mamiya 6 lost shot/ loading difficulties

Leon · Mar 5, 2008

I bought a mamiya 6 a while ago and am finding that more often than not (although by no means everytime), when loading a film, the arrow on the film backing overshoots the marker in the camera back by about 1 -1 1/2 cm. this leads to me losing about 1/3 of the last shot on the roll ... am I doing something wrong in loading? I load according to the manual and always use ilford films - I've heard of similar problems with Ilford films and hasselblads .....?

David Henderson · Mar 5, 2008

I have a Mamiay 7 rather than a 6 though I assume these to be similar. If you make your last wind-on stroke a part stroke just sufficient to bring the arrows to the marker then I think this will go away.

RH Designs · Mar 5, 2008

Leon said:
I bought a mamiya 6 a while ago and am finding that more often than not (although by no means everytime), when loading a film, the arrow on the film backing overshoots the marker in the camera back by about 1 -1 1/2 cm. this leads to me losing about 1/3 of the last shot on the roll ... am I doing something wrong in loading? I load according to the manual and always use ilford films - I've heard of similar problems with Ilford films and hasselblads .....?

Don't wind the film arrow past the markers on the camera, you don't need to wind a full stroke. Just close the back when the arrows line up, and all should be well. There's little margin for error, I usually find the last frame is within half an inch or less of the end of the film and there's a bigger margin at the beginning.

Leon · Mar 5, 2008

ta very much richard and david - I assumed it needed a full stroke. losing a shot per roll was starting to get me down

RH Designs · Mar 5, 2008

Leon said:
ta very much richard and david - I assumed it needed a full stroke. losing a shot per roll was starting to get me down

I still lose one or two occasionally from leaving the wretched lens cap on! The camera has interlocks for everything imaginable except that ... :rolleyes:

Leon · Mar 5, 2008

well - yes, that one gets me at least one shot per roll too ... if only the metering was ttl - then there would be an indication that something was wrong

Ailsa · Mar 5, 2008

RH Designs said:
I still lose one or two occasionally from leaving the wretched lens cap on! The camera has interlocks for everything imaginable except that ... :rolleyes:

I never once had that problem with my Mamiya 6, until suddenly on holiday last year I left it on three times in the space of a couple of days. Now I'm paranoid about it! Fortunately my 'assistant'/tripod carrier noticed each time so I was able to re-shoot. He has his uses.

I also didn't know that you don't have to make a full wind of the lever. Useful bit of info!

MartinB · Mar 5, 2008

I wind a couple of full strokes with the lever that leaves the backing paper mark short of the arrows in the camera. I then use my thumbs on the edge of the take up spool to wind some more film onto the spool to line up the marks. Not sure if this puts stress on the mechanism but so far has not caused any problems and always get the full 12 frames (except for the severely under-exposed shots of the inside of the lens cap! I don't feel so bad with the other admissions in this post)

I must thank Ailsa - it was her positive comments on the M6 in one of her editorials that led me to get a used camera and I am glad I did as it really suits my working style. I really enjoy using this camera!

Martin

RH Designs · Mar 6, 2008

Ailsa said:
I never once had that problem with my Mamiya 6, until suddenly on holiday last year I left it on three times in the space of a couple of days. Now I'm paranoid about it!

I've got into the habit of removing the cap whenever I extend the lens, and not putting it back without retracting the lens. That has reduced the incidence of blanks but there's still the odd one. A friend who watched me framing a shot with the cap on once remarked "Ah, what you see is what you would have got!" and that's kind of stuck in my head

Muihlinn · Mar 6, 2008

grab the camera, remove the cap and do not put it again until it goes again to the bag. Usually the shade and a filter does the rest.
Anyhow I'm used to RF and never had a blank due caps

mamiya 6 lost shot/ loading difficulties

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mamiya 6 lost shot/ loading difficulties

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