Portrait Lens?

[Snapper]

I want to get a m/f lens suitable for portraiture. I have a Mamiya 7II, but would the 150mm lens be too short for portraits (70mm in 35mm terms)? Would I be better off getting something like a s/h Hasselblad 501 and a 150mm lens? Or just stick with my Mamiya c330 and 135mm lens and keep chopping the top of people's heads off when I forget about the parallax?

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

How is the parallax correction on the M7II? You might still be chopping off heads with a rangefinder. That said, 150mm on 6x7 isn't unreasonable for portraits, and it won't be too different from 135mm on 6x6, which is what I usually use for 6x6 as well, and I usually print square.

 

[fingel]

I think it is a personal choice. Your not going to see much of a difference between a 150mm on a Mamiya 7II or a Hasselblad. The magnification will be the same, so it is a mater of wether you like square vs rectangular. If it were me, I would use the camera system that you have, buy the 150mm lens, and if you want a square photo, crop the excess rectangular part off when you print.

 

[blansky]

I haven't really used mine much for portraits yet but I bought a 150 Mamiya 7II lens of Ebay for $600.

It may be a problem for very tight headshots since the minimum focusing distance is 6 feet, but for anything else it should be fine.

I'm not sure the dilemma you stated is just the lens. If you are planning on doing a lot of portraits with the Mamiya 7 II it could be a problem with loading film continually, unless you have more than one body.

With a Hasselblad system, or most "portrait" systems, you have the option of buying more than one filmback, which can rapidly be added and removed. I use between 4 and 6 Hasselblad film backs when I'm shooting portraits partly because I don't want to interrupt the flow, changing out film.

I think, although the Mamiya can handle 220 film, that it is getting harder to find.

This whole film thing could be another consideration in your decision making.

Michael McBlane

 

[Allan Swindles]

Hass./150/10mm Ext. Tube/Portraiture = Superb!

Regards - Allan.

 

[Tom Duffy]

You might also consider an RZ with a 150 or 180mm lens. Much bigger than a Hassie, but the optics are superb (I personally loved the 150 when I had a Mamiya), and you will be using the same 6x7 format for everything.