Mamiya Press Standard Focus Issue

noahswan · Jun 14, 2023

Hello there everyone,

I am relatively new here and have created my account to address this issue;

I recently purchased a Mamiya Standard Press from eBay which was labeled as perfectly usable.
However, upon developing my first two rolls I have noticed (aside from minor light leak) that all of the photos are out of focus, severely, except for some elements less than 2 feet from the camera being sharp (indicating it still operates as collapsed). However, this is the case even with the lens fully extended. I twist it, pull it out to maximum and twist it back (no audible click, it just gets stiff and remains in extended position).

Does anyone have any idea where this might come from?
The extension mechanism being off so the lens doesnt couple properly causing it to be out of whack?

Elements on the lens just fully not working/misaligned/micollimated?

I’m desperate,
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Noah

hashtagquack · Jun 14, 2023

If the RF was out of alignment it usually wouldnt be so bad as to make the resulting images "severely" out of focus. Worthwhile checking if this at least matches at infinity.

If the only sharp items are 2 feet from the camera that would mean its not being shot in a collapsed position and the lens is actually too far from the film plane, not too close. This could be due to the lens being damaged or the film plane being in the wrong position. Is there by any chance an extension back left on the camera body? If you have the ground glass it would be much easier to verify. Or you can make a temporary one from scotch tape

noahswan · Jun 14, 2023

noahswan · Jun 14, 2023

The focusing ring and RF match for all distances. Test done with measuring tape at 3ft 10ft.

However it is focused the photos always come out this blurry, at the exception of some really close elements being sort of focused.

I attached an image above.
Sadly I do not have access to the ground glass attachment.

reddesert · Jun 14, 2023

If the parts of the image that are in focus are only 2 feet away, then the lens is too far from the film, not too close to the film.

When you lock the lens body in extended position, it should move into place and stay there, but there isn't a click or detent. Which lens do you have? I assume we are talking about one of the collapsible lenses, 90mm or 100mm ?

The "Standard" does not have the extendable back (four lock knobs on the sides allow the back to pull away from the body). Are you sure that's what you have? Pictures of the camera and lens would be helpful.

Is the roll film holder firmly seated into the back?

Check that both the front and rear lens cells are firmly screwed into the shutter. If not, you will get focus problems.

The normal close focus limit of the lens is probably about 1m/3 feet, so I don't think this is purely a rangefinder problem, but of course you should also check whether the rangefinder agrees with the distance scale on the lens.

The GG back (which I see you just posted you don't have) is useful for gauging problems, you can also try taping a sheet of frosted paper inside the roll film holder at the film plane.

noahswan · Jun 14, 2023

I have the 90mm 3.5 collapsible.
It doesn’t click. The camera does have extendable bellows. So the it’s the Standard Deluxe? I know it’s neither Super 23 or Universal.

The rangefinder agrees across the board. So it’s purely a lens problem then?

The film holder is firmly in place locked with the screws.
I will attach some photos of the camera in a second.

noahswan · Jun 14, 2023

Unfortunately I cannot post photos of the camera as the files are “too large” (weird as they’re 1.5mb and max size is 2 but hey I don’t make the rules).

noahswan · Jun 14, 2023

Unfortunately I cannot post photos of the camera as the files are “too large” (weird as they’re 1.5mb and max size is 2 but hey I don’t make the rules

How do I check the rear and front lens cells?

hashtagquack · Jun 14, 2023

Whilst waiting for photos of the camera, I would just state the obvious and that is to make sure that the back is not extended at all. If not this then yes, Id highly suspect a lens issue

noahswan · Jun 14, 2023

The back is not extended at all no.

noahswan · Jun 14, 2023

I just noticed something also;
When the lens is collapsed it properly locks into place.

However when it isnt collapsed it doesn’t twist as far as the “click” and doesnt lock, rather jams. Could this be the culprit?

reddesert · Jun 14, 2023

Resize the pictures. Just upload them to a computer and resize them, or use an app if you're restricted to a phone.

The gray/green camera with the rear movements is called a Press 23 or maybe a Press 23 Deluxe. The Standard 23 without the rear movements usually says "Standard" on the front of the top housing.

There's a thread around here with someone trying to understand why his RF was off where there are pictures of what the lens looks like when it's extended; you should be able to see the word "Normal" ahead of the focusing ring when you look straight down from above it. But anyway, I tried to explain that focusing at too-short distances means the lens is not collapsed. The camera should only be able to focus 1m to infinity with the lens in the normal position, and with it collapsed, it focuses beyond infinity. That's why you have to examine whether the back is extended or the lens elements are improperly seated.

noahswan · Jun 14, 2023

I have seen this thread yes. However I do not know how to check if the lens is seated. I tried resizing the photo to no avail.

The back is not extended at all, so I imagine it would be the lens seating. Any tips on how to check this?

MattKing · Jun 14, 2023

Resize the photos to jpegs 1000 pixels on the longest dimension, quality 80/100.

xya · Jun 14, 2023

noahswan said:
I just noticed something also;
When the lens is collapsed it properly locks into place.

However when it isnt collapsed it doesn’t twist as far as the “click” and doesnt lock, rather jams. Could this be the culprit?

Yes, I would say that's the problem.

Mark J · Jun 14, 2023

noahswan said:
Unfortunately I cannot post photos of the camera as the files are “too large” (weird as they’re 1.5mb and max size is 2 but hey I don’t make the rules

How do I check the rear and front lens cells?

Gimp 2 is a simple way to resize photos, use the 'Scale Image' option.

As far as your problem is concerned, I agree with 'xya'.

Mark J · Jun 14, 2023

A quick calc with the lens formula suggests that if it's in focus for 2ft subjects when set at infinity , then the lens is out of position by 16mm ( if it's a 90 ) . This seems surprising.

noahswan · Jun 20, 2023

Hello everyone, I managed to get it right; the previous owner had inserted spacers between the belliws “rods” abd the body., effectively changing the lens to film distance. Now the photos come out sharp. However I’ve got another issue; there are several light leaks and one of them is so bad it might come from the shutter? What do you think?

Thank you all for already helping out so much.

noahswan · Jun 20, 2023

noahswan · Jun 20, 2023

On every single photo of this roll

hashtagquack · Jun 20, 2023

If the leaks werent in your earlier roll then its more likely to be area that you have messed about with whilst restoring the back of the camera to standard spec.

Take the lens off and flash a torch around the rear of the camera at night. Look through the location where the lens was previously mounted. You should be able to see the location of the leak in the chamber.
If still cant see it then remove the film back, replace the lens and repeat on the front.

noahswan · Jun 28, 2023

Hello all,

I checked for light leaks in the dark with a torch and found one where there was a missing/deteriorated light seal. I replaced all the light seals in the film back/around its darkslide slot and shot three rolls again. On rolls in strong sunlight/in daylight the photos always come out like the attached images above

On rolls shot in the dark the negatives are fine and usable.

Starting to think if might be a shutter problem?

I don’t know where to look anymore. Am starting to get desperate as I’ve exhausted all my knowledge. I read on a forum about Leica M6’s leaking light through their rangefinder?

Would that be possible with this?

reddesert · Jun 28, 2023

If you want to diagnose light leaks a standard question is to post a picture of the negative that shows the film all the way to the edge including the part that is normally not exposed. That helps tell where the light is coming from.

I don't have much idea from the picture you posted, possibly a film holder that is not firmly seated into the back. It does not look at all like a shutter problem. The Leica M is a very different system and I don't think it is possible for the Mamiya to leak light from the rangefinder to the film.

It would really be easier to help if you could post pictures of the camera, film holder, etc. It's just so much easier to understand issues from photos ("a picture is worth a thousand words") and I don't understand why photographers have so much difficulty with posting images.

noahswan · Jun 29, 2023

The issue is the same fogging all across the frame as in the picture above. I cant post most of the pictures I took because they exceed 2mb, to answer your comment. The streaks do not show outside of the exposed frame and are on every frame of every roll

noahswan · Jun 29, 2023

Here is the negative

Mamiya Press Standard Focus Issue

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