phillip_cohen

<p>After being down for a year, I was able to recover all of the images and data from the old Usefilm.com web site. And with Al's blessing was able to use it to create my new web site http://www.imageopolis.com let me know what you think. Still have a ways to go but at least it is up again. Would appreciate any input.<br>

Thanks,<br>

<br />Phil</p>

<p>I am not sure they make a 4x5 back for the RZ, at least I have not seen one. Where have you seen this?</p>

<p>Did you remember to remove the dark slide? Did you try another film back? Could be that the camera thinks the darkslide is still installed. Try it in both horizontal and vertical. Also you can switch it to M mode and it won't care if there is film in the back.</p>

<p>Phil</p>

<p>You can try and sell it, but good luck. I have had my complete system listed on craigslist for over a year with no takers. I have every accessory they make, multiple backs in multiple formats, you name it I got it plus most of the lenses all in mint condition and I still can't sell it. So unless you are willing to give it away for pennies on the dollar, go find a nice display case and put it on display as one of the finer points of photography of the 20th century.<br />Good luck,<br />Phil</p>

<p>It sounds to me like either the darkslide is left in or the switch that detects the darkslide is faulty and it always thinks it is installed. That orange light is a warning. Without the back in M mode there is no darkslide to detect.<br>

Phil</p>

<p>I use the standard RZ polaroid back and it works fine. Remember you will need to wash the negative in a sodium sulfite solution to get rid of the blue dye in the film portion.<br>

Phil</p>

I have the AE pirsm and even the AE chimney finder but seldom use either. Most of the shooting I do in the studio is with strobe lighting so the metering cannot be used anyway. I use the standard waist level finder most of the time. If you shoot landscapes then the meter is a nice feature, just make sure you have a tripod as it is too heavy to handhold with the prism.

 

If purchasing a used AE finder on ebay, make sure that it is the correct type. If you have an RZ Pro II then you will need the newer Pro II finder or you will have to send the finder into Mamiya for modification so that it works. The cost when I had it done many years ago was $110 for the modification, although I am sure it is more now.

 

Phil

I have a Phase One H20 Digital back that I use with a Mamiya RZ and in the user guide it shows it being used with a 6008I and a Hasselblad, It requires an adapter plate like my Mamiya I am sure.

 

Phil

Has anyone figured how to open these battery packs yet or find a place that rebuilds them? I have 4 dead ones now and would rather fix them then purchase new ones if possible.

 

Thanks,

 

Phil

Gary, do you by chance still have that 8x10 back for the alto? Or any other parts? Just came across your post, figured it was worth a try.

 

Thanks,

 

Phil

Ian, while a double cable release is not manditory, it does make it easier to use. Using the shift lens already requires 2 cocking steps to make it ready to fire, it is nice to just have one step to shoot.

 

The Mamiya dual cable release works well for this. One of the cables is set to go after the other, so it will raise the mirror prior to the lens firing. You just have to make sure you place the one that goes first into the camera body. Not sure why you have had problems with the dual release other then not using a real Mamiya release made for the RZ or swapping the cables.

 

Phil

Raffy one other thing I forgot to mention. The 75mm shift lens requires a special dual cable release as the shutter is in the front shifted section. You must manually cock the front shutter after shooting as well as the camera body with the film advance lever.

 

Phil

Raffy, I have a Mamiya RZ 67 setup that I have been using for years. I will try to explain the differences and clarify some of your questions.

 

The 75mm shift lens is a very nice lens however it is very limited in its capabilities. I doubt it would do anything for your interior shots as it is probably not wide enough. Next it will not correct the distortions that you get with wide angle lenses using the shift feature. This lens is better used as a lens outdoors to shoot buildings and such where you do not want keystoning of the image. You make sure the camera film plane is parallel to the building and then using the shift in the vertical mode shift the lens until the part of the building you want in the picture is shown. This will keep the building from looking like it is falling backwards. 75 mm is really not that wide and you still have to move back a bit if you want to capture larger objects in their entirety. Using the shift in the horizontal mode, you can sort of look around poles and such if they are near the edge of the image by shifting the lens horizontally.

 

The 50mm would be better for you tight inside shots. The reason it cannot be used on the tilt/shift adapter are 2 fold, one the image circle is not wide enough to give you much room for adjustment, I beleive it just covers the film and not much more. Second the added thickness of the tilt/shift adapter may not allow the lens to be focused at infinity as it will add extra distance between the film plane and the lens. That is why they use the SB (short barrel) lenses with the tilt shift adapter.

 

On another note, no one seems to be sure how long Mamiya will be in business producing these cameras. The company has been sold to a holding company and it remains to be seen if they will continue manufacturing cameras and lenses or liquidate the company. So keep that in mind before investing long term in Mamiya equipment. It is great stuff and I hope they keep going, but the MF market has really taken a dump due to very high quality DSLR cameras.

 

Phil

It just lays on top of the focussing screen, it is for use with the waiste level finder, not sure you can use it with the prism, there may not be enough clearance.

 

Phil

Correction, both the pro and pro II have the moving blades in the viewfinder. I was thinking of the the Fuji 680 versions that included that feature in the later models.

 

Phil

Michael,

 

I have the Pro II, and have been happy with it. I believe there are some minor differences such as, when you rotate the back between horizontal and vertical there are blades in the viewfinder that move to adjust the view showing you what you have. I think you had masks that you had to insert on the older version. The film magazine has the indicator for the frame number on both the top and side instead of just the top so it is easier to see. There are some electronic differences as the older AE finders need to modified to work with the PROII version. I believe this gives you 1/2 stop shutter speeds. There is also the addition of a right handed precision focussing knob which is very nice.

 

Here are the manuals for each so you can compare the specs

 

http://www.mamiya.com/assets/pdfs/RZ/RZ67PROII_Instr.PDF http://www.mamiya.com/assets/pdfs/6x7/RZ67_Pro_v4.PDF

 

 

Phil

Paul,

 

If the back is unmodified and you insert the 6x7 masks,there is a good chance that it will get stuck in there. This happens because the fingers in the light trap get jammed against the inside edge of the insert as you try and remove it. I took mine apart and bent each of the fingers up a little so they would glide over the edge of the mask instead of jamming into it. This is basically the factory modification. They change the fingers to one that has rolled up ends.

 

As far as film goes, you can use any of the 600 series pack type films. I prefer type 679 for color as it is nice and bright. But you can use any of them that fit the holder.

 

I wonder how long Polaroid will continue to make their film, digital has had to just about kill that business. I have a pair of polaroid backs for the RZ, one I keep filled with BW the other with color, and a bunch of holders for my 4x5, guess i can turn them into paper weights, door stops and bookends when Polaroid goes tits up.

 

Phil

Are you trying to use it in the auto-exposure mode with an AE finder?

Are you using the same lens on each of the camera bodies or a different one. In an RZ the shutter is in the lens. If the lens is not communicating properly with the body you can have this problem. Try another lens. Make sure the gold contacts on the lens and bodies are clean. In the M and manual mode it will always fire, not so in the electronic mode where it must communicate with the lens.

 

Phil

I believe it is only the RZ Pro II that has the automatic size masking on rotating the back. The original RZ had insertes for vertical and horizontal.

 

The masking blades are part of the RZ Pro II body and will work with any of the rangefinders installed.

 

As for the lens it is wide enough to handle both horizontal and vertical format shift. The lens also rotates in its mount to provide horizontal or vertical shift if needed, or any angle in between.

 

Phil

Mark,

 

While it never hurts to go through a good cleaning and lube every once in a while, as the lens still has mechanical parts. Not sure the pin hanging up is your problem. The shutters in RZ lenses are electronic and controlled by the electronics within the camera body. The pin you are talking about is part of the manual release mechanism I beleive and is only in operation when you manually release the camera which is set at 1/400th of a second. This will work without batteries, where the other speeds controlled by the body will not. If your speeds at 1/125 are off you might check the calibration of your body as that may be where the problem is and not in the lens. .4 and .5 over are pretty close, almost within the margin of error in the measuring device.

 

Please post back what the final outcome is as we will all go through this one day I am sure.

 

Phil

Isn't comparing the 45mm Pentax to the Mamiya 37mm fisheye like comparing apples and oranges? I would think a closer match would be the Mamiya 50mm or new 43mm or the 35mm Pentax compared to the 37mm Mamiya.

 

I have both the 37 and the 50 Mamiya and have always been happy with the sharpness, even with large enlargements. The 50 has the floating element which is also very nice for that little extra tweek.

 

Phil

Mathew, I am not an expert on this as I have never tried using an RB lens on my RZ, but there are a few things you need to be made aware of concerning the RZ. First it is an electronic camera, and the RZ lenses are also totally electronic as far as the shutter speed goes. With the exception of the mechanical release which is 1/400th I believe, all of the RZ shutter speeds are controlled by the timer in the body and electronically controlled in the lens. That is why the shutter speed dial on the RZ has no effect. If you are trying to use the RB lens with the body release, all you will get is 1/400th of a second as well or whatever the default shutter speed is in an RB lens. I beleive you will need to use the lens release to get the other speeds that you set on the RB lens. The hotshoe is also meant to work with the RZ lenses as there are probably no contacts to bring the signal from the lens back into the body from an RB lens. So you will need to use the PC socket on the lens for your flash sync cord.

 

All in all the RZ is pretty much a dumb box when using a non RZ lens. You should probably upgrade to an RZ lens when you get the bux if you are serious about using the camera and want to use its functionality. Of course a back or 2 would help so you could actually use the camera for more then a paperweight. ;=]

 

Phil

There is no separate revolving back. Any standard back will shoot in both horizontal and vertical. In fact the newer Pro II backs have a frame counter that is visible in both formats. You flip the lever on the side of the body to the R position and rotate the back, then flip the lever back to re-engage the film advance. There are 2 sets of contacts on the back to transmit the film speed to the body. No special backs required.

 

You cannot rotate the polaroid back however this is not required as the film will hold both formats without rotation. You insert masks for portrait or landscape if you want to see how it looks.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Phil

Hi, have been building a web site for my local camera club, the South

Bay Camera Club, located in Redondo Beach, California. Wonder if you

all could take a look and critique it.

 

http://www.sbccphoto.org is the URL. Feel free to fill out the

registration section and submit some images to the visitor gallery.

NO SPAM I promise. Also look though the various galleries and post

some critiques etc...

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated, and any errors reported would

be even more appreciated. Leave a message in the guestbook too.

 

Thanks,

 

Phil

http://www.pwcphoto.com