jcolwell
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 p.1 #17 · I am interested in exploring the various Hassleblad, Contax, Mamiya and various other '3rd party' (f | |
I use wide to short telephoto (e.g. 35mm to 150mm) Mamiya M645 lenses with a Mirex Tilt-Shift adapter on my Canon bodies. I compared Mamiya M645, Hasselblad C Zeiss and Pentacon 6 Zeiss Jena lenses at 50mm and 80mm focal lengths and found the Hassy and M645 were more or less equivalent for Image Quality (IQ), and both were slightly better than the P6. I've 'standarized' on M645 lenses because they're significantly smaller, lighter and usually less expensive than the Hassys. All of the M645 lenses that I use (see my profile) have IQ as good as or better than most of, or all of, 'the best' similar lenses in 35mm format, at least to the resolution/size of 1DsIII and 40D sensors.
I use M645 80/4N Macro, A 120/4 Macro, A 200/2.8 APO and A 300/2.8 APO lenses 'straight up' with solid Fotodiox Pro adapters. They're all fantastic lenses, regardless of native format.
When you add 35mm format Alternative lenses to the picture, the number of potential choices is immense. Personal preference plays a big role in determining your satisfaction, and so there's nothing like 'jumping in' to find out how you feel about it. For starters, you could consider any of the following to get a good idea of what each 'species' offers, for a relatively low price.
Carl Zeiss Contax Distagon T* 28/2.8
Leica Summicron-R 50/2 E55
Rokinon 85/1.4 Aspherical IF
Mamiya A 120/4 Macro
Mamiya A 150/2.8
You can compare prices of many Canon and Alternative lenses with my Lens Price Database, Lens$db, http://tinyurl.com/lensdb.
As far as adapters go, I've found that Fotodiox Pro adapters work best for me, but they're relatively expensive. You can get started with inexpensive, generic adapters from eBay. Any adapter should achieve 'infinity focus', if not, send it back (as long as the adapted lens has a longer 'register' than the body). In general, wide angle lenses are very sensitive to adapter asymmetry, or variation in thickness. My Distagon 28/2.8 works just fine with the original generic adapter that I picked up for it many years ago, but 20mm and 17mm lenses that I've used are not so forgiving.
BTW, the M645 A 150/2.8 listed above is a beautiful lens, period, and so you don't need to get an expensive Mirex to enjoy it's fine IQ - just get an inexpensive generic adapter to start with.
Welcome aboard! 
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as there were some 'pick 3' ... 'pick one of each brand' ... 'pick' favorite by brand ... 'pick' etc.
81 yennies to 1 dollar. Will boost some prices some if you aren't getting paid in yen. Run conversions before buying if not a yen salaryman all I can tell you lol. 
. This lens usually is the gateway lens to zeiss addiction. Very nice lens and easy to work with. Seems to be more forgiving of misfocus than the longer options anyway.