Mamiya 6/6MF - custom light meter adjustment/replacement ?

Matus Kalisky · Dec 30, 2013

Hello,

I am using Mamiya 6 with all 3 lenses for more than 2 years. Within the limitations inherent to being a RF camera it really is a perfect travel MF camera.

But there is one thing that constantly bugs me - the light meter. It is sensitive to an area larger than the coverage of the 50 lens (!) and so in most situations nearly unusable - often leading to heavy (depending on the conditions up to two stops) underexposure. This is also a reason why I have used a hand-held meter (Gossen Digisix) on very most occasions. Under more challenging conditions (moving subject) or changing light this was/is a disadvantage at times.

My question is - is there a shop anywhere in the world that would be able to re-adjust (or even swap from Mamiya 7) the light meter such that it would measure over smaller angle?

I know that an obvious solution would be to get a Mamiya 7 (which I may consider at some point, the 43 lens is tempting), but I would rather keep the 6 because of the format and collapsing mount (genius feature IMO).

thank you

brian steinberger · Dec 30, 2013

I too love the mamiya 6. I have 2 bodies and all three lenses. The light meter is sensitive to areas outside the meter area, mainly the sky in my shooting situations. To correct this I shoot in AEL mode and tilt the camera downward and lock that reading in then recompose and shoot. I also set the ISO dial one stop below what I normally shoot. But I would say 90% of the time I use my Pentax spot meter with the camera. Much more riable. The meter really is the weak point of this camera. As for swapping meters, I doubt it could be done and in most cases with these older electronic cameras, the less you mess with the guts of the camera the better! That's been my experience anyways. I'd reccomend trying the deal with the meter by trying my trick and use your handheld meter whenever possible. It's a great camera! And I would never trade mine for a mamiya 7!

Mike Crawford · Dec 30, 2013

Have just come back from doing a shoot with my Mamiya 6. I've never really thought about the meter being a problem and infact find it very consistent. There again I normally always use it in the exposure lock mode; the square symbol next to B I think. Before final composition, will choose the tone closest to what I think is the appropriate mid tone for the shot, take a reading with the centre spot, hold down the shutter to lock the exposure and then re-compose and focus. That's one thing I love about the rangefinder that the exposure lock will not effect the focus.

Having said that, bet my films come out duff now!!

grahamp · Dec 30, 2013

I have heard of people putting a small black 'sun shade' over the top of the finder window to cutout some top light. I tend to avoid using the built-in meter for actual measurements, and I have a permanent plus exposure adjustment dialed in on my M6. The meter is consistent with my others under the right conditions, but coping with it's quirks is tedious.

RalphLambrecht · Dec 30, 2013

Matus Kalisky said:
Hello,

I am using Mamiya 6 with all 3 lenses for more than 2 years. Within the limitations inherent to being a RF camera it really is a perfect travel MF camera.

But there is one thing that constantly bugs me - the light meter. It is sensitive to an area larger than the coverage of the 50 lens (!) and so in most situations nearly unusable - often leading to heavy (depending on the conditions up to two stops) underexposure. This is also a reason why I have used a hand-held meter (Gossen Digisix) on very most occasions. Under more challenging conditions (moving subject) or changing light this was/is a disadvantage at times.

My question is - is there a shop anywhere in the world that would be able to re-adjust (or even swap from Mamiya 7) the light meter such that it would measure over smaller angle?

I know that an obvious solution would be to get a Mamiya 7 (which I may consider at some point, the 43 lens is tempting), but I would rather keep the 6 because of the format and collapsing mount (genius feature IMO).

thank you

As another Mamiya6 fan with the same set up,I fully agree but recommend to stick to the Gossen Digisix.It is the perfect travel companion toyour camera;very accurate and reliable.also the 43mm vs your 50mm won't make much difference anyway Your lens trio are the best optics I own.Afew years ago, I made a trip visiting french cathedrialsand the Mamiya 6 left me with stunning images with beautiful contrast and detail.I cannot praise that camera and it's lenses enough.

revdocjim · Jan 1, 2014

I've owned and used the 6 for about a year and a half now and just love it. I'm somewhat surprised by the complaints about the meter as I haven't noticed it. But then again, I've mostly shot monochrome negative film and with it's great latitude minor exposure errors just haven't been an issue.

markaudacity · Jul 25, 2024

Matus Kalisky said:
It is sensitive to an area larger than the coverage of the 50 lens (!) and so in most situations nearly unusable

I don't believe this is accurate. Mamiya themselves say the meter reads an area equivalent to the 150mm frame. It's not a spot meter, so it does register light outside that area, but based on my use of the 6 it is heavily center-weighted, to the degree that with AEL it is more or less selective metering.

I have also found that for negatives, I can trust the meter implicitly in all but extreme contrast or extreme backlight situations that would trip up even a matrix meter. First roll I shot entirely on auto, and every frame turned out.

MTGseattle · Jul 28, 2024

Based upon this thread, I feel like I need to go back and evaluate some of my negatives to see if I have had any errors that can be moved from operator to equipment error. I'm about 50/50 on in camera vs hand-held meter use.

GregY · Jul 28, 2024

Matus Kalisky said:
Hello,

I am using Mamiya 6 with all 3 lenses for more than 2 years. Within the limitations inherent to being a RF camera it really is a perfect travel MF camera.

But there is one thing that constantly bugs me - the light meter. It is sensitive to an area larger than the coverage of the 50 lens (!) and so in most situations nearly unusable - often leading to heavy (depending on the conditions up to two stops) underexposure. This is also a reason why I have used a hand-held meter (Gossen Digisix) on very most occasions. Under more challenging conditions (moving subject) or changing light this was/is a disadvantage at times.

My question is - is there a shop anywhere in the world that would be able to re-adjust (or even swap from Mamiya 7) the light meter such that it would measure over smaller angle?

I know that an obvious solution would be to get a Mamiya 7 (which I may consider at some point, the 43 lens is tempting), but I would rather keep the 6 because of the format and collapsing mount (genius feature IMO).

thank you

Matus, I have to say I used & loved the Mamiya 6 over a number of years. I used it almost exclusively in the mountains with wildly varying lighting conditions. In addition to using both a Pentax 1° meter and an incident meter, I frequently used the onboard meter. I only photograph in B&W and process and print my own film. In all that time i never had any reason to fault the meter & if the camera were ever produced in a non electronic version, I would buy back in in a heartbeat.

Arthurwg · Jul 28, 2024

GregY, great picture!

Big G · Jul 29, 2024

I have to agree that the meter on the 6 is not the best, but it's perfectly serviceable within its limitations. As suggested above, the AEL is a great help, and a +1 exposure compensation adjustment done as a matter of course is a good idea. I've hardly had any trouble with underexposure in the 20+ years I've used this camera. Slightly off topic: it's beautiful to hold, and always attracts attention from other photographers. . In China, where it must be exceedingly rare, everyone wanted to have a look at it. And even in Japan, I've only ever seen one other person carrying one.

Mamiya 6/6MF - custom light meter adjustment/replacement ?

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