Any RZ ProIID / Leaf Aptus shooters?

[John Schweikert]

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[AndreNapier]

I shoot with Rz67 Pro II and Aptus 75S/h1 and 75 via Digital Art Plate for about 2 years now. Total of about 150K frames. No issues whatsoever. I get a black frame every now and than but maybe in 1 to 200-300 ratio. It is very hard to pinpoint the reason but I am leaning towards bad light synch. Every DB and every camera I used has its hickups but all together Rz/Leaf makes a nice set up but not as much fun as my new AFI 7. I will try to put together my review of AFI and its lenses in the next few days to come. Five weeks ( 12,000 frames and loving it )
Andre

[marcel b]

hi,
maybe only a guess, but i shoot with a RZ pro II with the leaf adapter and aptus 65 and had some problems in flash sync by using the hotshoe. it just didn't sync in time with lens/back. so maybe hat's the same story with internal communication to the adapter or back. since verything is cabled, flah sync also to the back, i never had any problems with black frames. if you can borrow an adapter plate without contacts somewhere, start the cabled version to find the problem. but anyway, if it's more than five in a houndred frames, you should contact your mamiya dealer/service for propper solutions.

best regards,
marcel

[RSPhoto]

So here's the setup I am trying:

RZ67 ProIID with the newest version Mamiya digital back plate and Leaf Aptus 22, so no cables.

No matter what lens is mounted, with a fresh battery, what I get are blank frames in a series after the back is started up, then the frames are all fine. Sometimes rotating the back, I get a blank frame or frames then again everything goes to normal. Sometimes during a series a blank frame or so. I'm not over clocking or whatever the term is, I'm shooting at a slow and regular pace.

I can't find a rhyme or reason. I have cleaned all contacts. The RZ, plate and main 110mm lens were bought used but in near new condition. Sure I have no idea the history of the gear. No issues with a film back. I know the previous owner was using a Phase back, so I'm wondering if there is something different here going on with the Aptus and RZ ProIID. The Aptus has no issues on my AFDII.

Everything is tight, so not sure how to tell if the contacts are the issue.

I really like the RZ lenses with digital, much nicer than the 645. I shot the RZ years back and want to shoot with this regularly. The manual focusing is so much better on the RZ.

P.S. The search feature on this site sucks. Damn near impossible to narrow down to any useful threads on the RZ from the past.

John

I had the same exact problem with the RZ Pro IID. The plate and the Aptus don't go along. There is a problem with the communication between the plate, camera and back. I had sent mine to Mamiya and Leaf 3 times and they could not figure out the problem.
I had to go back to the regular plate from Leaf with the sync cable. However I had underexposure problems with that, again a problem with the Pro IID but not the Pro II.
Any Phase back works fine with the Mamiya plate. Such a shame, because the RZ lenses produce a beautiful file with the Leaf backs.

RS

[HarperPhotos]

Gidday,

I have been using my Mamiya RZ ProIID with a Leaf Aptus 75 for 3 years with the Leaf adaptor plate with sync cable to the lens and back with perfect results.

I also use the Mamiya adaptor plate with the Leaf Atpus 75 and also get perfect results.

When I use the Mamiya plate the Leaf back I have to be set the Leaf Aptus 75 back on the Mamiya 645 AFD setting as the back now thinks it is on a Mamiya 645 AFD camera .

When the RZ is connected to the Mac in Leaf Capture again I set to Mamiya 645 AFD not Mamiya RZ and get perfect results.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Simon

[PLLove]

I had the same problem with my RZ Pro IID.  I was told the lens shutter was sticking, but when I shot film...no problem at all!  So, it was certainly a sync issue with the camera and back (Leaf Aptus 22).  

I tried and tried and tried to figure out the problem, and just got frustrated.  

I toy with buying another RZ soon, but I just don't want to deal with the same issue again.  When I did get the camera and back to sync, the files were awesome!

-P

[yaya]

I had the same problem with my RZ Pro IID.  I was told the lens shutter was sticking, but when I shot film...no problem at all!  So, it was certainly a sync issue with the camera and back (Leaf Aptus 22).  

I tried and tried and tried to figure out the problem, and just got frustrated.  

I toy with buying another RZ soon, but I just don't want to deal with the same issue again.  When I did get the camera and back to sync, the files were awesome!

-P

If the shutter is sticking the the lens will produce a slightly different signal than it should, which can make the back "confused". Film is "dumb" and doesn't have to sync with anything (just the lens with your flash packs)

Yair

[Brady]

If the shutter is sticking the the lens will produce a slightly different signal than it should, which can make the back "confused". Film is "dumb" and doesn't have to sync with anything (just the lens with your flash packs)

Yair

So would it be possible maybe to try a hotshoe to pc adapter and run sync to the back from there instead of the lens? or does that introduce other issues?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1357...Shoe_to_PC.html

[RSPhoto]

It's good to hear some responses, whether good or bad outcomes.

I shot some personal studio work today. I tethered the RZ to LC11, tripod mounted and I had no problems, not a single hiccup. Quite different from my other tries. But previously I was trying handheld and untethered, so I do wonder if there is something going on there.

My plan is to put it through different types of shooting, tethered, untethered, all lenses, handheld on tripod, horizontal and vertical shooting, studio, outside. There has to be a cause for the sometimes working and sometimes not working before. I just can't commit the setup to paid work yet until I figure it out.

John

I forgot to mention that it does indeed work tethered. This had been confirmed to me by Mamiya. The problem exists only untethered.

RS

[TMARK]

After having one of my 110 lenses CLA'd by MAC, not a problem at all with various RZ Pro and ProII's.  Aptus 54s H mount with Leaf H to RZ plate.

[RSPhoto]

So I wonder what the issue is then. The only difference is the power provided, either via firewire of a Samsung battery. You would think they could figure out how to provide a fix. But is the issue on the side of Mamiya or Leaf. I just don't get it.

John

That puzzled me as well. The Mamiya adapter should transform the communication with the RZ into a 645 ( that's the setting you have to use on the Leaf back) so for all logic it should work. But it doesn't.
I had spent $ 1400 for the adapter at the time and sold it for half the price. The regular plate with the cable from leaf works, so does the RZ Pro II non D.

RS

[RSPhoto]

Another question:

What is the best method to maximize the battery within the RZ67 ProIID? I am on my third battery (I think, second for sure) in a few weeks and the volume of frames would not dictate that kind of battery usage.

Is there a drain issue with a digital back attached at all times, during storage, with or without the DB battery attached? My setup is the ProIID with the Mamiya digital back adapter, Aptus 22. I always make sure the camera shutter switch is turned "off" so it doesn't get pressed in a camera bag.

I am still finding all the quirks of this setup, good and bad, but I am so gravitated to shooting with it for the waist level, leaf shutter and more. So I am willing to work through to figure all the oddities.

Hi John

This is another issue with the Mamiya adapter. You need to turn the adapter to a position where the contacts don't touch when not in use. This will avoid the drain of the battery.

RS

[PeterA]

Hi John

This is another issue with the Mamiya adapter. You need to turn the adapter to a position where the contacts don't touch when not in use. This will avoid the drain of the battery.

RS

THANKS very much for this comment - I had dreaded battery drainage issues happenning and no one could solve it- I wil lnow try it.