Goodbye Rollei, Hello Mamiya

chip j said:

Mamiya TLR lenses aren't very Sharp--they were designed for portaits. I had 6 of them in almost every focal length. The chrome lenses are sharper (I have the finest, sharpest 35mm enlargers & lenses, so maybe the comparison to Mamiya TLR negs wasn't quite fair to Mamiya).

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Chip, I am thinking perhaps you have an inferior enlarger lens, or some other problem developing medium format. I find my black 65, 80 and 135 Mamiya TLR lenses superbly sharp, especially the 80mm. I feel it is sharper than the 75mm Xenar on my Rolleicord IV. The only drawback with my C330 is the size and weight. It is a bulky heavy outfit to carry around your neck for travel or whatever.

Hi everyone. So it's been some time and I'm loving my Mamiya TLR's. I've been using two bodies, a C220F and a C220. I have an 80mm chrome lens and two black 80mm lenses with one of these being the blue dot version. To be honest, I really couldn't tell from looking at prints which was shot with which lens. My chrome lens had issues right from the get-go, the cocking lever would get stuck. After a couple of trips to a local repair shop it works wonderfully. I also have a 55mm lens and it is tack sharp and it really has a amazing way of rendering object in the square format. The only issue I have with this lens is the hood which intrudes into the viewing lens making it at times difficult to see what's being included on the bottom 3rd of the frame but I guess it's a small price to pay for a tlr that offers interchangeable lenses.

I've also have some issues with some blank frames. This seems to occur only with the C220F and either the 80 chrome and/or the 80 blue dot. So far using these lenses on the C220 doesn't seem to occur so maybe it's a problem with the body? Whatever the case, it seems that using my chrome 80 with the C220 is giving me the best results.

Loren Sattler said:

Chip, I am thinking perhaps you have an inferior enlarger lens, or some other problem developing medium format. I find my black 65, 80 and 135 Mamiya TLR lenses superbly sharp, especially the 80mm. I feel it is sharper than the 75mm Xenar on my Rolleicord IV. The only drawback with my C330 is the size and weight. It is a bulky heavy outfit to carry around your neck for travel or whatever.

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I agree, I had a C33 and C3 with 80mm and 55mm lenses and always found them very sharp, great lenses unfortunately I had them stolen.

Ian

For what it's worth,

- "blue dot" only means a different shutter design. It has nothing to do with the optics.

- The regular (non super) 180/4.5 lenses (all versions) are superb too - i have owned that one and the Super too. The Super is basically shorter length. Original has delicious bokeh.

- I own the 65 and find it to be very sharp.

- The fundamental optical design of all lenses remains unchanged through the years with the following exceptions:

105: tessar design. 105D/DS: Heliar design.

180 super vs regular 180

Some later 80 and 105 might have multicoating. All the rest are single-coated.

Marc, by "black frames" are you suggesting a clear negative (no exposure) or a black negative (too much exposure). If no exposure, I have had some issues with a shutter sticking when fired on a black 65mm lens. The usual click was there but the shutter would occasionally hang up and not open. After lubricating the shutter, the problem was resolved. Take the problematic lens off the camera and fire it manually in your hand after it has been sitting for a couple of days. You may find it does not open consistently.

The Paraminder is useful for closeup photography with the Mamiya Cxxx.

MattKing said:

Are you sure?

View attachment 182752 View attachment 182754

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these are perfectly sharp in my book.

Loren Sattler said:

Marc, by "black frames" are you suggesting a clear negative (no exposure) or a black negative (too much exposure). If no exposure, I have had some issues with a shutter sticking when fired on a black 65mm lens. The usual click was there but the shutter would occasionally hang up and not open. After lubricating the shutter, the problem was resolved. Take the problematic lens off the camera and fire it manually in your hand after it has been sitting for a couple of days. You may find it does not open consistently.

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Yes, I meant to write blank frames.