Your favorite Mamiya lenses.

[waynecrider]

What's your most used Mamiya lenses? I ask as I would like to add a lens to both my single lens 6x7 (127mm) and 645 (80mm) camera systems. I generally shoot southwest (AZ) and southeast (FL) landscapes, with some flower stuff thrown in.

 

[Dave Parker]

I have two favorites, the 150mm C and the 45mm wide angle, it comes down to what I am doing, I don't often use my 80mm

Dave

 

[Travis Nunn]

For my 645 I have an 80mm and a 55mm and I use the 55mm most of the time. Can't comment on the 6x7 because I just got one and the only lens I have is the 127mm.

 

[Claire Senft]

I have a 75mm 3.5L and a 210mm Apo for my RZ both are really nice lenses.

 

[Paul Sorensen]

I have two favorites, the 150mm C and the 45mm wide angle, it comes down to what I am doing, I don't often use my 80mm

Dave

I love all three of mine, 80mm, 45mm, and 150mm. I use them all a lot. I had a 210mm and sold it because it wasn't getting any use.

 

[Aggie]

For my 645, it was the 45mm lens. On my 7II it is by far my 43mm lens.

 

[Elox]

For the 645, at least lately, it has been the 80 and 35 mm lenses. I used to use the 150 but almost never do now. Well, come to think of it I did use the 150 on a recent trip to the zoo. First time in about 6 months.

 

[Les McLean]

My favourite on the 645 is the 35mm

 

[Mongo]

My favorite lens for the RB67 is probably too close to your existing lens. It's the 140mm macro. I bought the 90mm lens with my RB "kit", so the 140mm lens isn't too close to my first lens. The 140mm lens has become my favorite for everything that doesn't require a wide view, including portraits, macro work, and some landscapes.

For macro work the floating element helps create images that are tack-sharp from edge to edge, and it can just be left at the infinity position for everything else.

Best of luck with your decisions...Mamiya does make some great lenses.

Be well.
Dave

 

[benjiboy]

Mamiya lenses

What's your most used Mamiya lenses? I ask as I would like to add a lens to both my single lens 6x7 (127mm) and 645 (80mm) camera systems. I generally shoot southwest (AZ) and southeast (FL) landscapes, with some flower stuff thrown in.

Once asked the same question Wayne, of a friend who was the chief photographer for the city I live in when I got my first Mamiya TLR, knowing he used this gear, the reply he gave was "all of them"

 

[waynecrider]

I have a 75mm 3.5L and a 210mm Apo for my RZ both are really nice lenses.

Claire, what's your subject matter? Portraits with the 210 and landscapes with the 75?

 

[Woolliscroft]

I use my RB67 with the standard 90mm virtually to the exclusion of all else these days, but then I now use it just as a studio camera on a copying stand and for photographing archaeological artefacts. I probably ought to get a macro, but have never quite been able to justify the funding. I use a Pentax 67II out of doors.

David.

 

[narsuitus]

My favorite Mamiya lenses were the:
180mm f4.5
55mm f4.5
80mm f2.8

However, since these were for the Mamiya twin lens reflex, this information may not help you in your decision-making process.

When I shoot landscapes, my personal preference is for a lens with a 65° horizontal angle of view.

For the 6x4.5cm format, that would be around a 44mm lens.

For the 6x7cm format, that would be around a 54mm lens.

For a 6x9cm format, that would be around a 65mm lens (this is what I now use).

 

[Robert Budding]

I really like the 55/2.8 lens for my 645. A little wide, but not tooooo wide. For portraits, the 150/3.5 N (or the 150/3.8 with same optics and leaf shutter) are excellent.

I also have the 80mm leaf shutter lens, which is nice, too. What to buy next? Go wide if you like landscapes. Or maybe the 120 macro for flowers. But check KEH.com as the used prices on all of these lenses is pretty low.

Robert

 

[rogueish]

With my RB, the 150 SF (soft focus) gets used most. Don't use the SF disks much, but I'm not much of a portrait person. A 90mm was the first lens, then it was a tough call between a 140 macro and the 150 SF. I added a 250 as well.

 

[waynecrider]

With my RB, the 150 SF (soft focus) gets used most. Don't use the SF disks much, but I'm not much of a portrait person. A 90mm was the first lens, then it was a tough call between a 140 macro and the 150 SF. I added a 250 as well.

I've always wondered about having a long lens like the 250. Have you shot it that you can talk about it's sharpness and contrast?

 

[Drew B.]

I use the 50 mm shift and the 35mm on the 645. These are very sharp lenses but of course, a tripod is always used. I'd like to buy a 150 soon as I heard good things about it.

drew

 

[nick mulder]

pretty standard but on my RZ - the 50mm for the 6x7 and the 180mm on the 645 back - using both 6x7 and 645 so its kinda four lenses

 

[nsurit]

Yes, I know this isn't the answer to your question, however my answer would be the 50mm on my Mamiya Universal with a 6X9 back. Bill Barber

 

[Bjørn Joachimsen]

It´s hard to tell which are my favorites of my Mamiya RZ lenses, as I´am tempted to mention all of them.

As the three most "favorable" I will mention:
50mm f/4.5 W - dramatic perspective in 6x7. Well corrected lens. Close up wide angle photography without extension tubes.

250mm f/4.5 - super sharp lens which gives a fantastic "compression effect" when shooting fashion & portraits outdoors. Also very nice bokeh. I often use it at f/5.6.

100-200 mm f/5.2 - A versatile and heavy item. Extremely low distortion for a zoom lens and amazingly high resolving power. Perfect lens for tripod-based portrait photography.

 

[rogueish]

I've always wondered about having a long lens like the 250. Have you shot it that you can talk about it's sharpness and contrast?

Sorry Wayne, havn't been here as much as I would like.
I'm not a perfectionist or into measuring how many lines I can see or testing or more or less contrast and all that stuff.
To me it's a great lens, plenty sharp with no distortion that I can see . Of course the above statement shows how much that means. I've used it for macro and landscape. Huh, sounds weird saying "landscape" and "250mm" in the same sentence without saying "large format".
My only complaint is the weight and the time I was careless when loosening the head on the tripod. I was doing macro work and there was a rock involved, so now I have a 4x macro filter with a ding

 

[nick mulder]

since my last reply I've also added the 110mm and 140mm macro to my collection of RZ lenses ...

Anyone with a manual or quick instructions on the use of the extra ring on the macro ?

gotta make some extension tubes next (;

 

[Mongo]

The manual for the 140 macro is on the Mamiya site...that's where I got mine from. Mamiya's good about keeping old manuals around for your perusal. Check in the support section of the site...I seem to remember finding the information I needed somewhere in there.

Basically the extra ring moves the floating element of the lens. The scales near it are for setting the element based on which (if any) of the extension tubes you're using. I just leave mine at infinity if I'm not doing macro work, although I did play around with setting it improperly for portraiture...it does give some nice abberations that soften up portraits slightly.

 

[AZLF]

As I have had my Mamiya 645 less than two months I really can't say which of the lenses I like best. I have the f- 2.8 55mm,the f-3.5 150mm and the f-4 210mm.My test shots to date show all three to be very sharp. However for the Mamiya C-3 I would have to say the old chrome ring 180 mm. It's so smooth. I know the black lenses are widely known to be better but use the chrome 180 mm in subdued light with asa 100 B&W film and it does wonderful things.

 

[Curt]

I have a m645 I bought new in the '70's and for the first couple of years the only lens I had was the 80mm that came on it. I got a new 55mm wide angle and a 150mm tele later and I would have to say that the 80mm is my favorite. I have a 2X converter also but have only used it a couple of times.