With those protruding lenses it looks positively lethal. Point that in any direction and you'll have people running.Another gem,David,both camera and video.
Hi there, I really appreciate your videos on the Mamiya c3 professional that my wife just bought me for my birthday. I'm anxious to try it as soon I bought 120 films. This camera is my 9th . on my vintage camera collection . Thanks
Thank you for this video, I found it really useful to remind myself how to use this camera. Now and then I take something from my collection and shoot with it. Your video was most helpful, well done !
Enjoyed the videos Dave - I am no one gets lost in the details as they are not difficult to use at all once you use them a few times. And they are very fun to use. I may have missed it, but it is also important to understand how the exposure guide is linked to the parallax lines in the viewfinder. That is, use the lower line when you are in the 2X range as your upper boundary and use the first upper line when you are in the 1.5X range. If not, you will likely cut off heads.
thank you very much for your videos! learnt a lot! one question: what does the multi exposure knob actually do? If I use a roll film, could I not just leave the knob on roll film and just take a second picture without rolling the film? might be a stupid question but Im new to tlr's😅
I used to use the C330 for portraits, etc. and loved it. Here's my gripe. Of having looked at most of the videos on youtube about them I haven't found one that actually took pics with something other than the 80 lens. These cameras really shine when using the 135 or 180 for portraits. That would really change people's minds about their capabilities.
That's a fair point and unfortunately I won't be using this lens for photos, since I'm selling it this week. But when I get a 330F (which is the next of these I want to review) I plan to get a 65 and 180 again to take photos with for a real review of the camera. The Mamiya lenses were simply spectacular.
I have a C3, and I was glad to have some clarity on exposure compensation as the bellows is extended, using the teeny and hard-to-read chart on the left-hand side. A couple of things: the lens releaser won't release unless the bellows is all the way retracted (a close look will tell you why). Secondly, when changing lenses with the camera on a tripod, make very sure you have a hand on the lens as you flip open the bail, so the lens doesn't land on the floor. Could that have been what happened to the beat-up 180mm you used in your video? Finally, tikkathreebarrls wants to know if the exposure compensation scales are read at the edge of the camera body. My C3 has a pretty obvious index mark on the lower "chin" of the body. The 135mm distance scale (only, as far as I can tell) is read at the edge of the body. Thanks for an informative video.
I'm here from video 1. This is excellent. Thank you for doing this. Hypothetically speaking (cause it's exactly what happened) I broke the mirror inside the camera cause of how I packed the camera. In your opinion, is the camera dead? Can it be repaired or should it be replaced and now I have a nice new book end for the book shelf?
That's pretty easy to replace if you can access it. You'll need to order a surface-coated mirror. That's mandatory otherwise the mirror will focus the viewfinder image differently that the image on the film. Surface-coated mirrors can be ordered on eBay. If the seller doesn't have the dimensions you may need to provide them. Then it's just a matter of replacing the mirror. With the new mirror in hand, should be about a 30-minute repair.
My late father shot professionally on a Mamiya C33 long before I was born. I think it's time I got hold of one of these grand old lady's and shoot some images on one myself.
Hi David. Thank you for your videos on the C3. I have a 55mm lens, so is there a way to use, or adapt, the focusing scale and exposure compensation with this lens?
Hmm. Good question. I haven't used the 55, but I would guess that you can estimate the distance and compensation based on the 65mm data. You might also be able to find a compensation guide from a later model of these online. But in general, just add a bit more light than called for work the 65mm. Modern film stocks are way more forgiving than the film made when these were produced, so if you imagine a compensation scale that looks like the 65mm but that reaches higher compensation levels more quickly, you'll probably be fine. If you're shooting really close subjects and find that your exposures are longer than one second, you will also need reciprocity failure correction as well as the compensation needed for the lens.
Hi David. Great video! If you were to get one lens for street photography/landscapes, would you go with the 80mm, 105mm or 180mm? (Or something else? I want to avoid the 55 and 65 as I've heard that they are more prone to haze. Is this true?). Thank you kindly!
I would go with the 55, honestly. Haze can be cleaned. If you don't want to do it then a camera repairman can. As a general rule, wider is better for street work because you don't have as much time for precise framing. I might suggest that this camera would be hard for street photography in general. A 120 rangefinder or a 645 camera may work better due solely to them being lighter and less conspicuous. With this, all your subjects will be staring at the camera as you take their photo (which could work, as I think about it.
Hi David. Off topic question if you don't mind as you seem to know Mamiya RB67 Pro SD inside out. I just purchased mine from Japan and seem to have a problem. I can't focus on anything more than 6 feet from lens. As I extend the bellows out with my KL 90mm lens the focus screen just get blurred and blurrier the further try to focus. so at infinity I can't even see the image on the screen. I tried this with my brand new KL 65mm lens with same results. Have you any idea what could be wrong. Is it me or the camera. I much appreciate your help as I'm testing my hair out. Thank you. Alan
That's curious. So as you focus further away from the camera then the focus should get closer. So that in mind let's troubleshoot. 1- You'll need some FROSTED clear Scotch tape. What you're going to do is tape that to the back of the film guide rails to make an ad hoc focusing screen inside your camera. Frosted tape will let the image focus onto the tape. 2- Mount the camera on a tripod and find something in focus on the focusing screen. Verify if the focus on the tape matches that on the screen. So there are two possible outcomes here. A- the tape matches what SHOULD be in focus. For instance, if you are focused at infinity but what's on the focusing screen is at six feet and what's on the tape is infinity then we know the focus points don't match. B- the focus points match. If they do not match and this is consistently the case with multiple lenses then we know there's an issue with the reflex mirror alignment in the top of the camera, or there's an issue with the focus screen installation or placement. If you're handy at tinkering, that may be fixable at home. If not, the Fix Old Cameras channel knows more about Mamiyas than anyone on TH-cam and might be able to help with some ideas on repairs (at home or not.) If they do match then there's something else at issue. Either the bellows is not able to retract fully of there's a macro lens on the front of each lens (check that there's nothing in the bay filters to easily rule that out), or there's something else going on that's pushing the lenses away from the front of the camera. Let me know how those tests turn out and I might be able to help further if there's no easy remedy at that point.
Thanks for the awesome tutorial! it’s crazy how u seemingly have in depth video on every obscure camera I’m interested in. Any differences between the c220 and have ever come across the 250mm Lens? I’m thinking of buying one or the other
Thank you! for the C220, I can't speak to it directly as I've not used one and really don't know much about it. The 250mm lens has a good reputation. I've, again, never used one. Mamiya's medium-format lenses tended to be exceptional and the 250 has a great reputation.
so i recently aquired a c3 but the shutter cock release lever was broken (cleanly) at the base is it possible to fix this by taking it in to a shop or if i can possibly model/super glue it back on? im afraid to try and dismantle by myself
I do not know. I would think that glue would only hold for a few shots and would risk getting into the gear while still wet. I'd suggest sending it in for repair. The Fix Old Cameras channel might know a good repair person familiar with Mamiya cameras.
The exposure compensation scale on the left side of the body: I missed hearing you say that you read off the scale at the point where the scale comes out of the camera body: is that the correct reading? I would add that my C3 doesn't have the quick focus scale on the right side of the body so maybe there were different iterations of C3?
Could have been production variances or it could be the sticker on yours fell off. But yes, the scale is read at the point where the lines and body meet.
Hmm. Are you testing it indoors or outside? I don't have the metered prism so I don't know how to meter with this, and there isn't a meter built into the camera body.
You don't. Simply finish winding until the paper is taken up on the spool then open the back, seal the spool paper (all 120 rolls will have something like a sticker or lick-seal at the end) and then send the roll off to be developed. Then move the empty spool from the other side of the camera to the take-up spool area.
Great video! Just to further add, on the focusing screen there are two lines, these correlate to the exposure compensation scales I believe for TLR parallax correction, have you used this feature? I think 1.5x is one line and 2x is the other. Many thanks
You forgot to lock the back after closing by turning the little silver do dad button to the left to stop the back from accidentally releasing. Out of 120 film?? That's breaking one of the eleven commandments. "Thou shalt not run out of 120 film" How many times do you get to use "Shalt" in a sentence? Thanks for explaining the focusing scales in a clear and concise way. It's the first time the damn thing made sense to me. (Well, a reduction in gray cells upstairs doesn't help either) That alone was worth the time spent listening to your video. Your explanation on a double exposure was also helpful. I do have a single exposure sheet film back for mine to use sheet film or HARMAN DIRECT POSITIVE paper sheets. Ya I get a little obsessive at times....
Thank you! I promised the wife I would use all my film before I bought more. I'm still working through my sheet film, however, so I've only bought a small amount of film for special purposes lately.
David is in the right track.. Thanks for this helpful tutorial video!!
Thank you!
With those protruding lenses it looks positively lethal. Point that in any direction and you'll have people running.Another gem,David,both camera and video.
Thank you! When I picked up the lens I was kind of shocked by how they looked on it.
Hi there, I really appreciate your videos on the Mamiya c3 professional that my wife just bought me for my birthday. I'm anxious to try it as soon I bought 120 films. This camera is my 9th . on my vintage camera collection . Thanks
Nice and thank you! These are great cameras.
Thank you for this video, I found it really useful to remind myself how to use this camera. Now and then I take something from my collection and shoot with it. Your video was most helpful, well done !
Thank you!
Enjoyed the videos Dave - I am no one gets lost in the details as they are not difficult to use at all once you use them a few times. And they are very fun to use. I may have missed it, but it is also important to understand how the exposure guide is linked to the parallax lines in the viewfinder. That is, use the lower line when you are in the 2X range as your upper boundary and use the first upper line when you are in the 1.5X range. If not, you will likely cut off heads.
Of course the obligatory typo - that should read " I hope no one ..."
Thank you! I forgot completely about parallax correction.
Excellent camera and tutorial, many thanks!!!
Thank you!
thank you very much for your videos! learnt a lot!
one question: what does the multi exposure knob actually do? If I use a roll film, could I not just leave the knob on roll film and just take a second picture without rolling the film?
might be a stupid question but Im new to tlr's😅
Thank you and that's exactly what that knob does -- it lets you take a double exposure.
I used to use the C330 for portraits, etc. and loved it. Here's my gripe. Of having looked at most of the videos on youtube about them I haven't found one that actually took pics with something other than the 80 lens. These cameras really shine when using the 135 or 180 for portraits. That would really change people's minds about their capabilities.
That's a fair point and unfortunately I won't be using this lens for photos, since I'm selling it this week. But when I get a 330F (which is the next of these I want to review) I plan to get a 65 and 180 again to take photos with for a real review of the camera. The Mamiya lenses were simply spectacular.
@@DavidHancock I would pass on the 65 and go staight to a 55 unless you wanted to walk around as a point and shoot.
Thank you! I will do that. I prefer a slightly wider lens in general anyway, for instance preferring a 24mm over a 28mm on 35mm.
@@DavidHancock Not sure where the 55 falls in line but probably close to 24 if you use the square image and don't crop.
I just picked up a c330f and got the 80 2.8 blue dot, a 180 super and 55 mm lens. Waiting on film to arrive so I could shoot some photos
I have a C3, and I was glad to have some clarity on exposure compensation as the bellows is extended, using the teeny and hard-to-read chart on the left-hand side. A couple of things: the lens releaser won't release unless the bellows is all the way retracted (a close look will tell you why). Secondly, when changing lenses with the camera on a tripod, make very sure you have a hand on the lens as you flip open the bail, so the lens doesn't land on the floor. Could that have been what happened to the beat-up 180mm you used in your video? Finally, tikkathreebarrls wants to know if the exposure compensation scales are read at the edge of the camera body. My C3 has a pretty obvious index mark on the lower "chin" of the body. The 135mm distance scale (only, as far as I can tell) is read at the edge of the body. Thanks for an informative video.
Thank you!
I'm here from video 1. This is excellent. Thank you for doing this. Hypothetically speaking (cause it's exactly what happened) I broke the mirror inside the camera cause of how I packed the camera. In your opinion, is the camera dead? Can it be repaired or should it be replaced and now I have a nice new book end for the book shelf?
That's pretty easy to replace if you can access it. You'll need to order a surface-coated mirror. That's mandatory otherwise the mirror will focus the viewfinder image differently that the image on the film. Surface-coated mirrors can be ordered on eBay. If the seller doesn't have the dimensions you may need to provide them. Then it's just a matter of replacing the mirror. With the new mirror in hand, should be about a 30-minute repair.
My late father shot professionally on a Mamiya C33 long before I was born. I think it's time I got hold of one of these grand old lady's and shoot some images on one myself.
Nice! That would be a great way to connect over time with him.
Hi David. Thank you for your videos on the C3. I have a 55mm lens, so is there a way to use, or adapt, the focusing scale and exposure compensation with this lens?
Hmm. Good question. I haven't used the 55, but I would guess that you can estimate the distance and compensation based on the 65mm data. You might also be able to find a compensation guide from a later model of these online. But in general, just add a bit more light than called for work the 65mm. Modern film stocks are way more forgiving than the film made when these were produced, so if you imagine a compensation scale that looks like the 65mm but that reaches higher compensation levels more quickly, you'll probably be fine. If you're shooting really close subjects and find that your exposures are longer than one second, you will also need reciprocity failure correction as well as the compensation needed for the lens.
Very cool. Thank you.
Thank you!
Hi David. Great video! If you were to get one lens for street photography/landscapes, would you go with the 80mm, 105mm or 180mm? (Or something else? I want to avoid the 55 and 65 as I've heard that they are more prone to haze. Is this true?). Thank you kindly!
I would go with the 55, honestly. Haze can be cleaned. If you don't want to do it then a camera repairman can. As a general rule, wider is better for street work because you don't have as much time for precise framing.
I might suggest that this camera would be hard for street photography in general. A 120 rangefinder or a 645 camera may work better due solely to them being lighter and less conspicuous. With this, all your subjects will be staring at the camera as you take their photo (which could work, as I think about it.
Hi David. Off topic question if you don't mind as you seem to know Mamiya RB67 Pro SD inside out. I just purchased mine from Japan and seem to have a problem. I can't focus on anything more than 6 feet from lens. As I extend the bellows out with my KL 90mm lens the focus screen just get blurred and blurrier the further try to focus. so at infinity I can't even see the image on the screen. I tried this with my brand new KL 65mm lens with same results. Have you any idea what could be wrong. Is it me or the camera. I much appreciate your help as I'm testing my hair out. Thank you. Alan
That's curious. So as you focus further away from the camera then the focus should get closer. So that in mind let's troubleshoot.
1- You'll need some FROSTED clear Scotch tape. What you're going to do is tape that to the back of the film guide rails to make an ad hoc focusing screen inside your camera. Frosted tape will let the image focus onto the tape.
2- Mount the camera on a tripod and find something in focus on the focusing screen. Verify if the focus on the tape matches that on the screen.
So there are two possible outcomes here. A- the tape matches what SHOULD be in focus. For instance, if you are focused at infinity but what's on the focusing screen is at six feet and what's on the tape is infinity then we know the focus points don't match. B- the focus points match.
If they do not match and this is consistently the case with multiple lenses then we know there's an issue with the reflex mirror alignment in the top of the camera, or there's an issue with the focus screen installation or placement. If you're handy at tinkering, that may be fixable at home. If not, the Fix Old Cameras channel knows more about Mamiyas than anyone on TH-cam and might be able to help with some ideas on repairs (at home or not.)
If they do match then there's something else at issue. Either the bellows is not able to retract fully of there's a macro lens on the front of each lens (check that there's nothing in the bay filters to easily rule that out), or there's something else going on that's pushing the lenses away from the front of the camera.
Let me know how those tests turn out and I might be able to help further if there's no easy remedy at that point.
Thanks for the awesome tutorial! it’s crazy how u seemingly have in depth video on every obscure camera I’m interested in. Any differences between the c220 and have ever come across the 250mm Lens? I’m thinking of buying one or the other
Thank you! for the C220, I can't speak to it directly as I've not used one and really don't know much about it. The 250mm lens has a good reputation. I've, again, never used one. Mamiya's medium-format lenses tended to be exceptional and the 250 has a great reputation.
so i recently aquired a c3 but the shutter cock release lever was broken (cleanly) at the base is it possible to fix this by taking it in to a shop or if i can possibly model/super glue it back on? im afraid to try and dismantle by myself
I do not know. I would think that glue would only hold for a few shots and would risk getting into the gear while still wet. I'd suggest sending it in for repair. The Fix Old Cameras channel might know a good repair person familiar with Mamiya cameras.
Really well done.
Thank you!
The exposure compensation scale on the left side of the body: I missed hearing you say that you read off the scale at the point where the scale comes out of the camera body: is that the correct reading? I would add that my C3 doesn't have the quick focus scale on the right side of the body so maybe there were different iterations of C3?
Could have been production variances or it could be the sticker on yours fell off. But yes, the scale is read at the point where the lines and body meet.
I can’t seem to move the aperture needle, any idea why it doesn’t want to move?
Hmm. Are you testing it indoors or outside? I don't have the metered prism so I don't know how to meter with this, and there isn't a meter built into the camera body.
David Hancock I worked out the aperture was sieved slightly from sitting, I wiggles it and it came free eventually
Thank you!
Thank you!
How to unwind the film when the whole roll finished?
You don't. Simply finish winding until the paper is taken up on the spool then open the back, seal the spool paper (all 120 rolls will have something like a sticker or lick-seal at the end) and then send the roll off to be developed. Then move the empty spool from the other side of the camera to the take-up spool area.
Thank you for a great video on the camera functions!
Thank you!
you forgot about the locking screw on the rear and also aputure adjustment but very helpful
Thank you! I did miss that.
Great video!
Just to further add, on the focusing screen there are two lines, these correlate to the exposure compensation scales I believe for TLR parallax correction, have you used this feature?
I think 1.5x is one line and 2x is the other.
Many thanks
Thank you! I have not. I ended up selling this camera and started to look, infrequently, for a 330F to review and use.
You forgot to lock the back after closing by turning the little silver do dad button to the left to stop the back from accidentally releasing. Out of 120 film?? That's breaking one of the eleven commandments. "Thou shalt not run out of 120 film" How many times do you get to use "Shalt" in a sentence? Thanks for explaining the focusing scales in a clear and concise way. It's the first time the damn thing made sense to me. (Well, a reduction in gray cells upstairs doesn't help either) That alone was worth the time spent listening to your video. Your explanation on a double exposure was also helpful. I do have a single exposure sheet film back for mine to use sheet film or HARMAN DIRECT POSITIVE paper sheets. Ya I get a little obsessive at times....
Thank you! I promised the wife I would use all my film before I bought more. I'm still working through my sheet film, however, so I've only bought a small amount of film for special purposes lately.