Mamiya C330

[Ibiza19]

Hello All

today i received my new Mamiya C330 that i purchased from Ebay. I read the manual and got some of the stuff but still some of the options don’t make sense. First when I look at the prism finder there is a red line appearing at the top of the viewfinder (on lock). Like it’s not right in the middle but I can see it at the top, its like this red crooked line. Is it supposed to be there even when its on locked mode? its not in the middle like when its on unlocked mode but its still at the top. Also there is a small screen beside ASA which you can change. Do you set that to 100? (im talking about the small screen on the left side of ASA). There is also another screen which you can change and there is 3 different options. One is like this red dot, the other one is like a bulb, and the other one looks like a black dot. Which one should my camera be set on? Also how do I make sure the shutter sounds correctly? I set the shutter to 1 and tried counting, and I hear the shutter sound for 2 seconds. I set it to 2 and I hear it for 1 second. Is this right? Also on the manual I read that the shutter wont be released when its on SINGLE and there is no film inside but mine does. Is there something wrong with the camera?

Also when I look at the viewfinder on the prism finder I see some small black dots is that going to show on my pictures? The lens looks clean I don’t know what the dots are though.

 

[Steph]

The ASA dial is used to set the speed film. Unless you are after a specific effect, the ASA setting on the camera should be the same as the ISO film speed. In other words, if you use a 100 ISO film, set your camera on 100 ASA (ISO and ASA are the same thing) and don't change the ASA/ISO setting mid-roll as you would on a digital camera!!

The dots in the viewfinder come from dust between the viewing lens and the viewfinder. They won't show on the pictures as the image is recorded by the second lens (the one at the bottom). If this is clean you are good to go.

Sorry, I cannot answer your other questions as I am not familiar with the C330.

 

[stephen]

I believe the "1" refers to one second and "2" refers to 1/2 second. It's possible your shutter is working slow. You may want to try shooting it a couple of dozen times, it it's running a bit slow that might free it up. I've read they can be cleaned up with the right kind of cleaning fluid but that's maybe premature.

How will you calculate exposure, do you have a meter? Shoot a roll and then you'll get an idea as to how your shutter is working.

I've never seen so many questions in one paragraph. Do you have film? You may want to simply learn how to set the ASA, load the film, and start working out your issues by taking some pictures. As you go through the process the questions will flow and the manual has the answers.

 

[selmerdave]

It's worth noting that the C330 is a fully-mechanical camera, so the setting in the ASA window is simply to remind you of what film is in the camera. It will not change how the camera works in any way.

Sounds like it would be a good idea to try to find a manual, you might try here;

Mamiya C330S Manual

Dave

 

[stephen]

I meant to tell him to set the lens size which is also near an ASA setting. The lens size you set on the parallax correcting dial is supposed to help you with the parallax indicator on the view screen which also tells you how to make final adjustment on exposure to account for the lens moving away from the film.

I've only shot with my Mamiya a couple of times so it's hard to keep it's little quirks in mind. Still learning how to use the camera myself but it sure is fun!

It's worth noting that the C330 is a fully-mechanical camera, so the setting in the ASA window is simply to remind you of what film is in the camera. It will not change how the camera works in any way.

Sounds like it would be a good idea to try to find a manual, you might try here;

Mamiya C330S Manual

Dave

 

[Rider]

I don't mean to highjack this thread, but my question might prove helpful to others new to this camera: After many years (OK, decades) I've purchased a C-330 and I'm returning to twin-lens B&W portrait photography. I'd like to get a flash unit for fill-in light, but have no idea which units would be best (on a budget) for that purpose. Would anyone care to jump in with some recommendations?
Thom

 

[Dwig]

Don't judge the shutter by sound alone and NEVER use sound of the gears to judge exposure time. Judge the shutter timing by looking through the lens. If you take the lens off of the camera it will be easier to see through while cocking and firing. Many shutters continue to make "timing gear noises" long after the blades have closed

 

[Derrel]

I don't mean to highjack this thread, but my question might prove helpful to others new to this camera: After many years (OK, decades) I've purchased a C-330 and I'm returning to twin-lens B&W portrait photography. I'd like to get a flash unit for fill-in light, but have no idea which units would be best (on a budget) for that purpose. Would anyone care to jump in with some recommendations?
Thom

Thom,
I'm fairly confident that you'd like a handle-mount style flash unit for use with your twin lens reflex. There are not that many handle-mount aka "potato masher" flash units left on the market, but they work pretty well with a TLR, providing a nice "handle", as well as having ample power to shoot bounce flash in large rooms, while still getting deep depth of field.

ALso, and this is kind of nice with a TLR with a leaf shutter, a *powerful* handle-mount flash like the Sunpak 622 Super will allow you to set the shutter speed to 1/500 second, and shoot flash outdoors in daylight with the newly-popular-again technique commonly referred to as "overpowering daylight" with flash. Nissin used to make some affordable handle mount flashes. Metz models were always more expensive.

As you can see at Adorama, these days there are about a half dozen handle mount flash choices Handle Mount Flashes

 

[Rider]

Thanks Derrel. I'll start sufing in ebay to see what I can come up with.