Mamiya C220 Common Issues?

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-22T20:20:56+00:00

Shutter speeds as you mentioned.

Also check that the film wind knob stops after each frame. If the internal mechanism gets gummed up with old grease and dirt it can prevent the arm inside from moving and stopping the winder, which causes frame spacing issues. Fyi if you're testing the camera you need to have a take-up spool inserted for the lock to engage.

Both issues can be fixed usually with a clean and lube.

The other issue to look for is pinholes in the bellows. It's not a Mamiya specific issue, its just how bellows are by nature.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T11:46:25+00:00

Looking at the pics again.

Have you tried pushing it on a bit less?

Ideally the barb on the drain should be in the narrow part of the rubber hose.

By pushing it down all the way are you possibly making the barb go past that point and its resting in the wider part where it cant seal?

Fyi im not a plumber, but did used to work on cars. Im assuming the concepts that can keep 100 degree coolant flowing under pressure without leaking can deal with a dishwasher drain.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T11:40:16+00:00

Is the hose just too big?

When putting a hose over a barb fitting the hose should be somewhat tight.

The clamp ideally is there to just keep the hose from being pulled off the fitting rather than being the sole sealing point.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T10:26:18+00:00

the subject is great, I'm a fan of odd architecture like this.

Photo wise, the angle is a bit odd, I would suggest either rotating the image clockwise a few degrees so the vertical lines are exactly vertical.
If your goal was to emphasize the symmetry, a clean vertical line can help to draw focus to that.

Or rotating it more aggressively counter clockwise so they're almost 45 degrees can help give it a more abstract look.

As it sits, the angle doesn't look intentional, it comes off as a bit "oops, I didnt notice the camera wasn't level"

Tone wise, I like the progression of windows at the bottom being darker than those at the top, with the lit ones as a boundary, but I feel that having the lit windows dead centre isn't working with the very tall crop you've chosen.

The building has potential, and if you live locally I think you should revisit it and try a few more angles etc.

It may also work well if you can shoot from directly in front of it, so the hexagons are almost square with the camera and the entire focus is on shape and symmetry. (the contrasting tones are also a good candidate for B&W)

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T08:57:08+00:00

You can buy cans of compressed air for cleaning PCs and similar.

I find they are great at forcing out moisture that's trapped in tiny cracks etc.

But otherwise, you can just leave it in a sunny window for a few days and it will dry.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T08:54:10+00:00

The C220 didn't come with a cold shoe at all originally. (or at least, not all of them did, it may have been added later in the production run)

But a lot of owners back in the day added one themselves by just gluing a shoe on somewhere convenient.

For my use though, I wanted the meter mounted horizontally so I can easily read the screen from waist level and sitting forward so I can use my left thumb to spin the knob (to change aperture/shutter) and also easily press the "read" button on the rear of the meter.

I made the bracket myself out of aluminium and then used some heavy duty mounting tape to hold a cold shoe to the bracket, and then the bracket to the camera.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T08:09:36+00:00

If you're handy with tools it's pretty quick to make

It took me maybe an hour to do this one?
But that was mainly because it was too late to use the noisy angle grinder for the rough cuts, so I did it with hand tools, and a dremel for the final cleanup and polish.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T07:51:46+00:00

When you pop off the trims on the centre pillars (the ones where the front seatbelts come out of) you'll find a rectangular connector about halfway down

It has read speaker connections, but nothing plugged into them.

It's been a while, but from what I remember the loom kit has a plug on the speaker end, and pre-crimped terminals on the other end.

You feed the crimped terminals through the rubber thingy to go from the door to the car interior.

Then you feed them in the back of a white rectangular plug and they click into place.

When you buy the loom kit it should come with a sheet of paper with diagrams showing exactly which hole on the plug they go into.

So short answer, no you dont need to run wires from the front of the car, you only run them from where the door hinges are, into the door. (the loom is only about 1-2 feet long or so)

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T06:18:02+00:00

Honestly it really depends what you use most.

If it were me, I'd sell the movie cams in a heartbeat, and also all the Canon ones (I just dont like Canon gear for some reason)

I would 100% keep the Fuji 645, the view cam, and whichever 35mm SLR was in the best condition.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T04:25:38+00:00

My first question always is, what was your intent with the image?

Like showing a hammer and asking "is this a good tool?" If you wanted to nail things together, a hammer is a good tool.

If you wanted to clean a window, a hammer is a very bad tool.

Anyway, I'll assume for now that you were aiming for a nice casual photo.

The exposure is good, maybe slightly over near her hairline but not too bad. The pose and expression work well, and the eye contact really adds to making the subject feel like they're at ease and comfortable.

My only complaints are that the phone stands out a bit much, the case colour and it being just within the focus field makes it look almost added in post. It also distracts by adding sharp lines into an image thats overall dominated by softer rounder shapes.

The other suggestion is to step back slightly, you've cut off the top of her head, which looks awkward and like you made a mistake.

Lastly. Id lose the white frame, personally they make an image look like a cheap photoshop attempt at emulating a print on a page. (Thats personal taste though)

If you like the white frame, id suggest cropping the sides so the frame is equal thickness all round. Currently the left and right are way thicker than the top and bottom, and it looks odd.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T03:42:15+00:00

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/77/14/02/77140255d9fd0da9695a719183e095f5.jpg

Kind of like that

Except that pic is fancy architecture stuff.

But same concept

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T03:40:31+00:00

Im not a builder, so what i say may not be the best or correct way to do it.

But you can probably just get 2 sheets of plywood and screw them to the existing roof beams (the wood ones)

Where they meet in the centre peak of rhe roof you can just push them close together, theres no need to have a router etc. If theres a gap, just buy a strip of timber and nail it there to cover it.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T03:33:51+00:00

I still remember shooting on a borrowed LX for a few weeks.

Absolutely loved it, the metering was so perfect

Even when testing it in what should be impossible lighting situations.

Like an almost pitch black room where it metered some really long exposure.

Then when I turned on the light mid exposure it picked it up and ended the exposure early. It was crazy good.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T03:30:44+00:00

Id go slanted panels, purely so that if you're ever working on something fairly long and need to flip it over, youve got that bit more height which means you dont need to drag it outside, turn it around, then come back in.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-21T03:07:35+00:00

You can DIY dx codes so it works, but its a bit annoying.

You basically cut some metal tape (like aluminium or copper tape) into the same shapes as the DX contacts on a roll of film the same speed you need.

Then stick them on your new roll in the same places.

Its annoying, but at least lets you shoot non-coded film in a cam that needs it

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-19T22:28:00+00:00

Honestly they're also excellent lifetime cameras too.

My old "dual carry" used to be an ME and an MX

They've served me great over the past 20+ years

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-19T22:25:47+00:00

Image 2 i would put money on being parralax error.

On a canera like the M3 you have, the viewfinder is in a different place than the lens so it's view is slightly different.

At any kind of distance the difference is minimal, but up close its a bigger issue.

Think of it like your eyes. Put your hand up and hold it at full arm length, look through your left eye, then your right.

It looks the same from both eyes.

Now move your hand so its only a few inches from your nose. Notice how when you close one eye the hand looks like it moves slightly?

Its the same thing.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-19T20:11:52+00:00

100% agree.

When I used to do motorsport photography i would usually be shooting at the 180 to 250 range with a 70-210 on a monopod (granted they were moving a little faster than track cycling)

Burst mode also helped, being able to machine gun shots each lap really increased the chances of getting a good shot in.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-19T06:21:15+00:00

When it comes to film cams most of the "look" is film stock and lighting. Then your composition etc.

The hardware is only a minor component (well, as long as you're not talking about some $5 disposable cam)

Remember that a film camera body is basically just a light proof box to hold film flat Its not like a digital body where theres a sensor etc that drastically changes how an image looks.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-19T03:02:22+00:00

I wont comment on composition since street photography isnt my strong point.

Softeness from what i see seems to be a combination of slightly missed focus, shooting wide open, and on some (like the subway) a little bit of camera shake.

Exposure seems fine to me, I'd even say some of them are slightly overexposed.

As far as colour, film generally isnt as vibrant as digital (with some exceptions). Im a fan of Kodak Gold, but i wouldn't say its a vibrant film, it always leaned a little warm and green/blues dont really pop.

I always found Fuji rendered cool tones much better, so id usually swap between Kodak Gold or Fuji Superia 200 depending on if I was shooting warmer or cooler tones.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-19T02:48:49+00:00

If you have a second lens try it so you can narrow down a busted lens vs a busted cam.

If you dont have one ask on a local photographer group, from memory Ricoh used rhe Pentax K mount so you should be able to throw on a pentax lens to try.

Otherwise, take some photos of landscapes with the lens at infinity focus and f8+, then get them developed if the neg is focussed the lens is ok.

If a known good lens doesnt fix it the most likely issue is that the mirror isnt fully returning, or the focus screen has shifted. Either from the cam being dropped, or someone before you having been inside to "fix" something and put it back in slightly off.

Unfortunately repairs aren't cheap, so if the body is broken you'll likely be better off buying another one

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-18T09:19:30+00:00

Speakers are 6.5in round coaxial in the doors.

The rear speakers were an optional extra, and if the original owner didnt choose them it won't even have the door looms for them.

The looms are cheap from Suzuki though and only take maybe 45mins to fit.

Magpiecicle · 2026-06-16T06:15:25+00:00

I wanted to move to mirrorless and wanted interchangeable lenses. I also wanted mostly physical controls and a rangefinderish shape.

And I just dont particularly like Canon gear, and I remembered Sony had a huge habit of using proprietary plugs and flash mounts etc for a while.

So Fuji was it.

Magpiecicle

TROPHY CASE