Help with Mamiya 645e film advance

[stockspics]

hey everyone

first time i have posted here. what an awesome forum!

tonight, i was going to get a picture of my daughters with the 645e, when i fired the shutter, it never released (like if you were doing a bulb exposure), when i tried to advance the film to the next frame, i couldn't (i was on 13 of 15 exposures). i took the camera into a dark room, pulled the film holder out, got the film out of the holder, and loaded up a new roll. i can't advance the film advance winder at all, its stuck.

anyone else have this problem?

do i need to send it off?

if so where?

any help would be huge....thanks

jason

 

[Jon Shiu]

Hello, I would try a fresh battery.

Jon

 

[stockspics]

i guess this shows that i am a film newbie...jon you were right on and i feel silly. i guess i am just used to things beeping and flashing at me coming from the digital world when a battery goes down...haha

jason

 

[Jon Shiu]

Glad you got it working. Actually, I have found the low battery warning, blinking display, I think, does not function properly on the 645E.

Jon

 

[stockspics]

yeah...i didn't see anything blinking over the last couple of days.

since you have experience with this camera, how accurate is using the in-camera meter on the camera? also, i have the 80mm 2.8 and the 55mm 2.8, have you used either of those and i would love to hear your thoughts on those as well. thanks!

 

[Jon Shiu]

The metering accuracy is excellent and I often use "A" aperture priority auto-exposure mode. For on a tripod, with mirror lock up set, I use manual settings.

The 80mm and 55mm are excellent, very sharp lenses. I also recommend the 150mm 3.5 lens.

Jon

 

[23mjm]

I shot with a 645e for 2 years and the meter was very accurate--shot Provia/Velvia and metered very well.

 

[Bob-D659]

Just make sure you don't leave the camera ON all the time, it's pretty easy to do.

 

[stockspics]

jon- i have already thought about the 150mm 3.5 most of what i do is portrait work, so having that focal length would be really nice

bob-D659- are you trying to pull one over on me?

 

[Jon Shiu]

I think the 645e is smart enough to turn it's meter off after a few seconds, ie I haven't run down the batteries from not turning it off.

Jon

 

[Bob-D659]

On some of the 645 models, it's an easy thing to do, and not all of them turn themselves off. I was looking at buying one and the owner's manual had a cautionary notice about this. I don't remember the specific model number of the camera or meter head.

 

[digital_photog]

My 645E battery lasts a long time, but I am not sure it shuts down after a period of time as I always shut it down after shooting. I have the 45mmf2.8, 80mm f2.8, and 150mm f4. I find the meter as accurate as most in camera meters.

Fred

 

[stockspics]

My 645E battery lasts a long time, but I am not sure it shuts down after a period of time as I always shut it down after shooting. I have the 45mmf2.8, 80mm f2.8, and 150mm f4. I find the meter as accurate as most in camera meters.

Fred

ok...dumb question, how do you shut the meter off?

 

[Jon Shiu]

There is a little ring around the shutter release. Turn it to the red dot for off. Or the white dot for on. I rarely use this shutter release lock and don't have a problem with the meter running down. If the button somehow got pushed continuously in a bag, you might have run the meter down.

Jon

 

[digital_photog]

I had this camera for 5 years. Yes the batteries will die even if the camera is turned off. I had the 45mm f2.8 80mm f2.8 and the older copy 150 f4. Great combo for anyone. Alais it had been sold due to the fact that film processing turnaround time was getting longer than 2 weeks. Hope the battery advise has your 645E working again!!!