mamiya rz67 pro lenses?

[tnewell]

hey all, wondering if you can help - renting a few lenses for a mamiya rz67 pro...need a close up portrait lens and a sort of tight full length like the images below. the rental place has the following options : 50, 65, 75,90,110 and 180. Still kinda new to this stuff so just wanted to ask those who understand this stuff more. just looking for two lenses that are a good bet for both these looks essentially. thanks!

 

[MattKing]

That top image has probably been created with a much smaller sensor than 6x7 - note the depth of field - so I'm not sure what I'd recommend. Possibly the 75mm shift lens?
For the bottom image, something longer. The 110 might do it. The 180 would be more natural and flattering for most subjects, but for the right professional model .....

 

[tnewell]

That top image has probably been created with a much smaller sensor than 6x7 - note the depth of field - so I'm not sure what I'd recommend. Possibly the 75mm shift lens?
For the bottom image, something longer. The 110 might do it. The 180 would be more natural and flattering for most subjects, but for the right professional model .....

thanks for the suggestions. i've been reading good things about the 180. I think i'm leaning towards the 110 for the more body length shots as i have not used a shift lens yet....starting slow haha.

 

[MattKing]

I would suggest that you be careful with using shots like those as examples, because they both look to me as having been shot with much smaller formats.
A 6x7 "sensor" will give you significantly different character.
Really nice character, but different.

 

[tnewell]

I would suggest that you be careful with using shots like those as examples, because they both look to me as having been shot with much smaller formats.
A 6x7 "sensor" will give you significantly different character.
Really nice character, but different.

ah ok got it. heres a different option-
i know this photographer uses the mamiya rz67 pro for sure. What do you think this lens is? basically need to be able to fit a full person mid frame without it being too far away for loss of detail.

 

[MattKing]

It is hard to say which lens was involved in your 3rd example. I see some flattening of perspective, which would lead to an assumption that the subject to camera distance is long and the lens is as well.
But the photographer may have achieved the same result by using a longer subject to camera distance and a shorter lens, if the film image was later cropped.
In case that it isn't obvious, in general (and with the exception of the tilt lens) the only thing you can guess based on looking at an example is something about the subject to camera distance. The lens used won't really be revealed unless you know how much, if any, the film image was later cropped.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

They look like 90mm and 180mm for 6x7.

 

[btaylor]

I am not the expert like Matt, but I do shoot with my RZ67 and the lenses you listed. I think the 110mm and 180mm would get you the looks you are after in the examples you posted. The RZ bellows will allow you to focus quite close.
Or 90mm as Mr. Klein suggests.

 

[halfaman]

The first one could be also a 65mm.

 

[MattKing]

For clarity, my 6x7 experience is mainly with the RB67, not the RZ67, but lens choice on 6x7 is sort of camera independent.

 

[flavio81]

hey all, wondering if you can help - renting a few lenses for a mamiya rz67 pro...need a close up portrait lens and a sort of tight full length like the images below. the rental place has the following options : 50, 65, 75,90,110 and 180. Still kinda new to this stuff so just wanted to ask those who understand this stuff more. just looking for two lenses that are a good bet for both these looks essentially. thanks!

180mm is an excellent focal length for portraits (faces etc) on 6x7, go for it! I had the Mamiya 180/4.5C for the old RB67 and it was a stunner.

The first shot you posted is more close to the angle of view of the 65mm lens. 65mm is a great general-purpose wideangle. 75mm will be good, too, more or less like a 35-38mm lens on 135 format.

50mm would give you a wider (more extreme) look than the sample picture.

If i could have only one lens for the 6x7 format, it would be a 65mm lens. Or 75mm.

 

[flavio81]

ah ok got it. heres a different option-
i know this photographer uses the mamiya rz67 pro for sure. What do you think this lens is? basically need to be able to fit a full person mid frame without it being too far away for loss of detail.
View attachment 305322

75 or 90mm, no longer than that.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I'd look at the 65 and 110 as your rental options. Both very versatile lenses - the 65 can be used for environmental shots without excessive perspective distortion, and the 110 can do both tighter environmental and close-up portraiture type work. While the 180 is a good lens for tight portraits, if you're not using it in the studio it is a rather bulky lens to haul around.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

Here's a great calcualtor. You can select the lens and format to get angles of view as well as Depth of Field.

There are boxes you can check on to select head view, head and shoulder full, full-body, etc. where recommendations are made for each lens.
https://www.pointsinfocus.com/tools/depth-of-field-and-equivalent-lens-calculator/#{%22c%22:[{%22f%22:18,%22av%22:%2216%22,%22fl%22:180,%22d%22:939,%22cm%22:%220%22}],%22m%22:0}

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I would be careful using wide-angle lenses for portraits. You have to get in closer and wide-angle lenses distort the face. The nose and frontal features get bigger and the ears and back of the head get smaller. It's not flattering to the subject. It;s why you should use longer lenses, especially with closeups. Longer lenses flatten the face making them appear normal.

If you want to see what wide-angle looks like, just look at your own face on your cellphone. With the distortions it causes, only your mother could love a face like that.

 

[tnewell]

I am not the expert like Matt, but I do shoot with my RZ67 and the lenses you listed. I think the 110mm and 180mm would get you the looks you are after in the examples you posted. The RZ bellows will allow you to focus quite close.
Or 90mm as Mr. Klein suggests.

awesome. thanks for the input.

 

[tnewell]

Here's a great calcualtor. You can select the lens and format to get angles of view as well as Depth of Field.

There are boxes you can check on to select head view, head and shoulder full, full-body, etc. where recommendations are made for each lens.
https://www.pointsinfocus.com/tools/depth-of-field-and-equivalent-lens-calculator/#{%22c%22:[{%22f%22:18,%22av%22:%2216%22,%22fl%22:180,%22d%22:939,%22cm%22:%220%22}],%22m%22:0}

this is awesome! thanks. Also when you say long lens...can you give an example? would that be 110 for example?

 

[rulnacco]

I have a pretty wide range of RZ67 lenses--I *don't* have the 110, as unfortunately prices on those have gone a bit mad.

The 65 is a really nice lens, and would give you approximately what you see in that first photo. You could probably also do it with the 90mm, which is a really sharp lens. (I once took a full length portrait of a friend of mine, leaving a bit of room above his head and below his feet. And I was stunned when looking at the black and white negative to see that you could clearly read the lettering on the button holding up his jeans.) But the 65 would give you a little more flexibility shooting in confined spaces.

The other lens I use the most is the 140mm macro--which, it appears, your rental place doesn't have. Extremely sharp, long enough to do fairly close head shots, but you could still do a full length with just a bit of backing up. Plus it has close range correction, if you are shooting really close. (All RZ67 lenses focus quite close, because of the bellows, but the 140 is primarily designed optically for closeup shooting, and has adjustable close range correction.)

The 180 is indeed a very nice lens for tight portraits. If you want to see what mine can do, I've posted a full-resolution shot I took several years ago with an ancient, 22-megapixel Sinarback 54M. You can see it right here, and I think it'll give you all the quality and sharpness you want.

 

[MattKing]

FWIW, my favourite lens pair with my RB67 was a 65mm and 140mm macro pair.
The 180 was used where appropriate, and the 50 was always near.

 

[tnewell]

I have a pretty wide range of RZ67 lenses--I *don't* have the 110, as unfortunately prices on those have gone a bit mad.

The 65 is a really nice lens, and would give you approximately what you see in that first photo. You could probably also do it with the 90mm, which is a really sharp lens. (I once took a full length portrait of a friend of mine, leaving a bit of room above his head and below his feet. And I was stunned when looking at the black and white negative to see that you could clearly read the lettering on the button holding up his jeans.) But the 65 would give you a little more flexibility shooting in confined spaces.

The other lens I use the most is the 140mm macro--which, it appears, your rental place doesn't have. Extremely sharp, long enough to do fairly close head shots, but you could still do a full length with just a bit of backing up. Plus it has close range correction, if you are shooting really close. (All RZ67 lenses focus quite close, because of the bellows, but the 140 is primarily designed optically for closeup shooting, and has adjustable close range correction.)

The 180 is indeed a very nice lens for tight portraits. If you want to see what mine can do, I've posted a full-resolution shot I took several years ago with an ancient, 22-megapixel Sinarback 54M. You can see it right here, and I think it'll give you all the quality and sharpness you want.

oh yeh , see what you're saying about the 180...very sharp! i feel im leaning towards that one and the 65...so i can do both full length and close ups . i just need to make sure for some room around the subject for illustrations.

 

[rulnacco]

You can definitely do that with the 180. It's roughly the equivalent of a 90mm on a 35mm film camera/DSLR--and it's a little more square, not so tall and skinny. So if you get back just a little bit, you can get a pretty tight portrait, with a bit of room around the edges. If you're looking to buy your own, the 180 is generally one of the cheapest RZ67 lenses. I'd try to snag the 180 W-N--that's the one I have, it's the newest version, and it's really, really nice. (Not terribly heavy for its size, either.)

 

[MattKing]

The RB67 lenses also work fine on the RZ67 - in case you want to try various focal lengths out and there is better availability.

 

[awty]

ah ok got it. heres a different option-
i know this photographer uses the mamiya rz67 pro for sure. What do you think this lens is? basically need to be able to fit a full person mid frame without it being too far away for loss of detail.
View attachment 305322

There all great lenses. You just have to work out the focal length. You can use a view finder app, they have 6x7 and you can adjust the focal length to get what you want. The 180 and 110 are better for a more shallow depth of field the shorter ones will be better at more depth of field the wider you go.
My guess he used a 75 or 90mm @f16 judging by the distance of the subject. Notice it was shot at a low angle to give the subject a greater presences to his crossed leg and hand. ..