Thanks Matt,
The more I read about the different models, the more I get confused.
I am used to film going way back to the late 70's; but 35mm...
I think I am getting confused with the Mamiya C330 and C220 models.
THOSE are the ones with the leaf shutter in the lens enabling flash sync with all shutter speeds, right??
Due to the nature of the SLR Medium Format, it is obviously a focal plane shutter.
So the N system lens are actually leaf shutters in the lens and harder to use? is this what you meant?
Victory camera has a nice 645 pro tl for sale, but it has the N series lens, is this type of lens better to avoid in my position
because of the extra shutter cocking as per your thread response? If I understood correctly.
Thanks, I may have this all wrong.... will the 645 lenses fit on the rb67's
Ronald
Ronald:
Nope
!
In no particular order...
There is no compatibility between the Mamiya C series TLRs, 645 series SLRs or RB67/RZ67 SLRS (save a couple of grips and tripod mounting accessories) and of course, they all use 120 and 220 film.
As Steve posted, SLRs can have focal plane shutters, or not. If they don't have a focal plane shutter (e.g. an RB67), you need lenses with leaf shutters. If they do have a focal plane shutter, leaf shutter lenses can be designed to work with them (essentially they are set up to synch in a special way).
TLRs like the Mamiya C220/C330 will most likely have leaf shutters only, although I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to have someone post that there are rare and esoteric exceptions that I have never heard of.
The first Mamiya 645 came out in 1975, so there has been 37 or so years of product changes since then. Included in those changes you will find a number of changes in the lenses being sold.
Some of those 645 lens changes can be tracked by noting the series changes in the lenses:
a) the original lenses are designated simply as "C" lenses;
b) in some cases, there were lenses issued in an "A" series (APO?). Those lenses are designated with the C, plus an A; and
b) in some cases, there were lenses issued in an "S" series (for smaller?). Those lenses are designated with the C, plus an S; and
c) finally, the most recent lenses were issued in an "N" series (for newer?). Those lenses are designated with the C, plus an N.
In the case of the special purpose lenses that have leaf shutters as well, they have an "/L" added to their designation - e.g. 150mm f/3.8 N/L
The 645 N lenses have the most modern coatings and are the newest. So in most cases they are the most desirable. In addition, in some cases they have improved optical designs and may be smaller and/or lighter (e.g. the 45mm f/2.8 N lens).
There have been leaf shutter lenses issued in each of the series (or at least the C, S and N series - I think). So an N designation has nothing to do with whether or not a lens has a leaf shutter.
I would suggest not worrying about having a leaf shutter option available unless you expect to need to use fill flash. If you don't use fill flash, leaf shutters and focal plane shutters behave in similar ways. If you intend to use fill flash a lot, the cameras designed around leaf shutters (RB67, RZ67 or C220/C330) are more convenient to use. That being said, the leaf shutter lenses for the 645 series are a reasonable option, because they can be used in either focal plane shutter mode or, somewhat less conveniently, in leaf shutter mode.
Unless you are not expecting to use much fill flash, I wouldn't suggest that you let the availability of leaf shutters dictate your choice.
Have you compared the handling, sizes and weights of RB67s and the Mamiya 645 Pro Tl?
Hope this helps.
