All the Hi-Matic shots were made with the camera in full-auto exposure mode. The camera was built to accommodate a 1.35v Mercury battery. Not having that, I used a 1.5v and adjusted the ASA down to 125. The exposure values shown in the camera's viewfinder matched those of a reliable handheld meter, but I still got a bit of underexposure in the negatives. I think there are some 1.4v batteries available that might give better results, so I'll try to track down a source.
I'm not sure how the coupled meter adjusts both the speed and the aperture. The shutter release has quite a long throw, so I suspect the mechanism works in a somewhat similar fashion to the way exposure is handled by the Olympus RC, although the Oly offers only shutter-priority and full-manual modes.
The full-auto mode in the Hi-Matic 7s is not entirely to my liking due to the fact that the meter reading in the viewfinder only displays an EV value, so you do not know the exact aperture and shutter settings that are being selected by the system. Theoretically, you can set the Hi-Matic's shutter and let the camera adjust the aperture, but I'll need to get a battery with the proper voltage to make sure that everything is working as designed. Of course, full-manual operation is also an option, but the narrowness and closeness of the setting rings on the lens makes that process a bit awkward.
