Mamiya DF Body - Exposure Compensation

[John Black]

I was reading the DF user manual and it seems the only way to alter EC is to press [+/-] button and then dial in the amount. On my previous Mamiya AFDII body when shooting Av mode, one wheel was assigned the Aperture Value and the other wheel change the amount EC. Is there no way to do this on the DF body? The [+/-] button is very tiny, and I do not see how EC could be adjust while looking through the viewfinder.

 

[GrahamWelland]

I always shoot in manual exposure mode but what I do to work as you describe is to simply hold the AE lock button for a second or so which will set the exposure to a metered neutral for the selected aperture. From there I can quickly adjust either aperture or shutter while keeping an eye on the exposure meter display.

You can customize the buttons for this plus I believe also whether to hold the aperture or shutter speed when you ask the camera to set itself to the metered exposure.

 

[John Black]

Thank you Graham. I re-read the 645AFD II instruction and the EC exposure was assigned to the rear wheel by default. Why would Mamiya/Phase take this away? I can understand that some people may not like it, so it seems like something that should be a custom function on the DF.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Something I NEVER use is exp. comp. Guess i am really old school as I just switch to manual in those situations.

 

[John Black]

Av mode is the only way I shoot unless working with the monolights. With auto-ISO cameras, Av is a snap. Now that most cameras have decent ISO, the auto ISO feature is very handy IMO. With the AFDII's standard set-up, I had the controls configured the same as the Canon 1Ds3, so it was very easy to go back & forth between the two cameras.

If I hold down the [+/-] button for a second or two, why does it beep? Just curious. Skimmed through the instruction manual and didn't find an explanation.

 

[SergeiR]

Something I NEVER use is exp. comp. Guess i am really old school as I just switch to manual in those situations.

I dont think its about being old school. Its about having actual control over picture. Which is pretty much what photography technical side is all about. Control. I dont think i ever used exp compensation other than for situations when i am limited to use in-camera metering as spot meter. Dialing it up 2/3Ev to get better negatives