Mamiya 7 - 43/65/150 vs 43/80/150

tomfrh · Apr 14, 2016

I've just bought a m7 body and 43 and 150 lens kit. I'd like to get the 65 or 80 to fill it out.

Which of these combos works better in your opinion?

sagai · Apr 15, 2016

How did you get on with the ones you have already?

tomfrh · Apr 15, 2016

The body hasn't even arrived yet so I don't know!

I know I'll like the 150mm. The 43mm I'm not sure about. I had to try it given all the hype, but I suspect a 50 might end up being more to my liking. I'll see soon enough..

FujiLove · Apr 15, 2016

The 80mm was my choice because I prefer the focal length (39mm equivalent in 135 format). I like to use the Mamiya 7 as a general walk-about camera, so the 80mm being shorter and lighter suits me better.

There's a comparison table here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/FrameWork/charts/comp_mamiyamed_4.html

craigclu · Apr 15, 2016

I ended up with the 50/80/150 and it covers my needs nicely. I might be a bit unique in that I seldom need the extreme wide coverage and prefer not dealing with the perspective distortion issues that they bring with them. The 50 gives me a good compromise in that regard but I can easily see why some people would prefer the extra coverage of the 43. I didn't find any perceived optical difference with the 43 and 50 (never owned or used the 65, though). As I write this, I realize I've seldom used the 150 over the years but when I've had reason to, it's extremely capable.

narsuitus · Apr 15, 2016

tomfrh said:
Which of these combos works better in your opinion?

43/80/150

RalphLambrecht · Apr 15, 2016

FujiLove said:
The 80mm was my choice because I prefer the focal length (39mm equivalent in 135 format). I like to use the Mamiya 7 as a general walk-about camera, so the 80mm being shorter and lighter suits me better.

There's a comparison table here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/FrameWork/charts/comp_mamiyamed_4.html

I have the Mamiya 6 with the 50/75 and 150 combo and love it.

Alan Gales · Apr 15, 2016

If it were me, I would go with the 50/80/150 combo like Craig.

Ken Nadvornick · Apr 15, 2016

Focal lengths for roughly equivalent fields-of-view:

6x7	135
43 mm	21.3 mm
50 mm	24.8 mm
65 mm	32.2 mm
80 mm	39.6 mm
150 mm	74.3 mm

Ken

mstricklandimages · Apr 18, 2016

I have the 43/80/150/210, which is about the same set of focal lengths I carry with my on 8x10 as well. It's really been the absolute perfect 6x7 system for me and without a doubt the 43mm lens is one of the absolute sharpest pieces of glass I've ever used. I'm sure the 50 is equally as great though.

flavio81 · Apr 18, 2016

tomfrh said:
I've just bought a m7 body and 43 and 150 lens kit. I'd like to get the 65 or 80 to fill it out.

Which of these combos works better in your opinion?

For what it's worth, i have the 90mm for the mamiya rb67 (same 6x7 format), and i find it an almost universal lens. If i had a 43mm lens i wouldn't get a 65mm lens, both being wideangles. The 80 would be perfect.

tomfrh · Apr 21, 2016

I've tried out the 43mm now. It's a great lens, that's for sure! It's very wide though, and I'm wondering if the 50 might be more suitable.

I'm half tempted to just buy all the mamiya 7 lenses and decide via elimination..

craigclu · Apr 21, 2016

tomfrh said:
I've tried out the 43mm now. It's a great lens, that's for sure! It's very wide though, and I'm wondering if the 50 might be more suitable.

I'm half tempted to just buy all the mamiya 7 lenses and decide via elimination..

I wonder if we're twins, separated at birth? That's my typical solution but then I never seem to sell anything and end up with growing numbers of little-used gear..... For what things are worth these days, I find it easier to rationalize keeping things rather than selling for a pittance.

Sirius Glass · Apr 21, 2016

I do not own a Mamiya 7, however I did own a Mamiya C330 with a 65mm, 80mm and 250 mm. The 65mm was not wide enough and the 55mm would have been better. Therefore the 43mm, 80mm and 150mm would make more sense. With the Hasselblad, I have the SWC [38mm], 50mm, 80mm, and 150mm lenses.

tomfrh · Apr 21, 2016

craigclu said:
but then I never seem to sell anything

ha, we're definitely twins.

I think it really pays to keep your gear down though. I've bought lenses from people with hundreds and hundreds of items. I asked the last guy which ones he likes using? He laughed and said he hasn't shot in years - no time for that - collecting camera equipment is his full time hobby

narsuitus · Apr 22, 2016

Sirius Glass said:
...I did own a Mamiya C330 with a 65mm, 80mm and 250 mm. The 65mm was not wide enough and the 55mm would have been better.

I owned a Mamiya C220 with a 65mm, 80mm and 180mm. The 65mm was not wide enough for me. I replaced it with the 55mm which was definitely much better for me. That is why I also recommended the 43/80/150 in my previous post.

EdSawyer · Apr 22, 2016

yes, get all the lenses. They are all great. I use the 43 and 80 the most, then the 65, then 50, 150, and 210 last. I rarely use the 150, in general it's not really even worth carrying most of the time I think. I would use 43/65/80 as a regular carry kit, or even just 43/80. 150 is only really useful for longer-distance scenes (not closeups, it's no better than the 80 in that regard), and the RF base is such that it's tougher to nail focus with it wide-open or close to it so expect to stop down to f/8 or f/11 most of the time (which you might do anyway...)

-Ed

ritternathan · Apr 22, 2016

I have the 50/80/150 combo and love it. I also really like a 24mm in 35mm land and seldom want wider.

Sirius Glass · Apr 22, 2016

Sirius Glass said:
I do not own a Mamiya 7, however I did own a Mamiya C330 with a 65mm, 80mm and 250 mm. The 65mm was not wide enough and the 55mm would have been better. Therefore the 43mm, 80mm and 150mm would make more sense. With the Hasselblad, I have the SWC [38mm], 50mm, 80mm, and 150mm lenses.

EdSawyer said:
yes, get all the lenses. They are all great. I use the 43 and 80 the most, then the 65, then 50, 150, and 210 last. I rarely use the 150, in general it's not really even worth carrying most of the time I think. I would use 43/65/80 as a regular carry kit, or even just 43/80. 150 is only really useful for longer-distance scenes (not closeups, it's no better than the 80 in that regard), and the RF base is such that it's tougher to nail focus with it wide-open or close to it so expect to stop down to f/8 or f/11 most of the time (which you might do anyway...) Emphasis added

My complete list of Hasselblad lenses is 38mm [SWC], 50mm, 80mm, 100mm, 150mm, 250mm and 500mm. The least use lens is the 150mm. It gets test fired every three months [like all lenses are] which is the most use it gets. I have gone many years without using the 150mm lens.

L Gebhardt · Apr 22, 2016

I don't have the 43, though I consider buying it every so often. So for me it's either the 50, 80 and 150 or just a single 65mm lens. I've got most of my best shots from the 65mm, so it's the option I tend to favor. I don't use the 150mm as much as I thought I would since nailing focus is harder for some reason.

Ken Nadvornick · Apr 23, 2016

Something else to consider in lens selection is the possible use of on-camera flash. Using a Mamiya C330 TLR as an example, many people here have stated that the 65mm lens isn't wide enough for them. They prefer the 55mm. Fair enough. But...

A 55mm lens in a 6x6 format is roughly equivalent on the diagonal to a 30.0mm lens in 135 format.
A 65mm lens in a 6x6 format is roughly equivalent on the diagonal to a 35.5mm lens in 135 format.

Where diagonal coverage is theoretically full coverage. But practically speaking, because flash coverages are not sharp-cut spotlight outputs, falloff is usually even a bit worse in real use.

Most electronic flash units are designed to cover only down to about a 35mm equivalent field-of-view in 135 format. This means that an average flash unit used in normal mode will begin to show more pronounced vignetting when paired with the 55mm in 6x6, but will far more evenly cover the 65mm in 6x6.

If one's flash comes with a wide-angle option (usually down to 28mm, or so) that will work, but of course at a reduced light output level and shorter maximum distances.

This is why I have both the 55mm and the 65mm for my Mamiya. When edge-to-edge coverage does not matter (say, outdoor fill when the main subject covers only the central portion of the frame) the 55mm works great. But when the edges do matter (say, when the flash is the primary light source), the 65mm is the widest I reach for.

Given the chart back in post #9, it seems as if the 65mm in 6x7 format might actually be on the dicey edge. And the same for the 50mm even if a 28mm wide-angle option is used. Of course bare bulb is always an option as well.

Ken

narsuitus · Apr 23, 2016

Ken Nadvornick said:
Of course bare bulb is always an option as well.

Yes, when I shot interior architectural images with the 55mm on the Mamiya C220, I usually used multiple bare bulbs.

When I shot large group portraits with the 55mm on the Mamiya C220, I usually used 2 or 3 electronic flash units arranged to avoid light falloff at the edges.

Mamiya 7 - 43/65/150 vs 43/80/150

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