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Archive 2015 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS

  
 
mbphoto_2.8
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


I recently bought the Mamiya 120/4 A Macro because my Nikkor 105/4 Ai desperately needs relubing and that would cost 250$ (yes, that's triple the price I paid for the lens..) and I wanted a good one for a reasonable price.

So I bought it in mint condition at a great price and here it is:


As you can see, the rubber looks quite "old". I cleaned it with a rather mild cleaner (Surf City Garage Dash Away) but the grey-ish colour wouldn't budge, so it's not dust.

Could I use a rubber care product for cars? (which is used to protect and care for rubber seals on doors etc.)

The lens is quite large and heavy compared to my usual suspects (adapted 50mm lenses) but not really when you compare it to modern fast wide angles or teles (e.g. the Sigma ART series or my Samyang 35/1.4)


But it does extend quite a bit when at minimum focus distance




Today I finally received my M645-EOS adapter (from PIXCO, with EMF chip) and went right ahead to try it out.

Unfortunately, the lens almost turns freely and can easily be disengaged from the adapter. After some trying I found the spot where it supposedly "clicks in" and the DOF-scale faces up. However, it only stops at that position, it's not "fixed".
That means, I can still turn the lens in the opposite direction and take it off.

Understandably, that has me paranoid about the lens falling off suddenly while shooting (I want to use it for portraits with flash too, that's why I got the adapter with AF-confirm chip..)


Is this normal with Mamiya lenses, did I do something wrong, or should I claim a refund from the company?

The adapter does have a "locking mechanism" with a button to press in. But as I said before, the lens doesn't really care it seems.

Your help would really be appreciated.



Dec 17, 2015 at 02:04 PM
JohnJ
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


I've never had any problem with Mamiya lenses (about 1/2 dozen of them) being loose on an adapter but I use the Mirex T/S adapter. Not sure if your problem is with the lens or the adapter.

I've used lens cleaning fluid (such as Kodak Lens Cleaner) to remove the grey in black rubber, works great. I personally wouldn't use a care care product for the rubber only because they often have silicone in them which can leave a slippery feel.



Dec 17, 2015 at 03:08 PM
dukeman1234
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


I use the Fotodiox Pro lens adapter with my mamiya 120 and haven't had any issues at all.


Dec 17, 2015 at 03:12 PM
jcolwell
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


I use the Mirex, Fotodiox Pro, and some generic M645 to EOS adapters, and they all lock securely on my A 120/4 Macro, and other M645 lenses. The locking function is performed by the adapter, which has a little tab that closes against the end of one of the three lens mount flanges. There should be a button or lever on the adapter that 'lifts' the tab out of the way to let you remove the lens from the adapter. Maybe the gizmo is stuck 'open', and some fiddling will free it up.

P.S. very nice lens.



Dec 17, 2015 at 03:36 PM
mbphoto_2.8
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


Thanks for the hint, I will check if mine has silicone in there.. that would be a no-no then.

I did some fiddling with the adapter (lens and adapter only, not connected to the camera) and I noticed:
- The locking pin does engage and prevent the lens from being turned "backwards" (in the other direction.)
- It does not, however, do anything to stop the lens from turning further in the direction you put it on the adapter in the first place.

So, what happens is that you can turn the lens freely on the adapter, watching the locking pin go in every time one of the flanges passes through.

There's absolutely nothing on the lens mount nor the adapter to prevent the lens from turning.

Upon further inspection and comparing mine to images found online, I found that this thingy points towards my camera mount, not the lens as it does in this image:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41TRcAipm5L.jpg

Also, my adapter does not have THIS pin-thingy:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41ICJMIeFrL.jpg

I guess, I really got a faulty adapter then.. yay!

@dukeman:
I didn't get the Fotodiox Pro because the version with AF chip is crazy expensive and I couldn't get it with free shipping, so it would set me back about 110$ (including shipping, taxes and customs fees)

The Pixco was 55$ with free shipping, which makes its value fall below the magical 60$ threshold and the customs office won't bother with it.



Dec 17, 2015 at 03:37 PM
dukeman1234
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


Hmm, well this is the exact one that I have and it was $40

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JXTQRO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00



Dec 17, 2015 at 07:39 PM
phuang3
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


Buy another adapter I think. You don't need the AF chip. It's useless.


Dec 17, 2015 at 08:24 PM
sirimiri
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


What Jim said, and what Phaung said.

We all like to save money I'm not saying a cheap adapter is always a poor performer, nor that an expensive adapter will perform better.

But if the thing doesn't even properly lock the lens' bayonet in place, move on to something else (different adapter from a better-known company) and pay the freight.

You'll be glad you did. I always was.



Dec 17, 2015 at 11:15 PM
mbphoto_2.8
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


How can you know whether I need the AF chip or not?
Mine is not a Nikon where the focus confirmation always works and despite the amazing (for DSLR standards) viewfinder in the 1Ds III, I have an Ef-S (high precision) matte screen installed, which catapults such slow lenses back to a dark age.
If the light isn't perfect, I can't possibly see (not that great contrast perception in dusk conditions and bad eyesight in general) if the focus is spot on.
I said that I want to use the lens with off-camera flash for portraits too.

And yes, for macro and product stuff I will shoot in live view mode.. But having the aperture and focal length embedded is quite handy too..

I contacted Fotodiox several weeks ago, asking for a deal on shipping and they didn't even bother to answer. At least, the Chinese manufacturers are forthcoming, helpful, friendly and never gave me any reason not to trust them.



Dec 18, 2015 at 12:47 AM
Gunzorro
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


You don't need the focus confirm chip because they never seem to work properly. A big waste of money.

You will need to change your focusing screen back to the normal screen. That's what I have in my 1Ds3 and it works great, and no focus confirm chip.

Nice lens! Pick up the regular Fotodiox adapter for $40. I've got two regular M645 and one Viselex variable ND all for Nikon, to which I can add an EF adapter to fit lenses onto my Canon bodies too.



Dec 18, 2015 at 12:57 AM
mbphoto_2.8
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


Well, out of my 14 adapted lenses, the chip works on all of them.

Sure, I had issues with a few but I got free replacements asap or could return the faulty adapters at no cost.

Of course you have to calibrate them sometimes, but after that it's as precise as any canon lens in manual focus mode.


As I said before, my eyesight isn't great, so the Ef-S screen us important for me. I won't go back just because of one lens that's too slow for it.

If they won't offer a solution, I will get the Fotodiox and try to put a chip on myself, but that's a bitch with this kind of adapter.



Dec 18, 2015 at 01:48 AM
Mike Ganz
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


I have the same lens, and use it on my EOS bodies as well as my A7R and A7R2 via a Fotodiox Pro non-chipped adapter for each mount type. Never had any issues with looseness with either adapter.


Dec 18, 2015 at 06:48 AM
mbphoto_2.8
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


Today I did my first ever 1:1 (almost) macro shot.

We had a little photoshoot at my place and I wanted to try out the Macro despite the lens mount not locking in (figured that there couldn't go much wrong when working carefully), so I quickly set up the octobox and the umbrella very close to her face and set the macro on my tripod.

My girlfriend was tasked to "blind" her with a flashlight, in order to shrink the pupil and allow me to focus at f/11.




I noticed several things though:
- I need a studio flash with modeling light
- For this type of shot I need some device to fix the head (like they have at the optician's)
- Eyes are amazing!
- This lens is absolutely amazing!



Dec 20, 2015 at 01:34 PM
mbphoto_2.8
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


I just finished a small article on this lens.
Mamiya M645 Macro MF 120mm f/4

Let me know what you think.


I'd also appreciate further information regarding the optical construction, manufacturing dates, etc.



Jan 17, 2016 at 02:52 PM
mbphoto_2.8
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


Some more from the Mamiya macro mf 120mm f/4

My kitchen knife


My X-T10 with Fujinon 50mm f/1.4 (radioactive) via K&F concept adapter.


same camera, different lens
Yes, no AF and the aperture stays open, but manual focusing and zooming work fine, as long as you manage to somehow support the whole weight of the lens while working either.



last but not least, a true macro shot at 1:1 magnification
5sec, f/16, iso 400


yes, there's plenty of dust visible, but I didn't process the image for more than a minute, so forgive me



Jan 25, 2016 at 03:00 AM
ReyGay
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


The lens you have there, you shouldn't let go of it. I got one about 3yrs ago because I'm not happy with the Nikon 105mm VR lens and only paid $200 for the Mamiya back then. I use either a fotodiox or the pricey Novoflex adapter for it on my Nikon bodies. The older fototdiox are quite good but the newer ones seem to wobble a bit. If you don't want to compromise, get the Novoflex, pictured below:

The Elusive Novoflex Mamring (Mamiya 645 to Nikon adaptor) by Rey M, on Flickr


You'll probably notice by now that this lens is almost free of CA and that the resolution is superb. Here are some of my examples (only the first image has post processing): more of them here: https://www.flickr.com/search/?user_id=76331983%40N00&sort=date-taken-desc&text=mamiya%20120mm&view_all=1


Nikon D3X, Mamiya 645 120mm f/4 Macro APO
When Carelessness Becomes Fun (photoshopped) by Rey M, on Flickr





Nikon D3X, Mamiya 645 120mm f/4 Macro APO
Rock n Roll Rotonda (Mamiya 645 120mm f/4 Macro APO) by Rey M, on Flickr





Nikon D3X, Mamiya 645 120mm f/4 Macro APO (1:1 mag)
A Resting Moth (Mamiya 645 120mm f/4 Macro APO) by Rey M, on Flickr





Nikon D3X, Mamiya 645 120mm f/4 Macro APO
Lady in Red by Rey M, on Flickr





Nikon D3X, Mamiya 645 120mm f/4 Macro APO
The New Recruits by Rey M, on Flickr





Nikon D3X, Mamiya 645 120mm f/4 Macro APO
Roses and Blue (Ciel Phantomhive) by Rey M, on Flickr





Nikon D3X, Mamiya 645 120mm f/4 Macro APO
Brown Cow by Rey M, on Flickr


Share more photos taken with that lens to spread the word. Now that you have that lens, you might be very interested on the Mamiya 645 150mm 2.8 A and the 200mm 2.8 APO.


My Flickr Gallery
My interesting photos on Flickriver



Jan 25, 2016 at 05:05 AM
mbphoto_2.8
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


two more, taken yesterday:


and



Feb 01, 2016 at 04:50 PM
Lee Saxon
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


I've mentioned this several times, but the myths keep going around, and you've got some of them in this thread. Every adapter brand except Leitax, even the pricey ones, manufactures on poor tolerances. I'm glad a few people in this thread happened to get good copies on their first try, but "happened to" is the operative phrase. I've had $20-30 non-Pro Fotodioxes that were perfect on the first try and ~$100 Metabones I had to exchange four times and even got a bad Novoflex once. My Fotodiox Pro for Mamiya-to-Nikon was in-between those extremes (first copy behaved as yours, second copy was good). Send it back.

Edited on Feb 02, 2016 at 04:47 AM · View previous versions



Feb 02, 2016 at 04:45 AM
mbphoto_2.8
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


I did send the Pixco adapter back and I did get the Fotodiox Pro which fits very nicely indeed.


Feb 02, 2016 at 04:47 AM
mbphoto_2.8
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Mamiya 645 A 120mm f/4 Macro lens on Canon EOS


Another one, not edited that much.. (removing all the tiny bubbles/dust specks) takes way too much time..

Lime by Mischa, auf Flickr



Feb 19, 2016 at 03:04 PM
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