Trying to enter the MF world with a Mamiya 645

[keithwms]

~$60 on ebay. Look for "mamiya nikon adapter." Actually the mamiya 500/5.6 is a quite nice and inexpensive way to do supertele on 35mm. Actually, I don't normally use the mamiya lenses on the Nikons, but if I need to pack lightly, I dual-purpose some of the lenses like the 80/4 macro and the 200/2.8 apo.

 

[Top-Cat]

I found the adapter, but I need to know if I could use a newer camera without manual aperture control, like a F65 or digital Nikon? On those cameras I can't set the aperture to anything other than f22 on the lens itself, so how could I be able to use something like the adapter on these types of cameras?

And will the optical quality of the lens remain even though I use it with an adapter?

 

[keithwms]

Well you'll be putting mamiya lenses on any nikon F body with this adapter. So you just want a mamiya lens with manual aperture selection. IIRC, all of the m645 lenses have manual aperture rings. As for metering, well, I do that manually. It's easy. On a digital, it's even easier, you just redo that which isn't perfect, using the image preview or the histogram to judge.

 

[Top-Cat]

Yes, I see the reason, and it would give me a 200mm 2.8 for a price twenty times less than a new 180mm 2.8. The only problem is the fact that newer cameras don't accept me using the manual aperture ring, whenever I set the prime lenses on my D80 to anything other than f22 I get an "F E E" message (I can only set the aperture on the menu screen using a button on the camera) - that's why I'm not sure if it'll work on my camera.

 

[keithwms]

Ah okay, the "fEE" thing. Well I can report that it works perfectly on my D700. If somebody around here has a D80 I could check for you. Do you get fEE even if you set the camera to fully manual? I don't remember.

Anyway like I said there are several lenses of interest for this: the 200/2.8, the 80/4 macro, maybe the 300/2.8. I have used the 500/5.6 this way. A tilt/shift lens might also be nice. And I suppose that if you were to put a leaf shutter lens on via this adapter, then you could flash synch to 1/500 might be of interest for portraiture. Come to think of it, there are the variable softness imagon-like lenses for the mamiya bodies, they might be extra nice on a 35mm body.

 

[Top-Cat]

I'm guessing there's two possibilities, either the "fEE" and it won't work, but I've also noticed that I'm able to shoot with the camera without a lens attached, and when so it gives me a message on the top display saying "f--" that would allow me to take pictures using the manual aperture ring.

 

[Top-Cat]

Processed my first seven 120 films today, both some Voigtländer Perkeo shots (6 x 6) and with the Mamiya, the really surprizing thing for me was to see that I'd actually got one or two good pictures squeezed out of the old Voigtländer (didn't expect to get anything sharp). The difference in resolution seems insignificant, but the compositional aspect of the format makes the 6x6 of a whole other world, I think I might want to keep that one in my bag when I shoot mainly digital.

Havent made any prints, so I still can't see what the big deal is about yet, though I like the 4:3 format of the 645 as well.

 

[Leighgion]

The "fEE" thing on electronic Nikons is only applicable if you're using a metered mode on the camera. The camera body wants to have control of the aperture, which it only gets if you dial the lens to min aperture.

Once you get into using lens mount adapters, you can't use metered modes anyway and have to switch to manual, whereupon it should be impossible to get a fEE error because going to M mode tells the camera to just take whatever shutter speed you order it to use and fire.

Getting back to the original question.. I do own a Mamiya 645 Super and several lens as well as a motor drive. The motor winder grip makes the whole kit handle much more like a 35mm camera, but it's of course a lot bigger and heavier. That's really been my main problem with it. When I actually get my Mamiya into the field and shoot with it, I've been quite pleased with the results that are possible.

 

[Top-Cat]

Yes, I thought it was something like that so I just went ahead and bought it, now I'm toying with the idea of the incredibly cheap 500mm, even though I'm finding it hard to imagine seriously using it thinking I should get into astrophotography or candid photography for an excuse to get this lens. Don't think I could afford any new investments before the end of the summer any way.

Photography is expensive when you spend too much time online!

Any other Mamiya 645 people considering upgrading to any the AFD models for combining digital and analog or is it just me? Just seems like a great alternative to spend the same amount (if you get a good deal on a used AFD) for a ZD back as for the full frame Canons and Nikons.

Any way, the Pro TL should suffice for several years, it's a great camera and I think I might build up a system like I have with my Nikons.

Still, I have to admit the surprising abilities and practical aspects of an old 50s folding camera!

I should stop hanging around and stay outside all day like I used to before I started working in the holidays -student life gives a lot of free time for photography during semesters - talking like this makes me feel like an idiotic gearhead not able to understand the importance of just taking the good pictures.

 

[Leighgion]

I don't know where you've been shopping, Top Cat, but I can't see any way that buying into a digital back for a Mamiya ends up cheaper than getting full frame DSLRs from Nikon or Canon. The ZD digital back alone lists for $3,699. A Nikon D700 body can be had for ~$2500.

If I had thousands of extra dollars I certainly wouldn't mind trying out digital medium format, but not for purposes of economizing.

 

[Top-Cat]

I know it's somewhat more expensive, I was mainly considering MF as an alternative to a D3x or possible future equivalent, since you can use the same body as the one you already have I'm comparing the digital back as a single investment.
With the ZD the back price dropped several thousands, and that was around five years ago, since electronics themselves have a tendency to drop in price I'm thinking a digital back will actually come to be a good alternative to full frame DSLR bodies some time during this decade, maybe even within three or five years (I won'd get an AFD body right away any way).
I also have some connections with the importer of Mamiya equipment in my country, it's still expensive, but I get it about as cheap as they come new.
You only need a compatible MF body due to everything being interchangeable (yes I know that the AFDs have prisms and winders attached, but you know what I mean).

 

[mrisney]

On Ebay, or KEH, you can put together a 645 Pro body (~$100) + a AE Prism (~$150-$175) + a back (~$50). I spoke with Mamiya (MAC in Elsmford NY) recently about a CLA on my Mamiya 6. And they said the still support the Pro and the Pro TL, that they are workhorses. The Super has issues they warned, and that if your looking for a kit, better to look for a Pro or a Pro TL. The lenses are good, I have seen 80mm manual focus go for as little as $50, My personal fave is the 80 f/1.9 - fastest MF lens, and the 110mm is really nice for portraiture, better than the 150mm IMO. I don't have MF Zeiss lenses ( I wish I did) So I can't compare. But MF, even at 645 is a big step up in image quality over 35mm, I think that it's a bit of hairsplitting once your in 120mm format, sure I could be wrong, but basically they are all good at the medium format level. At that price, it's a no brainer, but as someone early mentioned, when you assemble all the modular pieces of a Mamiya 645 system, the little thing gets heavy. It's still lighter and less bulky than a RZ or RB, but it's not light. I think Medium format is the way to go these days, you get superior images to 35mm film, and with the right scanner (Nikon Coolscan 9000 ED) - you can get better image files than any FF 35mm DSLR system. I would go for manual focus, I tried the Mamiya 645AF, and it kept focusing on points in the image that I wasn't trying to - I like off center focus - I like to control my camera, not it control me. So get a Pro, or a Pro TL, but I would argue that they aren't really walkaround camera's. For that, get the Mamiya 6, or the Fuji GA645 or Bronica RF645. Rangefinders are awesome, no clackity-clack mirror box, silent, and the Mamiya 6 was a masterpiece of a camera, they do get snapped on Ebay when they are for sale. My favorite camera, but I still keep a 645 Pro system in my closet. and Just recently, I came across a rare 24mm Fisheye, so I can't wait to try that.

 

[Top-Cat]

I've used it as a walk around camera for two weeks now, it's kind of heavy yes, but I'm used to it from my DSLR as I tend to stack up on way too many lenses - thinking of walking around with just the 80mm and some moderately fast BW film for as long as I can afford it (it's often seeing how much money I spend on film that makes me go back to digital, either that or want of colors since digital is really good for color work since you can compose easier by seeing the saturation and overall look on the screen) - then I get to a point where I want to feel more like a dedicated photographer and go back to film.

 

[Leighgion]

If you've lasted two weeks without undue complaint, then the weight isn't going to break you.

If I don't carry anything else, then my Mamiya plus a moderate sized lens (like my 80mm) rides reasonably comfortably on my hip. Just doesn't handle as fast and smooth as a smaller format SLR, and I can't hold up to my eye for nearly as long.

 

[Nikon Collector]

Where did you get the adapter to use with Nikon? Was it expensive?

$75 new from fotodiox, they have them for several makes of cameras, also some cheaper "amateur" grade adsapters

 

[Top-Cat]

Already ordered it from the ebay site, the guy from Hong Kong seemed to have a good enough history being a big seller and everything, only con was the shipping time (which was the 0.7% bad review - don't expect it to show up before the end of the month).