Mamiya ZE/ZM - best lenses?

hankchinaski · Oct 22, 2022

Which are the best lenses of the lineup? How are the zooms?

Also, I was checking out the Mamiya DTLs and found some images online - they seem to be incredibly sharp - how are they in comparison to the ZE/ZMs?

koraks · Oct 22, 2022

The 50mm lenses were alright, so we're the 135 ones. The 28/2.8 was quite horrible in many respects. None of the lenses I used on the ZM really compared well to Canon's consumer grade EOS lenses.
I abandoned the ZE/ZM series because the mechanics didn't age well. I've had lens mounts worn away with age and various micromechanical issues. Virtually all lenses had aperture problems and needed periodic cleaning. At some point it became too much if a hassle to keep the stuff alive. I really liked the ZM as a camera and I loved traveling with it, but it became too much of a liability.

hankchinaski · Oct 22, 2022

koraks said:
The 50mm lenses were alright, so we're the 135 ones. The 28/2.8 was quite horrible in many respects. None of the lenses I used on the ZM really compared well to Canon's consumer grade EOS lenses.
I abandoned the ZE/ZM series because the mechanics didn't age well. I've had lens mounts worn away with age and various micromechanical issues. Virtually all lenses had aperture problems and needed periodic cleaning. At some point it became too much if a hassle to keep the stuff alive. I really liked the ZM as a camera and I loved traveling with it, but it became too much of a liability.

That's such a pity! The photos look so fantastic...

koraks · Oct 22, 2022

Well, I really have always had a soft spot for the ZM and the Z system in general. But I cannot really substantiate it objectively.

Ten301 · Oct 23, 2022

The Z series lenses were good, but the bodies were horribly unreliable. IMHO, the ZM in particular was an aesthetically beautiful camera, but that funky wind lever/mechanism broke on nearly all of them, and don’t even get me started on the electronics.

If you’re interested in a later Mamiya, maybe looking into the compact N series, such as the NC1000, might be better? The lenses were pure Mamiya goodness and the bodies, while not rock solid, seem more reliable. It was the series before Mamiya jumped whole hog into electronic unreliability with the Z’s.

koraks · Oct 24, 2022

Ten301 said:
IMHO, the ZM in particular was an aesthetically beautiful camera

Oh yes! I really loved mine. As long as it held out, that is...I have to say the electronics never threw a tantrum on me, but I've had the advance mechanism lock up a couple of times. And ultimately the aperture coupling broke, which probably had to do with the lens mounting being totally worn out.

hankchinaski · Oct 24, 2022

Ten301 said:
The Z series lenses were good, but the bodies were horribly unreliable. IMHO, the ZM in particular was an aesthetically beautiful camera, but that funky wind lever/mechanism broke on nearly all of them, and don’t even get me started on the electronics.

If you’re interested in a later Mamiya, maybe looking into the compact N series, such as the NC1000, might be better? The lenses were pure Mamiya goodness and the bodies, while not rock solid, seem more reliable. It was the series before Mamiya jumped whole hog into electronic unreliability with the Z’s.

Certainly, also looking at DSX.
Only thing, it seems to me that the Z lenses had something of a more saturated image signature, while nc1000 and earlier have (to my eyes) a more sober "Zeiss" look (same sharpness though)

Mamiya ZE/ZM - best lenses?

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Mamiya ZE/ZM - best lenses?

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