How do you get used to using rangefinders? - Mamiya 7

GarageBoy · Jun 21, 2016

I cannot for the life of me use RF's quickly -
Focus on the spot, recompose, check where the edges of the frame lines are - horizons always look funny, the lens blocks the lower right corner -

Any tips?

Ko.Fe. · Jun 21, 2016

I never bother to focus-recompose with RF cameras. And never have it as the problem with horizons and lens blocks.
So, try to take it easy.

4season · Jun 21, 2016

The larger the format the trickier it becomes to take fast snapshots because there's less and less depth of field to work with, but I rely heavily on the distance scale and DoF indicators on the lens barrel, so when a situation arises, I simply compose and shoot. I find 35mm and 6x4.5 cameras a bit more forgiving of this kinda-sorta focused approach, especially with wide angle lenses.

Dan Daniel · Jun 21, 2016

Practice. And shoot. The feedback loop of shoting- looking at film- shooting is how you get better and have it become second nature.

And there may come a day when you have to accept that the camera is not for you. This is why there are so many different cameras out there. One style does not work for everyone.

Jim Noel · Jun 21, 2016

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

moto-uno · Jun 21, 2016

You have one of the better rangefinder windows to work with ( not to mention optics ), however this
doesn't equate to quick shooting experiences in the beginning . When you see the results that are
possible with this camera , you'll probably find it easier to come to grips with rangefinder handling.
Peter

dasBlute · Jun 21, 2016

if you want to be precise, work from a tripod

but with a mamiya 7, you've got resolution to spare,
if you want to shoot from-the-hip, select an aperture,
prefocus using the depth-field-markings on the lens
so that the far range is infinity [poor man's hyperfocal].
Now, note the point of focus, this may be like 10ft or
something. As you work, that's roughly how far you need
to be from your subject. You can anticipate situations on the fly.

now, use exposure priority and go with the moment,
you can crop to make things level later.

above all, keep practicing until it's second nature,
you've got one of the best camera's ever made, enjoy!!

some mamiya 7 [and rollei] shots using this technique:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stormiticus/tags/street/

John Koehrer · Jun 21, 2016

As 4season and Das Blute suggest it works.
Composing? it's not going to be accurate anyway(ducks), close maybe. You want
accurate composition SLR's or view cameras are better.

DREW WILEY · Jun 21, 2016

It's an awful lot of money for a "point n shoot" mentality. And if focus isn't precisely where you intend it to be, having allegedly sharper lenses is
meaningless. Every time I've picked up an M7, I've wondered whether I could adapt to it, even with routine tripod use. I'm not suggesting I couldn't ...
but I've already got a 6x7 system I fully own, am very familiar with, and that is quite reliable, even if it does weigh twice as much. Forking out that
money on a gamble ... I do know people that have changed their mind and gone back to MF SLR's. I'd rather solve the question with a 6x9 Texas Leica, which is not only a lot cheaper, but a significantly bigger neg.

ColColt · Jun 21, 2016

RF's in general are not for everybody. Fortunately, I took to them as easily as the SLR. I have three Leicas that have been a joy to shoot, the M2, M3 and M4 with the latter having the brighter patch but nothing wrong with the others. I bounce back and forth between Nikons and Leicas often to the brick weight Pentax 6x7.

I've only run across one camera I wouldn't deal with-the 4x5 view camera.

RattyMouse · Jun 22, 2016

GarageBoy said:
I cannot for the life of me use RF's quickly -
Focus on the spot, recompose, check where the edges of the frame lines are - horizons always look funny, the lens blocks the lower right corner -

Any tips?

Wow....just wow. You have a very strange shooting method. No wonder you can't get used to it.

Here's my method: Focus, compose, shoot.

Takes me seconds if not shorter.

Tony Egan · Jun 22, 2016

Try an 8x10 for a month and then go back to the Mamiya 7!
I have both and many other cameras in between. It's a perfect travel camera in my view if you want to take a few extra minutes and be a bit selective with a subject and get the bigger negatives compared to 35mm. With landscapes a flash mount spirit level is handy as well as a tripod. I quite often use the DOF range on the focusing ring setting infinity just inside the chosen aperture mark, usually f16 or 22. I find the meter on mine is also pretty reliable. If I need to rush, setting it on Auto exposure with a +1 exposure compensation for B&W film usually gives acceptable results. Every tool has its optimum applications. One of my most recent shots using above approach:

gone · Jun 22, 2016

Not everyone is cut out for rangefinders. For us types that started out w/ SLRs, they at first seem like a giant step backwards. You can't see whether or not you have a lens cap on by looking through the viewfinder, you can't see the image come into focus (which is disconcerting and weird), and what you see in there is not often what you get on the negative. Some cameras don't have very contrasty focus patches either, which makes focusing in low light difficult, and that's supposed to be a rangefinder's strength.

I don't much like them, but can use them as fast as an SLR. Maybe it's just about practice, practice, practice. I do like the little Konica C 35 cameras though because they're so small and light, cheap to buy, have parallax correction in the viewfinder, great lenses, and AE w/ exposure lock by halfway depressing the shutter button. This speeds things up considerably. I still prefer to see only what the lens is seeing and not all that extra stuff around the image, and love seeing the shot come into focus.

GregW · Jun 22, 2016

Use your right eye and keep your left eye open. Zone focus. Take lots and lots of pictures.

GarageBoy · Jun 22, 2016

RattyMouse said:
Wow....just wow. You have a very strange shooting method. No wonder you can't get used to it.

Here's my method: Focus, compose, shoot.

Takes me seconds if not shorter.

That's the thing - composing is harder for me on rangefinders - I wear glasses (astigmatism, so I can't even get diopter inserts) because of the faint frame lines- also, the viewfinder almost feels "too big" and I have to move my eyes around a lot - Maybe I got way used to knowing that if it's in my viewfinder, it'll be on the film -

Oddly enough, composing with a view camera is not as hard

RattyMouse · Jun 22, 2016

GarageBoy said:
That's the thing - composing is harder for me on rangefinders - I wear glasses (astigmatism, so I can't even get diopter inserts) because of the faint frame lines- also, the viewfinder almost feels "too big" and I have to move my eyes around a lot - Maybe I got way used to knowing that if it's in my viewfinder, it'll be on the film -

Oddly enough, composing with a view camera is not as hard

I wear glasses too, but shoot rangefinders with probably THE best viewfinders out there anywhere, the Fujifilm GF670 and GF670W. You really can't ask for a better viewfinder, anywhere.

DREW WILEY · Jun 22, 2016

Those new Fuji/Bessa units are beautifully made, and I could have even picked up a clean demo unit at a very good price, but doubt a camera of this
type would survive very long in the kinds of weather I often encounter. And sadly, rangefinders in general aren't very practical with the longer focal
length lenses I prefer. At least the M7 has a few interchangeable focal lengths. This summer I'll be packing a 4x5 with 6x9 roll film backs. But next
year I'm tentatively planning a full 3-week backpack in rough terrain, so need even more space in the pack reserved for something called "food".
My P67 system weighs just as much as the 4x5 kit, and is far less versatile, other than being much faster to operate. But I'll be terrain where the
subject matter might actually be amenable to that stretched landscape view of a fixed-lens Fuji GW690. Thinking, thinking... coveting ...

Alan Gales · Jun 22, 2016

Everybody is different. Practice with it and you will get better. Will you end up enjoying the rangefinder experience? I don't know.

One thing that I really like about rangefinders is that my nose is out of the way with them. I've got a big nose and it's always pressed up against the camera with 35mm SLR's.

Gerald C Koch · Jun 22, 2016

I was a bit surprised by this thread. I have never had any problems shooting either type camera. Perhaps this has to do with first starting with rangefinders. At the tine only professionals had SLR's, they were heavy, bulky, clumsy and expensive. Most amateurs had RF's.

Setting the camera to the hyperfocal distance can be quite useful with RF's as is anticipating the exposure setting. Framing doesn't have to be exact. That is what enlargers and darkrooms are for. HCB excepted of course.

DREW WILEY · Jun 22, 2016

There's not much surplus real estate on roll film, so accurate composition when composition ain't a bad idea, while relying on hyperfocal is a bad idea, that is, if enlarge much. But that's more related to depth of field issues you might get away with with wide angle lenses, and not necessarily longer lenses. For that kind of street work I actually prefer the rendering of some of the older rangefinders lenses. Landscape is different.

rwreich · Jun 22, 2016

As a newer M7ii user, here's my take:

I focus, then compose, but if I don't shoot right away and the scene changes because the subject moves or elements move in the frame, then I find that I have to focus, compose, and shoot, all over again.

The trick, IMO, is to make a habbit of committing to the shot immediately after composing. Otherwise, the scene is prone to change.

ColColt · Jun 22, 2016

That's the thing - composing is harder for me on rangefinders - I wear glasses (astigmatism, so I can't even get diopter inserts) because of the faint frame lines- also, the viewfinder almost feels "too big" and I have to move my eyes around a lot - Maybe I got way used to knowing that if it's in my viewfinder, it'll be on the film -

I wear glasses as well and have an astigmatism. My prescription for distance is +1.75. If I get new glasses I can see as good as I ever did...nearly. If time goes on and I start having trouble focusing I have two diopters, one for the Nikon F2 series and another for the Leica M. I'll use those if necessary till I can get another eye check up and some new specs. They always make a difference and I don't have to use the diopters anymore.

CropDusterMan · Jun 22, 2016

Shoot lots.

shutterlight · Jun 23, 2016

When it comes to the 7, I think you're either meant for it or not. There's not much grey area. I instantly took to the 7 from the very first time I picked up a friend's to test it out with, and I got everything in focus on the first roll. I loved everything about it, and immediately decided to get one of my own as soon as possible (which turned out to be about a week). I've known others that just couldn't get used to it, and that's okay too.

I also have glasses, and also have an astigmatism, and it still works for me. Practice helps a lot, of course, as many have already posted.

GarageBoy · Jun 23, 2016

Well - got my first rolls back today - holy cow, this 65/4 is deadly sharp - even with my sloppy technique - the photos didn't turn out that badly... guess I'll use it a few more times under more relaxed situations

How do you get used to using rangefinders? - Mamiya 7

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