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Archive 2011 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry

  
 
ersatz
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p.3 #1 · p.3 #1 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


Does anyone use the Mirex with macro photography? Would I be better off getting the 80/4 macro or should I just use my kenko extension tubes with the 80/2.8 or 80/1.9?


Jan 26, 2011 at 01:21 PM
AhamB
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p.3 #2 · p.3 #2 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


I think the 80/4 macro (or even better the 120/4 macro) will be sharper.


Jan 26, 2011 at 01:59 PM
Michael Gordon
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p.3 #3 · p.3 #3 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


I have a bit. Mr. Michelberger engineered one for OM that I can use on my OM 4T or adapter on Can. 5DII. As I understand it, the longer the FL and the higher the mag, the less the effect of the tilt. Last time i tried that I had the CV 125 macro on it. The framing changes with that set up with a tilt ( ? too far from rear nodal pint?) so I have taken to using the cam on L bracket,
drop the tripod head as for vertical, and slide the cam up or down to adjust framing in lieu of adjusting the tripod.



Jan 26, 2011 at 02:07 PM
JohnJ
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p.3 #4 · p.3 #4 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


ersatz wrote:
Does anyone use the Mirex with macro photography? Would I be better off getting the 80/4 macro or should I just use my kenko extension tubes with the 80/2.8 or 80/1.9?


I don't know if you are better off with the extension/macro tubes or the 80/4. I'd say the 80/4 as it has adjustable floating elements for close focus, but that's probably a no brainer. If you already have the other lenses then give them a go and see what happens.

I use a 120/4 with the Mirex quite a bit for close up product shots, rather than macro, and it works very well indeed. When you need to get really close to a subject then you often need far more tilt than the Mirex (or any T/S lens for that matter) will give you so I'm not sure how good the Mirex is for macro specifically but it's much better than no tilt at all. A view camera or maybe even a Nikon PB-4 bellows with an enlarger lens is a better option because of the greater levels of tilt each can give you. Don't quote me but I think the PB-4 has about 20 or 25 degrees of tilt, sideways only. Obviously a Mirex adapter is easier to carry than a PB-4 or view camera.

JJ



Jan 26, 2011 at 07:26 PM
Kit Laughlin
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p.3 #5 · p.3 #5 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


Excuse my ignorance here, but looking at the Hasselblad–Mirex option, how does one actually shoot with it?

Do you set the shutter to B (bulb) so the camera can meter and you can focus, then make the exposure with the camera's FP shutter?

A 50mm Distagon looks very nice for table-top work, to me. I use a 24PC-E for most of my architectural work, but am getting a Sony A850 to experiment with, and would like to try this setup.



Feb 14, 2011 at 12:13 AM
AhamB
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p.3 #6 · p.3 #6 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


JohnJ wrote:
I'm not sure how good the Mirex is for macro specifically but it's much better than no tilt at all. A view camera or maybe even a Nikon PB-4 bellows with an enlarger lens is a better option because of the greater levels of tilt each can give you. Don't quote me but I think the PB-4 has about 20 or 25 degrees of tilt, sideways only. Obviously a Mirex adapter is easier to carry than a PB-4 or view camera.


The Zörk MFS probably is one of the best (definitely easiest to carry) tilt solutions for macro. It allows up to 25 degrees of tilt.



Feb 14, 2011 at 01:23 AM
jcolwell
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p.3 #7 · p.3 #7 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


ersatz wrote:
Does anyone use the Mirex with macro photography? Would I be better off getting the 80/4 macro or should I just use my kenko extension tubes with the 80/2.8 or 80/1.9?


I use the C 80/4N Macro and A 120/4 Macro. They're both exceptionally good lenses. The 80/4 goes to 1:2 its own, and 1:1 with the matching M645 Auto Macro Spacer, which is almost the same as the M645 extension tube 3. I use the Mirex mostly with shift on the 35mm and tilt for 80mm and longer. The 55/2.8 often gets a bit of both.

I rarely use the Mirex for macro photos. I use the Mamiya Auto Bellows N with macro and enlarger lenses for macro T-S. The C 80/2.8 reversed on the bellows N gives magnifications from about 0.8 to 2.5. The EL-Nikkor 50/2.8 gets up almost to 4 and the dimunitive Spiratone Macrotar 35/3.5 gets to about 5.5.

I just snagged an M645 50/4 Shift. It'll be interesting to see how much coverage I can get with shift on the Mirex and on the lens. I won't have a chance to try it out until mid-March, when I get my 'land legs' back.



Feb 14, 2011 at 09:48 AM
jcolwell
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p.3 #8 · p.3 #8 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


Kit Laughlin wrote:
Excuse my ignorance here, but looking at the Hasselblad–Mirex option, how does one actually shoot with it?

Do you set the shutter to B (bulb) so the camera can meter and you can focus, then make the exposure with the camera's FP shutter?


Basically, yes. You're bound to trip the lens shutter occasionally, and so you have to remember how to reset it by fiddling with the mount thingys. I haven't done it in years, and don't remember the details (sigh).

Before getting the M645 to EOS Mirex, I used Hasselblad Distagon T* CF 50/4 and Planar CF T* 80/2.8 lenses on a Hartblei Pentacon 6 to EOS adapter Tilt and generic Mamiya 645 to EOS Shift adapter, with C to P6 and C to M645 adapters. I then compared the Hassy lenses with M645 C 55/2.8N, C 80/2.8N, CZJ Pentacon 6 Flektogon 50/4 MC, and CZJ Biometar MC 80/2.8. They are all very nice lenses. The Hassy and M645 are slightly better than the Jena, but it probably doesn't make a difference in real life shooting. I decided to go with the Mamiya M645 lineup, because they're smaller, lighter and less expensive than the Hasselblads. If you already have the Hassys, then they're a great solution. I got the Mirex soon after going M645, because having both tilt and shift is a good thing. If you have a few Hasselblad lenses and might want to try other brands, then the M645 to EOS Mirex adapter is a great way to go. You might get a bit of slop with a C to M645 adapter on the Mirex, but I try not to let that sort of thing bother me too much - as long as it stays on the camera.



Feb 14, 2011 at 10:07 AM
Kit Laughlin
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p.3 #9 · p.3 #9 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


Jim, I don't have any Hasselblad lenses, so will go with your suggestion (Mamiya instead). I will do a search for their range.

Are there any special ones that stand out for you? I will be mounting this on a Sony A850. Cheers, KL



Feb 14, 2011 at 03:33 PM
jcolwell
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p.3 #10 · p.3 #10 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


Hi Kit,

I have a pretty good selection of M645 lenses. They're all very good.

Mamiya-Sekor C 35/3.5 N
Mamiya-Sekor C 50/4 Shift
Mamiya-Sekor C 55/2.8 N
Mamiya-Sekor C 80/2.8 N
Mamiya-Sekor C 80/4 N Macro
Mamiya A 120/4 Macro
Mamiya A 150/2.8
Mamiya A 200/2.8 APO
Mamiya A 300/2.8 APO

The A 150/2.8 is a lot better than the C 150/3.5N. I wasn't too impressed with the C 210/4 N. Generally, the relatively new N variants have higher contrast than the earlier C variants. There's also a few S variants that I believe are similar to the N, but I have no personal experience. I'm sure that somebody will pipe up to fill in those details. The "N" lenses also have a C in their names. The C variants have only the C.

Many people really like the C 80/1.9 (N or not), but I sold mine as I was OK with the fast 85's that I already have. I posted a comparison of them somewhere in FM, a year or so ago.

The A 200/2.8 APO is incredibly good. Really. The 300 APO is also, but I might sell mine, as the EF 200/1.8L with a TC is good enough for me. The 'ordinary' 35mm, 55mm, and 80mm f/2.8 are as good as equivalent top-quality C/Y 35mm lenses from Zeiss and other major brands (better than many), and the A series are a step up. Basically, you decide what focal length you want, and then get it. The prices are amazing, especially when you consider the IQ. I mentioned the Macros in an earlier post. If you only get one, let it be the A 120/4 - it produces beautiful images.

I don't use the Mirex with the 200 and 300 APO lenses; just straight-up Fotodiox Pro M645 to EOS adapters. Also, I don't use focus confirmation chips, but that's just me. Note that there are some newer AF Mamiya lenses that sometimes are difficult to distinguish from the older MF variants. This can be important, as some of them don't have a manual aperture ring - notably the M645AF A 120/4 Macro. It's a MF lens, but meant for an AF Mamiya body, and it doesn't have a manual aperture ring. I haven't tried the M645 zooms. I usually prefer fancy things like AF and IS on my zooms. Again, that's just me.



Feb 14, 2011 at 06:25 PM
Kit Laughlin
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p.3 #11 · p.3 #11 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


Thank you so much for that list, Jim. This is extremely helpful.

If we are thinking TS, are there any of these lenses in the wider range that stand out for you? And is ebay the place you look—or if an ebay store, is there one you recommend?

I had not considered using any of the longer APO lenses on my Sony, either; that is very interesting; I am hoping there is an adapter for these to Sony..

Cheers and thanks again, KL



Feb 16, 2011 at 05:43 AM
AhamB
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p.3 #12 · p.3 #12 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


Kit Laughlin wrote:
If we are thinking TS, are there any of these lenses in the wider range that stand out for you? And is ebay the place you look—or if an ebay store, is there one you recommend?

I had not considered using any of the longer APO lenses on my Sony, either; that is very interesting; I am hoping there is an adapter for these to Sony..

Cheers and thanks again, KL


Fotodiox has very good M645 adapters for Canon and Nikon and they should also release one for Sony/Minolta this year (I contacted them on this point). Unfortunately it's not there yet. Maybe it will help if more people ask them for it.

Regarding the lenses that are good on the Mirex: any of them up to the 120/4 I'd say. With the longer lenses the movements you can do get very limited.

KEH is a good place to look for M645 too. They have ultra cheap 80/2.8's.



Feb 16, 2011 at 11:32 AM
mhespenheide
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p.3 #13 · p.3 #13 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


Kit,

Not that I'm stalking you, but I've read your posts on getDPI about looking at the Sony 850. Good to see that you've picked one up! I have one and think it's excellent; a tremendous value.

As a landscape photographer, I'm also interested in the Mirex -- particularly since I've got some old Mamiya 645 lenses hanging around from my film days. Jim is probably more qualified than I am to judge the lenses, so I'll mostly leave that to him. I'll add the following opinions:

Mamiya 45/2.8 N (67mm filter): good, not great. That may be because I often used it at f/22...
Mamiya 55/2.8 N: excellent.
Mamiya 80/2.8 N: excellent.
Mamiya 150/3.5 N: good, not great. Again, that's probably due to diffraction.

I have heard that the 35/3.5 was not as good as the rest of the line, but I would be happy to be wrong about that.

I often went backpacking with a 645e and the 80 and 55 primes. I've got a bunch of work from that time period that's now been drum scanned by West Coast Imaging, and I don't think the lenses were holding me back. Astonishingly, though, I think the Sony 850 is as good, at least on-screen, as 645 film (usually Provia, in my case) was. I'd be curious to know how the Mamiya lenses hold up when tilted and shifted.

Keep us informed about how it's going!

Edited on Feb 17, 2011 at 11:35 AM · View previous versions



Feb 16, 2011 at 03:37 PM
Kit Laughlin
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p.3 #14 · p.3 #14 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


Hello Mark, no, you're not stalking! One of the great aspects of the on-line world, in fact.

Looking at this range here, and having an idea of how the Mirex can shift, the 55/2.8 looks as though it will deliver an impressive EFOV.

And, @ Benjamin: I will look at KEH, for sure. Cheers, kl



Feb 16, 2011 at 05:03 PM
JohnJ
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p.3 #15 · p.3 #15 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


I think the 35 N is a bit better than it is generally credited for. Having said that, it does seem too soft at F3.5 and I always use mine at F4 where it is already much sharper (there really is a big difference even over that 1/2 stop step). The 35N is actually quite sharp when stopped down but naturally any lens will be soft at F22.

JJ



Feb 16, 2011 at 05:13 PM
mhespenheide
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p.3 #16 · p.3 #16 · Mirex T/S Adaptor Quick Inquiry


John,

Thanks for that. A good distinction to know about. I can't really imagine using the 35/3.5 wide open (for my purposes, at least), so that's helpful. Even tilted, I would probably use it at f/8 to f/11.



Feb 17, 2011 at 11:39 AM
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