jcolwell wrote:
The Mamiya A 200/2.8 APO is not especially heavy (at 1.1 kg). The 200 APO is not a serious challenge to a Canon body mount.
I see. But I'm guessing with both the 200 APO and the 120/4 macro the only feasible way to shoot in portrait mode is with an L-bracket, otherwise the vertical angle of a ballhead definitely will sag (the 200 already being front-heavy), right?
That'a beauty, Jim, but I wish the horse would stop looking at me so sadly. How do you think the macro handles medium distances, say 5-20 metres? I am wondering whether it will go well as a field lens despite the (not so great) weight, and with less of the extension Yakim dislikes so ;-)
Thanks for the extra info, theSuede, sorry if I upset you before.
DSLRs should have strong mounts, othewise we can all suffer 'small camera mania'.
Philip - I use the 120/4 at those distances with no issue. However fine focus placement WO can get tricky as there is VERY little barrel rotation left from 5M-infinity on the 120. My 120 is most often used under 5M as a critter portrait lens. The equally excellent 150/2.8A (or 200 APO) is more typically my longer-distance lens.
The 120/4 and 150/2.8 are essentially the same size - so much so I often have to glance at the barrel to determine one from the other when pulling them from the case.
On the 200 - as Jim C mentioned with a secure adapter it's fine. A collar would be great, but it's not going to happen. I should note the 200 makes an amazing 300/4 with a (in my case) Canon 1.4x and a 12mm tube cuts down the MFD (8') nicely when needed.
philip_pj wrote:
That'a beauty, Jim, but I wish the horse would stop looking at me so sadly. How do you think the macro handles medium distances, say 5-20 metres? I am wondering whether it will go well as a field lens despite the (not so great) weight, and with less of the extension Yakim dislikes so ;-)
When you are not close to MFD the lens is much shorter and hence the problems is much less distracting. You can even handhold it without a problem.
Did you know it gets from 125mm in infinity to 205mm in MFD? That's 64% increase! Simply ridiculous.
Jim Schemel wrote:
Nick,
thank you for your kind words.It is a great lens and it really shines on the 5D.
Here are a few more.
Jim, just extraordinary. I wonder whether these lenses perform as good on my 5DMII?
Reading all these alt. information and see the pics of alt Zeiss, Leica, Oly, etc.here since years I have to admit that I never was sooooo impressed from any of them as of these MAMIYA lenses
What is it
beautiful images, the mamiya 120mm f/4 has really peaked my interest, i see a lot of used copies on ebay, is there some particular model i should be on the lookout for on use on the 5dmk2
You want the older M645 manual focus, MANUAL aperture, non-D model.
The current D version, while optically identical to the older unit and still MANUAL FOCUS, has an electronically controlled aperture (like a Nikon G lens or a Contax 645 lens) and can't be used on an SLR. If on eBay, etc., trust and verify as many folks get sloppy in the naming of the lens or get liberal in the naming to help with keyword searches as the older lens can be used on a newer camera, etc:
- Remember ALL versions of this lens, even the one they sell new today for the DF cameras and backs, are manual focus, so that's no differentiator.
- Make sure the image of the lens shows a physical aperture ring and is labeled M645 with no "D"
- Price also helps narrow initial searches - the older versions will cost less than the new D .
GREAT lens (I'd say the same about all my M645 glass). Just something about how they draw vs other, typically far more costly, alternate glass I've owned. Also have to remember that while the prices today are low (at least until lately) for how well they deliver, it's solely because the M645 line was discontinued. Some of these lens were well into the multiple thousand $$ when new - back when $3000 meant more than it does now ;>
Conner999,
great description of what to look for.I agree i have 5 Mamiya lenses with one on the way, and the color that i get from all of them is very consistent from lens to lens..
Thanks to all for the comments.
-Jim
jcolwell wrote:
Nice shots. Great colour. So, you used a smaller aperture on the second one to nail the rain drops, right?
Sure did...I just don't remember the exact setting. If I had to take a guess, I'd say either f/16 or f/22 (most likely f/22). I tried a few at f/32, but that brought too much of the background into sharpness. I believe the first shot (no rain) may have been at f/8. I actually wanted to keep the aperture at f/8 in the second shot for the creamier background and do a focus stack of 5 or 6 images, but there was just enough of a breeze to make that impossible. I'm still pretty amazed at the color rendition of the Mamiya lenses...these two images only required some capture/output sharpening, levels adjustment, and a curves layer...no color or saturation adjustments whatsoever.
