I mostly meter with my X-T2 digital camera, performing a bit of mental math to adjust for film speed, aperture stopped down beyond f/22, and filters. Mostly, I manage to get this right, but I’ve certainly screwed it up in the heat of the moment a few times.

Build-wise, the Dayi is a solid block of machined aluminum. No complaints there. The moving parts all get the job done, and the light seals haven’t caused any issues for me. The first roll I put through the camera was really quite stiff to wind, and I found it is a good idea to hold a finger on the bottom of the pin holding the take-up reel on the outside of the camera — I had one incident where the film spool popped out of its niche and spun freely instead of turning with the take-up knob, resulting in a ruined roll. Since then, I’ve gotten the hang of it, although it does take some care watching the backing of the film through the hole in the pressure plate to make sure you don’t wind too far. All in all, however, the camera does exactly what is promised, and it does a satisfactory job. Of course, the camera doesn’t do much for you beyond holding film and a lens. All the metering, focus, winding, etc is entirely manual.

I’ve certainly enjoyed the ability to compose with a ground glass, especially when I’m shooting a close-up subject (like the waterfall scenes below) and when the lighting is static and I can take my time. I only have two complains with using the camera in this mode. Firstly, compared to a true view camera, it’s quite finicky to swap the ground glass for the film holder. The metal latches holding the back in place are a bit tricky to get seated properly, and you need to have a convenient, clean, dry spot to put the ground glass down when making an exposure. In a wet and tight environment like a gorge, this isn’t guaranteed — on several instances, I found myself awkwardly clamping the ground glass between my knees while crouching over my tripod, standing in rain boots in ankle-deep water. My second complaint is that with a wide-angle lens such as the 75mm, the ground-glass is really quite poorly illuminated in the corners, even when using the helpul but fiddly shade provided. This is a shame, as naturally when trying to compose precisely, the most important parts of the frame to see are the edges. I attempted to make my own fresnel insert, which didn’t seem to make much of a difference. I’m sure this would be less of an issue with a longer lens.