fredlee70x7

Doug,

Although Bogen/Manfrotto tripods (incl. carbon fiber) are of excellent quality and good value. I personally own an alumnium 144, an old model similar to the current 055, which is fine with 35mm cameras or light duty medium format, e.g. 6x4.5 or the Mamiya 7II.

However, for 6x7 cameras I 'd say the 3443 is a bit less impressive. I use Mamiya RZ on Gitzo 1329, which is a carbon fibre model but on a bigger size category. It's as sturdy as rock. Since Pentax 67 has the notorious problem of mirror vibration, I suggest you to try this 1329 which however is more expensive but less so if you buy from overseas like U.K. distributors.

Fred

I've been looking for this leather semi-hard eveready case for this camera for long time without success. Can anyone help?

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Fred

Hi Ivor,

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Where do you see this Rollei AFM35 on retail in Canada? I live in

Calgary and haven't seen one yet.

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Fred

Coincidently almost all of your the responses said : "Choose your lens based on the angle of view you need not by individual lens quality you expect". This sounds common sense in photography.

The 50 ULD lens I ordered through Robert White came today. Hopefully I can bring this out and shoot several roll to see its effect in the next while. However, I'll be busy this time and not sure when I can make a time out (I'm not a professional but an amateur only).

Unfortunately, I don't also own the 65 nor the older 50 lenses. So direct comparison is not possible. But I'll be one of those few lukcy guys who actually uses this 50 ULD and gives yhou come subjective comments later.

BTW, there is not much price difference between the 50 ULD and 65, may be less than a hundred British pounds.

Fred

Hi Cedric,

I won't be able to answer your question and I'm exactly in the same position as you. Without waiting for more advices from this forum, I ate the bullet and have just ordered the 50 ULD lens from Robert White in UK. I'm not unhappy with 65, actually I don't own it. My decision on 50 ULD over 65 is because I think a wider lens will be more suitable for general landscape especially for mountain shots. Who knows I may add the 65 lens later.

I'll stay tuned to any comments/answer to your questions although they will not change my plan of buying the the newer 50 ULD instead of the 65!

Fred

I don't have Bronica lens but have a few lenses for Mamiya 7II. They also have electronic leaf shutters built in the lenses and have the same rattle sounds when I shake them gently. Other than this, I notice nothing wrong. The images come out excellent. I guess it's because the spring in the shutter mechanism.

Fred

Thanks to the epople who answered my questions. I'll look for Nikkor or Zenzanon MC and skip Koumra.

However, how do I know the distance at which the lens is focused on if the focusing ring only has markings for 75 and 100mm lenses? Can I assume that the distance markings are the same regardless the focal length of the lens being used?

Fred

I'm looking for a wide-angle lens for my Bronica S2A. Can anyone

tell me the difference in quality among the 5cm/F3.5, 50mm/F3.5 and

50mm F2.8 Nikkor lenses. What about other makes like Komura and

Zenzanon wide-angles? How do they compare with modern Zenzanon PS

series or Zeiss lenses?

Also, the focusing helicord on my S2A body only has distance markings

for 75mm and 100mm lenses. How can I read distance scale when using

wide-angle or tele lenses, especially when I need to check the depth

of field ?

Fred

Hi Kim,

You may already be well advised or confused by the previous posts. It's a tough decision as I also went through the same issue last year. I finally decided on Mamiya 7II for its compact size and light weight. I use this system mainly for travel and causal shots when handholding is preferred.

If you do wildlife, macro or require tele lens, then forget the Mamiya 7II. By the same reasons, I also bought Mamiya RZ67 Pro II, which is also a superb system if you don't mind it's size and weight. I found it okay as I usualy mount it on tripod. It's marco-ability, superb Apo tele lenses and tilt-shift features are really neat.

If you can afford, buy both for your different occasions. Alternatively, you may consider Bronica GS-1 which is, IMO, a good compromise between the pros/cons of the two Mamiya's.

I don't like square format (it's up to your preference) and 645 does not necessarily give you the absolute edge over 35mm.

Let us know what your final decision is and your review in actually using your new camera(s).

Fred

I recently bought this camera w/. 110/2.8 and used on my already owned

Manfrotto 144 + 308RC head. I found this combo ok but not impressive.

I doubt if this combo will hold when I add some heavier lenses like 50

or 180.

Any one uses Gitzo 13XX carbon fibre tripods (particularly the

3-section 1329) on RZ? Your user comments are appreciated. What

other ball heads will be as good as Acra Swiss B1/B2?

Fred

Karl,

I bought the RZ and M7II stuff from Robert White in UK and Tin Cheung Camera Company in Hong Kong respectively without any problems.

Tin Cheung's prices are a bit lower than Robert White, however the former does not accept credit cards but only bank wires. Tin Cheung also doesn't a web-site to browse their prices, which will only be quoted by fax or telephone. I don't have their phone # or fax # now but I will post them later.

I highly recommend either one of these for Mamiya gear as the saving is enormous.

Fred

Thanks for David for his opinion on M7. His concern on the ease of focusing does not bother me. Obviously an AF 35mm SLR is more ideal for street shot or moving object. However, as most Leica or rangefinder users can point out focusing with rangerfinders (incl. M7) is as easy as a SLR after some practising. In fact I found using super-imposing image to focus is a piece of cake even in dim light.

As for using 50/43 wide-angles, what I do is to set the lens at hypo-distance and just use the separate viewfinder for framing. I don't even use the rangefinder. The metering pattern will become a true spot meter which I always prefer. I've shot many chromes with the in-camera meter with full success. Remember the meter gives you readings but it's you to decide how the make the exposure.

M7 is very different from SLR and it's basically a rangerfinder and just like a XL-size Leica. Once you get use to it, you'll love it.

Fred

Hi Karl,

I've been watching the responses to your question on choosing among RZ, M7 & GS-1 and finally would like to add my own comments.

I own a M7 with 50/80/150 and found this set up be extremely suitable for travel or street photo because (1) portability & ergonomics (2) accurate in-camera meter which is essential if you're on the go (3) extremely (repeat: extremely) sharp optics (though I haven't done any scentific or subjective side-by-side comparison with CZ's, all reports and comments from the cyberworld claimed M7's lenses are the best MF lenses made to date and beat CZ's). Fuji's are good too but are even more limited in terms of lens choice and metering (bear in mind rangerfinder system is already a limited system comparing to SLR and it's not convenient to use hand-held meter while you are taking snap shots or traveling).

I haven't tried RZ but have just placed an order with a U.K. distributor and expect shipping this weekend. I've been contemplating this system for over 9 months before making decision. It's definitely a first choice among its peers if you do studio work and field work (with tripod of course)due to the many advantages people already mentioned. The major reason why I decided on it is the versatility when you expand the system later.

I used to owned Bronica SQ-A and have to admit that Bronica makes good MF systems (I still use their older models, S2A & EC-TL, for sentimental reasons) but they are not really outstanding or have absolute advantages over Hassy or Mamiya, In fact, the GS-1 lacks some of the RZ's features which I consider are important, i.e. bellow focusing, revolving backs, tilt/shift lens/adaptor, APO lenses, AE prism allowing spot metering ... etc. Also, if you're a professional, it'll be more easier to rent Mamiya equipment if you don't want to buy gear but have to use them temporarily.

Lastly, I still have to cast my vote on M7. All prints and chromes I got back from it are just STUNNING. Given its size, weight, easy hand-holdability, lens quality and functionality, no other cameras will beat it (even if Fuji's had in-camera meters, they're just fixed focal length)

P.S. You may look into buying the Mamiya's from UK and you will easily save 30-40% if you can live with UK warranty service instead of that offerred locally in N. America.

Happy shooting in 6x7 format anbd let us know what your final conclusion is.

Fred

As you can have good qaulity prints either by using digital back on

medium format SLR (6x6 or 6x7) or printing from a scanned file of

transparancies, which one is better?

Fred

The RZ/RB catalogs show various types of Mamiya carbon fibre tripods.

Does anyone know the quality, features and prices? How do they

compare to counterparts made by Gitzo and Manfrotto/Bogen? Where I

can get them?

Fred

I recently bought a EC-TL via mail order from a private individual.

The camera look fine and all shutter speeds are accurate. However,

the metering LED display in the finder does not work properly.

I corked the shutter and set the camera at "D" without loading the

film. I depressed fully the depth-of-field button and tried to

activate the in-camera meter. Only the 1/8 sec. or Underexposure

Warning lights were on. Sometimes when I set the aperture to F5.6 or

faster, no LED at all were visible (I have a 7.5cm F2.8 P nikkor

lens).

Can somebody help me what's wrong with the meter? Need a repair at a

professional worshop or something I can fix myself? (I don;t know

much electronics). Can I found a repair shop in Canada which can

service old Bronica's? I'm afriad that some electronics parts are

needed to be replaced. Are these parts available?

Thanks

Fred

Interested in knowing the major differences among SQ-Ai, S2A and EC-

TL and their lense quality in color photgraphy

Fred