The 80mm lens arrived several days earlier than expected (these days it’s far quicker to buy second had stuff from Japan than the EU; another unsang Brexit benefit), so I had a chance to get a roll through in the house to test it and the impressions are also very good.

As with the 150mm, the 80mm is not entirely sharp fully open f4, but it is fine at f8, and both lenses give very sharp images even at the closest focusing distance at f16. For some reason I was expecting this lens to also use a 67mm filter, but it uses a 58mm, so step down rings from my 72mm filters it is going to be.

The meter again works well with this lens (for anyone wondering, it’s not a TTL, but I suspect its angle of view might be adjusted for the attached lens, but I can’t find any reliable source to confirm this). The one thing I realised though is that fitting a larger hood on the lenses would interfere with the meter, worth keeping in mind.

I have had a chance to take the camera out for a walk yesterday to see how I get on with it; the film awaits to be scanned, it’s been so long, I forgot how badly Ilford films curl when dry, which is a pain when using a glassless film carrier, so they are getting pressed flatter just now (I do wish Foma made a genuine ISO400, Fomapan Action 400 is nominally around 200-225, and is an excellent film when exposed as such, but I don’t like it at 400, and I need a 400 to shoot MF cameras handheld).

Anyway, even just using the camera for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised how quick it was in getting the image setup and taken. The bright rangefinder makes compositing the image fast, and the meter readings inside it mean I can just thumb the speed selector while looking through. The focusing works better for some scenes than others, but generally is pretty quick (the camera being quite big means the two rangefinder lenses are quite far apart, so the parallax is fairly pronounced, which helps). Essentially, it’s as quick to use as shooting a modern digital in fully manual mode, which is quite a big difference compared to the Rolleiflex I usually use.

(While I am a huge fan of the WLF, I find the initial image setup on the Rolleiflex and Bronicas to be bit of a faff, as I have to pop up the magnifier to get the focus right, then pop it down to compose the image. That said, a decent quality micro prism, such as Rick Oleson BrightScreen, is lot more flexible as a focusing device; I have the version with the split in the middle on the Rolleiflex, but on the GS-1 I ended going for just the micro prism, having found the angled split device only occasionally useful, but in both cases it was money well spent.)

Just about the only thing that is missing in the Mamiya range finder is some sort of a depth of field indication, or at least the selected f-stop indication; on the Rolleiflex there is a prominent depth of field indicator on the focus knob, clearly visible when looking at down at the WLF, and I use it a lot for hyperfocal focusing when in a hurry.

The mid roll lens change works well, you get used to having to close/open the blackout curtain quickly enough (and the camera will not let you remove the lens / take a photo without doing so).

Some overall thoughts on the Mamiya 7ii as hiking camera (as opposed to the Rolleiflex), since this was the nominal excuse for succumbing to this particular GAS attack:

  • Weight-wise there is nothing in it; the Mamiya with the 80mm lens is pretty much the same weight as the Rolleiflex, both coming in at almost exactly 1300g.

  • The Mamiya form factor is lot more awkward for packing than the Rolleiflex. Whereas the latter fits neatly into a Tenba BYOB 7, the Mamiya needs a BYOB 10, but this is then big enough for the camera with the 150mm lens on, and an extra lens, film and filters (or perhaps third lens, if one was so included).

  • When carrying around the neck, the Mamiya is very bulky for stashing inside a jacket in case of a quick shower; the Rolleiflex is a bit better in this regard.

  • The Rolleiflex is, I think, a better camera for wet weather, as I can usually shield it adequately with my body and head; this is not a negligeable consideration here in Scotland, as the Mamiya is not weather resistant.

I’ll post some pictures when I have something that merits showing, which could be a long time … 🙂