Farmtrack

[Rob MacKillop]

Taken with the Mamiya 6 (non folding) and its 50mm lens and orange filter.



This is exactly how it came from the scan. I could lighten it up here and there, but wanted to share it as is. The lab was Jack's Lab in the south of England. First time I've used them. I'm not sure if I should have used the orange filter, but overall I'm quite pleased with it. There's a big 'however', though:

HOWEVER, it was the only shot that came out from 12. Four others show some features, but are almost completely underexposed. I find it hard to view the red-lit exposure meter on the far-left side of the viewfinder, so I bought the ttArtisan cold-shoe meter which has had good reviews. It's easy to use, but clearly one exposure out of 12 is not good! Pity, as I love the camera and its three lenses. So I might buy the Sekonic Twinmate L-208, which does both incident and reflected readings. I've used the camera before - early summer last year in Oxford - with a much higher hit rate, 10 out of 12 or there abouts for three films. That time my eyesight was better. I've since had a virus for 12 weeks (and counting), for which I've had to add eyedrops every hour, as the eye is completely dry, and I found it impossible to view the viewfinder readings, as mentioned.

I have at least a dozen rolls left, 35 and 120 film, so would like to get 12/12 or 36/36 hits for each!

Thoughts?

 

[Ralph Turner]

Initially, nothing beyond obvious, silly things. I had a quick look online but nothing definite. I did read about a guy who's '6 would indicate something like 1/250th sec in the viewfinder, but the shutter would stay open (much) longer than it should. He cured it by cleaning the contacts between lens and body. I know this is the opposite of your issue and might not be relevant.

 

[Ralph Turner]

Very nice pic btw. I like how both the trees and the bath lead you though the frame

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, Ralph. That composition just jumped out at me. I like this shot, and might do a little gentle post processing on it. Doesn’t need much. Not sure why it was the only one to come out.

I've just compared the TTArtisan’s metering to the reading on the Q3. With both cameras at f11, ISO 400, the Q3 reads between 125, while the TTArtisan reads 250. Plus the Mamiya lens had an orange filter, which I did not allow for. Doh. So I was at least two stops under. Sigh.

Looking at the bright sky, my eyes can read the Mamiya viewfinder red figures, and they are the same as the Leica, slightly more or less, very close. I could still use the TTArtisan light meter, just make sure I compensate for two stops. The sods have brought out the Version 2, which has double the amount of stops, and an improved window opening for the light to enter. Wish they’d thought of these things earlier. People say it’s more accurate now. It’s a nice solid metal piece of kit, and would sit nicely atop old film cameras…if it’s accurate. Curiously, the improved version is £10 cheaper…

I might get the camera looked at. There’s a good repair shop in Edinburgh, Cameratiks.

 

[Ralph Turner]

Good luck with it all

 

[Gianluca Drago]

Just a passing thought. I know this picture is beautiful, or at least I can imagine it. But the size of the image in my monitor is so small that I have to imagine 90% of what I see. And that is a shame for me, I wish I could enjoy it more.
But no matter: I have a good amount of imagination in me.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

What are you looking on? A small phone?

 

[Gianluca Drago]

What are you looking on? A small phone?

No a Full HD monitor (1080p).

 

[Rob MacKillop]

OK. Me too. Here's a slightly edited version. Big enough?

 

[Gianluca Drago]

OK. Me too. Here's a slightly edited version. Big enough?

View attachment 18890

This is better. Thank you! Now I can say "Great photo". Regard me as your slave from now on.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

 

[Brian Moore]

Nice landscape, Rob. Sorry to hear it's the only usable image out of 12. You might have solved your own problem by recognizing that the orange filter wouldn't have been compensated for by the meter, which of course isn't looking through the filter.

I have the v2 of the TT artisans meter. Haven't used it yet so can't vouch for it.

If you're still worried its the camera I'd suggest shooting a roll while relying on the Sunny 16 Rule to suggest the exposure values. (Or in Scotland maybe it's better called the Cloudy 5.6 Rule.) At least, that's what I would do before I sent it out for inspection/repair.

Regardless,...hope it all gets worked out.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Brian, I’ve never forgotten you calling it the Dreich 11 Rule. Works a treat!

 

[Brian Moore]

Brian, I’ve never forgotten you calling it the Dreich 11 Rule. Works a treat!

I'd forgotten about that Rob!

 

[Gary R. Smith]

I used an iPhone app for the last roll through the Leica. I'm planning to shoot a roll of color through the Mamiya 645 1000s using a different iPhone app. The first roll I shot through the Mamiya 645 (the one that's gone now) I shot a duplicate set of images and used the meter readings from the digital camera. In any case, having shot almost exclusively with metered cameras for 50 years using a separate meter was a PITA. The TTArtisan looks interesting but not at $70 UDS if the numbers aren't any good.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Gary, did it work, copying the digital camera readings? It would be a pain carrying two cameras around, but sometimes I do.

The TTArtisan v2 looks good, and users say is accurate, and it’s cheaper the v1. I’d consider it if I didn’t already have v1.

 

[Gary R. Smith]

Gary, did it work, copying the digital camera readings?

It did work OK but it certainly wasn't convenient. Of course the Mamiya m645 that I used it with only lasted with me a short while before I sent it back for a refund. There will be an article about my experience on 35mmc on March 8th (if Hamish holds to schedule). I can't imagine lugging around an expensive Sekonic. I'm planning to shoot a roll of color Kodak Gold through the replacement Mamiya 645 1000s and using the Crown + Flint app. It will save each meter reading so that I can match them up to the results and optionally export the exif to exiftool to push into the digital scan files. Another board that I look at daily shows the embedded exif when you hover over the image.

 

[Stevenson Gawen]

How much of an issue do you people with more film experience find over exposure? I remember an article on 35mmc by @Hamish Gill about his perhaps slightly carefree metering procedure, and how with at least some film a few stops over is no issue, at least when scanning as opposed to printing.
That and another article somewhere encouraged me to err on the side of over rather than under when I got into 'analogue', and it's true that at least with the (admittedly forgiving) HP5+ I've had very few issues with negs being too dense.

Kind of makes me think that perhaps one could overthink metering with B+W film, and simply doing some version of Sunny 16 with an extra stop for good measure could work well?
I'm a novice with film of course, so prepared to be shot down at short notice...

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Sunny 16 plus One would probably work well enough for most situations, I guess. It helps if you occasionally get sun!

 

[Brian Moore]

It helps if you occasionally get sun!

Good luck with that Rob.