Rangefinder experience

Also, they have this finder you flip up to use with certain lenses, how are they like?

I have never used a RF and the medium format RF looks pretty compact for what they are.
The only remote cameras I have used are the pocket film cameras that everyone has used in the past and SLRs.

Thanks.

Why don't you rent a kit to see how you get along with it. I always find my rangefinder cameras easier to focus when the ambient light levels are low. It's easy to focus accurately with a top class long-base rangefinder.

the mamiya 7 is one heck of a camera... problem is
i can't compose in a 6x7 format.

rangefinders are pretty easy to focus. match two
ghost images in the center. generally you will find
yourself prefocusing (as you should anyway). i've
found it pretty difficult to focus on the edges and
corners for a close/wide angle shot. compose...
go find the focus... recompose...

the different finders are so they match to the lens.
the other way is ala leica where frame lines will
show up in the finder instead.

the mamiya 6x7 is small for a 6x7 camera... but
it's still quite large... abit bigger than a dslr or
small 645.

A niche camera of course. Lots of history attached to it. Fairly limited range of use. Apart from the ongoing/tired film/digital debate...unproven advantages over high-end digital cameras. Google rangefinders and you'll find a lot of information.

The only rangefinders I have are 35mm.

It is worth remembering that the bigger the format the more critical focusing becomes. Small formats = big DOF Large formats = small DOF.
Bear in mind that rangefinders do not focus close up, usual minimum focus distance is 0.7m.

But the 'patch' where you line up the two superimposed images often works very well, and if the camera is in good condition accurate.

Try asking at rangefinder forum http://www.rangefinderforum.com/<BR><BR>The external finders are usually for wide lenses, lensese wider than the field of view of the built in viewfinder.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>unproven advantages over high-end digital cameras.<hr></blockquote>

Umm, shouldn't that be ther other way round? Nevermind lets not go into all that again.

I have a Mamiya 7. I don't think it is especially difficult to focus on someone's eye, but if you're looking for a sharp eye/everything else out of focus shot, you're not going to get it. The widest aperture is F4 on any of the lenses, and even given that it is a larger format than 35mm, it is not going to look like a 35mm at F2 say.

The external viewfinders are not needed for either the 80mm or 65mm lenses. Although you can get an external finder for the 150mm, I did not find it necessary. (Past tense is because I sold my 150mm to pay for another lens.)

I currently have the 80mm and the 43mm. The external viewfinder for the 43mm is very nice. It includes a level for keeping horizons straight. External viewfinders can be awkward to use, however. You need to focus and see exposure information in the main viewfinder and then shift your eye to the external one for composing. Of course, with the depth of field on the 43mm, you can largely zone or hyperfocal focus.

I found it to be a great travel camera, and took it with me on month-long trips to Bolivia and India. I like the fact that you can use 220 film without having to buy a separate back.

Rangefinders are tremendous. While you lose the extreme precision of a fine SLR and don't have access to superteles or high-range zooms, you've got a compact, quiet, and lightweight kit that's stunning in low light and features the best optics you can get. If I'm not shooting large format, I'm typically using a RF these days - a few Leicas and a Mamiya 7. The 7ii is an amazing camera, and it's not nearly as niche as some would suggest. Aside from close up portraiture - headshots, practically - there's not a lot I wouldn't feel comfortable using it for, provided I didn't need a 400mm lens (and how often is that?) The optics are top-notch, the meter is accurate, and the enlargements? 30 x 40s that'll blow you away.