MAMIYA TLR

Steve Smith · Jan 3, 2015

miha said:
The 180 SUPER I have cocks automatically on my C330.

I have just tried mine. Not only is the cocking lever too short, it also jams against the side of the shutter.

Looks like my 180 is reserved for use on the C3.

Rick A said:
Mine is the chrome version, not the super.

As is mine.

Steve.

miha · Jan 3, 2015

Looks like the SUPER really is "super"!

grahamp · Jan 3, 2015

Some chrome 180mm lenses will not work on the C33/C330. It is to do with the location and arc of motion of the cocking arm. Later Seikosha-S shutter 180s and the black Seiko shutter lenses should be fine.

flavio81 · Jan 3, 2015

grahamp said:
Some chrome 180mm lenses will not work on the C33/C330. It is to do with the location and arc of motion of the cocking arm. Later Seikosha-S shutter 180s and the black Seiko shutter lenses should be fine.

Thanks Mr. Patterson, i was about to post that. BTW, one of the sharpest pics I got was made with the old chrome 180mm at f11.

benjiboy · Jan 3, 2015

I much prefer my Mamiya C330F to a Rollei, I had one about 25 years ago and sold it, I find the Mamiya a lot more versatile and the images of more than adequate quality.

miha · Jan 3, 2015

I can focus much faster with my C330 than with a Rolleicord I handled once for a while and it's much more versatile as you say but a Rolleiflex is a Rolleiflex.

flavio81 · Jan 3, 2015

miha said:
I can focus much faster with my C330 than with a Rolleicord I handled once for a while and it's much more versatile as you say but a Rolleiflex is a Rolleiflex.

I've had the chance to buy a Rolleiflex twice, but twice I stayed with the c330. I have a Rolleicord, but now that I've a C220, i think the Rcord will have to go. Mind you, rolleis are masterpieces of TLR cameras, but I find the Mamiyas more versatile.

Rick A · Jan 3, 2015

Shot with the C-220/180 - metered with the porro finder hand held, the dust is my filthy all-in-one scanner.

miha · Jan 3, 2015

180mm SUPER, wide open, TMAX 100, Emaks paper:

MattKing · Jan 3, 2015

Great for IR

The Mamiya C series TLRs are great for IR/near IR photography.

This was done with a C220 and the Rollei near IR film.

narsuitus · Jan 4, 2015

LMNOP said:
Anyone have some input?

I was heart broken when Mamiya-Sekor discontinued this camera.

I owned and used the following TLR bodies:
C220
C22
C2 (used as a backup body)

I owned and used the following Mamiya-Sekor lenses:

80mm f/2.8 normal lens (used as a general purpose lens)

180mm f/4.5 telephoto (used primarily for head and shoulder portraits)

65mm f/3.5 wide-angle (this focal length was not wide enough for me so I replaced it with the 55mm)

55mm f/4.5 wide-angle (used primarily for group shots in small rooms)

Notes:

I used the cameras primarily for weddings and portraits.

However, I also used them for landscapes, architectural, sports, still lifes, and close-ups.

Loved the square format so I did not have to worry about portrait or landscape orientation.

Loved the waist-level view finder when shooting full-length portraits.

I preferred the manual shutter cocking bodies so I would not have to worry about the cocking mechanism breaking.

When I had to shoot close-ups and still life subjects, I used a paramender between the lens and the tripod in order to easily correct parallax.

When I had to shoot high-school night football in a dimly lit stadium, I would use 220 film in the 220 body, the prism finder, a pistol grip, and a powerful flash synced at 1/500 second.

I put gaffers tape over the sync setting switch to prevent it from accidentally moving from the electronic flash setting (X) to the flash bulb setting (M).

https://flic.kr/p/oPrHJV

LMNOP · Jan 4, 2015

I'm looking at a C33 with the 80mm 2.8 for $225 - condition looks good. I would prefer a later model, but the 330s get a bit pricier.

benjiboy · Jan 4, 2015

LMNOP said:
I'm looking at a C33 with the 80mm 2.8 for $225 - condition looks good. I would prefer a later model, but the 330s get a bit pricier.

I had a C33 once it weighed a ton and the focusing screens are not interchangeable, but other than that they are pretty bullet proof and for $225 if in good condition a pretty good buy.

natelfo · Jan 4, 2015

I have a C330F that came with the 80mm S lens. I absolutely love this camera. This is by far my favorite TLR I have ever used and is one camera I will never get rid of. The 80mm S lens is simply stunning to say the least. I do want to get either the 65mm or the 55mm lens, as well as a 135 and it will be complete. The C220 is also a wonderful camera and is a simpler version of the C330, but no less a fine camera.

benjiboy · Jan 4, 2015

natelfo said:
I have a C330F that came with the 80mm S lens. I absolutely love this camera. This is by far my favorite TLR I have ever used and is one camera I will never get rid of. The 80mm S lens is simply stunning to say the least. I do want to get either the 65mm or the 55mm lens, as well as a 135 and it will be complete. The C220 is also a wonderful camera and is a simpler version of the C330, but no less a fine camera.[/QUOTE

I've had a C330F for more than 25 years and I love mine too, I would recommend that if you already have the 80mm lenses you buy the 55 lenses because the 65mm lenses are too close to the 80mm ones in the angle of view to make them a worthwhile buy,because even the 55mm ones aren't excessively wide.

flavio81 · Jan 5, 2015

benjiboy said:
natelfo said:

I have a C330F that came with the 80mm S lens. I absolutely love this camera. This is by far my favorite TLR I have ever used and is one camera I will never get rid of. The 80mm S lens is simply stunning to say the least. I do want to get either the 65mm or the 55mm lens, as well as a 135 and it will be complete. The C220 is also a wonderful camera and is a simpler version of the C330, but no less a fine camera.[/QUOTE

I've had a C330F for more than 25 years and I love mine too, I would recommend that if you already have the 80mm lenses you buy the 55 lenses because the 65mm lenses are too close to the 80mm ones in the angle of view to make them a worthwhile buy,because even the 55mm ones aren't excessively wide.

Click to expand...

I'm going to disagree here and make a pitch for the 65mm, because of the following:

1. the 65 is a full stop faster over the 55
2. the 65 is sharp wide open, while the 55 needs to be stopped down a bit
3. the 65 is noticeably wideangle compared to the 80
4. the 65 uses common 49mm filters unlike the 55 or 80.
5. the 65 is easier to focus
6. on a modern photography test of the system (1971) the 65 was the best performer out of the 65-80-105-135-180 group and the only one to achieve an "excellent" resolution score.

I don't use the 80 too much, I rely more on carrying the 65 for general purpose and the 105 for portraits.

Ken Nadvornick · Jan 5, 2015

For general discussion reference, here are the seven Mamiya TLR lenses with their approximate 35mm focal length equivalents (diagonal measures, nominal film gate dimensions, expressed in mm).

Ken

[table="width: 1"]

Mamiya
35mm

55
28.0

65
33.1

80
40.8

105
53.5

135
68.8

180
91.8

250
127.5

[/table]

flavio81 · Jan 5, 2015

Ken Nadvornick said:
For general discussion reference, here are the seven Mamiya TLR lenses with their approximate 35mm focal length equivalents (diagonal measures, nominal film gate dimensions, expressed in mm).

Ken

[TABLE="width: 1"]

Mamiya

35mm

55

28.0

65

33.1

80

40.8

105

53.5

135

68.8

180

91.8

250

127.5

[/TABLE]

There is also another table in Graham Patterson's Mamiya FAQ, with different ways of doing the conversion. This is how i "feel" the focal lengths i own, based on one of the conversion attempts at Graham's:
[TABLE="width: 1"]

Mamiya

35mm

55

28-30

65

35

80

43

105

58

180

100

[/TABLE]

TexasRancher · Jan 5, 2015

Mamiya tlr 65mm lens

Hello to add to the virtues of the 65 mm lens, It is great as a close-up/copy lens. It will focus to about 3 inches

narsuitus · Jan 5, 2015

Here is why I replaced my 65mm f/3.5 Mamiya lens with a 55mm f/4.5.

When I used the 65mm f/3.5 Mamiya lens on my 6x6cm TLR to photograph groups of people, I was not getting the coverage that I needed. Based on my shots with a 35mm SLR camera, I knew that my Mamiya needed a wide-angle lens that gave me a horizontal angle-of-view similar to a 35mm focal length lens on my 35mm SLR.

The 65mm Mamiya lens I had been using had a 46.61° horizontal angle-of-view. This horizontal angle-of-view is between the 48.56° horizontal angle-of-view of a 40mm lens and the 43.60° horizontal angle-of-view of a 45mm lens on my 35mm SLR.

The 55mm Mamiya lens has a 53.96° horizontal angle-of-view. This angle-of-view is closer to the 54.43° horizontal angle-of-view of a 35mm lens on my 35mm SLR.

Dali · Jan 5, 2015

I don't know if Mamiya got some QC issues with 55mm lens but it has mixed reviews from users. Some love it, others are not so fond of it. Mine is OK but not that great.

benjiboy · Jan 5, 2015

narsuitus said:
Here is why I replaced my 65mm f/3.5 Mamiya lens for a 55mm f/4.5.

When I used the 65mm f/3.5 Mamiya lens on my 6x6cm TLR to photograph groups of people, I was not getting the coverage that I needed. Based on my shots with a 35mm SLR camera, I knew that my Mamiya needed a wide-angle lens that gave me a horizontal angle-of-view similar to a 35mm focal length lens on my 35mm SLR.

The 65mm Mamiya lens I had been using had a 46.61° horizontal angle-of-view. This horizontal angle-of-view is between the 48.56° horizontal angle-of-view of a 40mm lens and the 43.60° horizontal angle-of-view of a 45mm lens on my 35mm SLR.

The 55mm Mamiya lens has a 53.96° horizontal angle-of-view. This angle-of-view is closer to the 54.43° horizontal angle-of-view of a 35mm lens on my 35mm SLR.

That's why I never bought the 65 mm, because when trying to photograph groups indoors at weddings and functions with this lens you couldn't fit them in without knocking a wall out.

Loren Sattler · Jan 5, 2015

I have owned a C330 for many years. Yes, it is a tank to carry around, but a very high quality tool at a very low cost on today's market. I find my 80mm (black model but not blue dot) lens to be super sharp. I shoot mostly with a 65mm lens which is a super performer. Angle of view wise, it feels like a 35mm lens (my favorite) on a 35mm camera. You will not be disappointed with the results.

Ken Nadvornick · Jan 6, 2015

flavio81 said:
There is also another table in Graham Patterson's Mamiya FAQ, with different ways of doing the conversion. This is how i "feel" the focal lengths i own, based on one of the conversion attempts at Graham's...

Graham's numbers appear to have been derived by specifying a smaller than nominal film gate dimension.

Modern medium format cameras with a square aspect ratio use a film gate that measures 56x56mm square. The software utility that generated the original numbers assumes (as previously mentioned) a nominal gate dimension of 60x60mm. This is because gate sizes have varied slightly by manufacturer over time.

Here is a table showing the difference in the approximate equivalent focal lengths between the two gate sizes. As before, these numbers are based on the diagonal measurement of the image, meaning the minimum image circle required to cover the format corners, and are expressed in millimeters.

Ken

[table="width: 150, align: left"]

Mamiya
35mm 60x60
35mm 56x56

55
28.0
30.0

65
33.1
35.5

80
40.8
43.7

105
53.5
57.4

135
68.8
73.8

180
91.8
98.3

250
127.5
136.6

[/table]

flavio81 · Jan 6, 2015

Thanks Ken!! The table you posted agrees fully with my 'subjective ratings' table above. The mystery has been solved!!

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