offered at fotoimpex.de)<br> Following on from Jochen's X-ray film, there are other kinds of film that will give you unusual results:<br /><br /></p> <ul> <li>Infra-red film (this is black-and-white; there used to be false-colour IR film, but I haven't seen it available for ages): you need a dark-red filter to get the best out of this, so your picture only shows the infra-red image. The filters cost a bit, and (since the filter excludes almost all the visible light, you will be estimating your exposures. These will also typically be long, so you probably need a tripod. You can see the results you can get by searching somewhere like Flickr for 'IR': landscapes with trees in leaf, under the sun, look amazing.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Orthochromatic film is sort of the opposite: it's blind to red light, so different things are emphasised in the picture. Again, this is black-and-white, and quite slow film. Bright skies will tend to bleach out white.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Tungsten film: film balanced for shooting under old-fashioned electric lights. You see long rolls of it for sale on Ebay. It will give you an odd colour cast, but that's about all. I wouldn't bother with it myself.</li> </ul> <ul> <li><em>Old</em> film of any sort may give you unpredictable faults (mostly fog, and spots of mould growth) due to its age and bad storage. Much of what's offered for sale is just junk, but I've bought several batches of old stuff, especially when it was a type I didn't know. If you develop film yourself, finding out how fast the film is, and whether it's any good, is fun in itself. Treat any good pictures from it as a bonus.</li> </ul> <p><br />With any black and white film, you can make contrast effects using coloured filters; typically yellow (quite modest), orange (stronger) and red (very strong and dramatic) to darken a blue sky. If you're just experimenting, you don't need to buy expensive filters.<br /><br />Push-processing is a worthwhile trick to learn, though it's not for special effects. You load (say) ISO 400 film, but tell your light meter it's (say) ISO 1600, and it lets you take pictures in darker conditions. You compensate for what you did by leaving the film in the developer for a little longer. The results will be a bit grainy and more contrasty than normal. A lot of places that develop film will be able to push it for you if you ask, but it's easiest of all if you're doing your own developing. To be honest, pushing film was a more impressive trick before digital cameras came along!<br /><br /></p>