Just bought my first medium format camera…

[saman13]

Update to my comment, I just read that if the aperture selector lever won't budge then the culprit is probably stuck aperture blades. Is this true?

 

[saman13]

Decided to stop being lazy and asking people questions I could answer myself. Took it apart and sure enough, it was because the aperture blades were frozen up. I thought it was weird because the shutter blades were dead accurate. Oh well. Working them free with some ronsonol right now. They start operating smooth then after a few minutes get stiff again....
But I've had this same issue with the canonets I've repaired. Just have to be persistent.
Plus, the seller agreed to refund half of the purchase price so now this is a $22 65mm lens.

 

[saman13]

And it's fixed! Let it sit overnight after working the blades for a bit and they're smooth as can be now. The glass has some blemishes and hairline scratches that the seller did not advertise but everything else works so I'll see if there is an impact on the image quality.

With these older chrome lenses, is the aperture adjustment not very precise? I ask because the pointer sits past 3.5 when it is fully open and also sits past 32 when fully closed. I've got to think that this could cause some exposure issues when using intermediate apertures, especially with slide film.

 

[pbromaghin]

Yes, I believe the C2's, C22's and C220 had no auto-cocking feature, but that and other things made them lighter and less prone to something breaking down. If it ain't there, it can't break.

My C33 doesn't have it and my repair guy told me it was quite common for photographers to remove them, likely for that very reason.

 

[MattKing]

And it's fixed! Let it sit overnight after working the blades for a bit and they're smooth as can be now. The glass has some blemishes and hairline scratches that the seller did not advertise but everything else works so I'll see if there is an impact on the image quality.

With these older chrome lenses, is the aperture adjustment not very precise? I ask because the pointer sits past 3.5 when it is fully open and also sits past 32 when fully closed. I've got to think that this could cause some exposure issues when using intermediate apertures, especially with slide film.

I don't know if you have already seen this, or if it answers one or more of your questions, but the best reference on Mamiya TLRs is Graham Patterson's excellent resource: http://gapatterson.org/mfaq.html
Graham posts regularly here on APUG under the screen name grahamp.
If you had included a reference to your camera model in your thread title (hint, hint), there is a reasonable chance he would have seen your thread and participated in it already.

 

[saman13]

I don't know if you have already seen this, or if it answers one or more of your questions, but the best reference on Mamiya TLRs is Graham Patterson's excellent resource: http://gapatterson.org/mfaq.html
Graham posts regularly here on APUG under the screen name grahamp.
If you had included a reference to your camera model in your thread title (hint, hint), there is a reasonable chance he would have seen your thread and participated in it already.

I've read through all through his PDF on the TLR system and it's a great resource! More space seems to be devoted towards the 220 and 330 models rather than the C2, but that makes sense considering those two are newer and more popular. But, very good information on the lenses in there.

 

[paul ron]

And it's fixed! Let it sit overnight after working the blades for a bit and they're smooth as can be now. The glass has some blemishes and hairline scratches that the seller did not advertise but everything else works so I'll see if there is an impact on the image quality.

With these older chrome lenses, is the aperture adjustment not very precise? I ask because the pointer sits past 3.5 when it is fully open and also sits past 32 when fully closed. I've got to think that this could cause some exposure issues when using intermediate apertures, especially with slide film.

that small difference doesn't impact the exposures. although, I'm a bit fussy n do align it just out of habit.

if the scratches do flare, you can blacken them n that will reduce it. I've had lenses with big gashes
I blackened n you can't even notice anything in the images.

 

[saman13]

that small difference doesn't impact the exposures. although, I'm a bit fussy n do align it just out of habit.

if the scratches do flare, you can blacken them n that will reduce it. I've had lenses with big gashes
I blackened n you can't even notice anything in the images.

I think a good lens hood should do some good. I ordered a couple of step up rings, 46-52 and 49-52 so I can use the same filters that I use for my Nikkors AND the larger lens hoods. Not to mention the ridiculous prices for the Mamiya lens hoods.

I dropped off my first roll of FP4 at my photo lab yesterday (I don't have either a scanner or an enlarger so unfortunately it doesn't make any sense for me to develop myself yet) so hopefully I should have results in the next few days. I'm seriously liking this camera. There is something about that WLF that just makes me want to shoot. And that is a good thing. Plus, with that lens refund, it dropped the cost of the system down below $110. Happy shooting!

 

[MattKing]

You may find that "normal" lens hoods will disappoint, because they generally get in the way of the viewing lens.

 

[saman13]

Just got the scans from my first roll back! Some I'm happy with, some I'm not. Luckily though the photos I'm not happy with were all due to user error and the camera and lenses are all working perfectly it seems. It was also my first time using FP4 and I think I am going to order some more of it. Here are some of the scans:

First time trying to shoot with fill flash on film and at greater distances I liked the results

In Texas we may not have mountains, but we definitely have barbed wire

Now, photos I was less than happy with. At close distances, the fill flash was too much. I was using my SB-15 on auto and the indicated aperture was f/4, so I set my camera to f/5.6. This worked well at longer distances but I should have set my aperture to f/8 at this closer distance so the photo doesn't scream "HE USED FLASH!"

On this photo I didn't realize how shallow the DOF would be. I envisioned a nice photo with the lily pads in focus, but hardly anything ended up being in focus. I think I used f/5.6. Should have used at least f/11!

In all, I really enjoyed shooting with this camera and I can't wait to put more film through it. It will take some time to get used to composing in a square frame.
Any advice on how to improve my use of fill flash? I might post the same question in the lighting forum for more help.
I didn't use any filters for the shots which I think would have helped. There was a lot of texture in the sky with the clouds that evening but without a filter it was all lost in the negative. But, the step-up rings I ordered haven't come in yet, so everything is going to be un-filtered for now.
Tips for improvement are welcome!

 

[MattKing]

Your fill flash problem may have more to do with the layout of your subject than anything else.
The auto sensor on your flash might not be well suited to this sort of use. If the sensor is overly influenced by light bouncing back from the background, than a scene where your main subject is off centre may end up with too much light on that subject.
Also, be sure that the camera isn't blocking part of the field of the flash sensor.
In either case, the solution may end up being manual flash and guide number calculations.

 

[Marco Gilardetti]

Congrats Sam, you're entering the mid-format photography with a "pro" grade camera, very smartly chosen!

I like the first protrait you posted, the image cut is superb. The light in the background complementing the subject over the diagonal is lovely.

The picture of the barbed wire is also brilliant.

 

[saman13]

Congrats Sam, you're entering the mid-format photography with a "pro" grade camera, very smartly chosen!

I like the first protrait you posted, the image cut is superb. The light in the background complementing the subject over the diagonal is lovely.

The picture of the barbed wire is also brilliant.

Thank you for the kind words, Marco!