Got a boat? Makes a great anchor.
Good used Hasselblads are going for pennies these days. For me, a better
option.
Bill Pearce
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chuck Norcutt" <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Olympus Camera Discussion" <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 5:20 PM
Subject: Re: [OM] OT: Why are the Mamiya Lenses so good?
>I went so far as to download the user's manual for an RB67 the other
> day. I've always been intrigued by the monster. Maybe I'll actually
> read the manual and find out what it's like to use it.
>
> Chuck Norcutt
>
>
> Dawid Loubser wrote:
>> OK, I know this is off-topic (but what else is new?)
>>
>> Has anybody ever figured out why Mamiya lenses are so amazingly good?
>> Or is it just
>> me? Sure, one can accept that the lenses on the Mamiya 7 rangefinder
>> are among the
>> best lenses available at any cost, especially the wide-angle lenses.
>>
>> But I am talking here even about the retrofocus SLR lenses for the
>> RB67. Specifically, I
>> am talking about my scratched, slightly busted 65mm C-series wide
>> angle lens, with an
>> equivalent of 32mm FOV.
>>
>> Have a look at this recently scanned slide (Provia 100, Epson V700)
>> shot wide open (notice very shallow DOF,
>> blurred foreground just to prove it's taken wide open :-) in very
>> demanding lighting conditions. This is a
>> torture-test for any lens, with extremely bright highlights all over
>> the frame.
>>
>> http://www.deviantart.com/download/141023473/Cubana_Full_Size_by_philosomatographer.jpg
>>
>> I have never personally used any wide-angle lens that can perform
>> anywhere near this level. Not many
>> 35mm or equiv. lenses, wide-open, will not show one bit of chromatic
>> aberration or coma with these bright
>> lights in the corners of the frame. And lets not even talk of the
>> M.Zuiko 17mm, the "equivalent" on
>> Micro four thirds, which is supposed to be 30 years newer technology
>> than the Mamiya. Medium format
>> resolution aside, the aberrations visible in an output image of
>> similar size should have been at
>> least at a similar or better level.
>>
>> This may be ballsy, but I'd like to see if the Leica M Summicron 35mm
>> (a non-retrofocus design) can compare,
>> for an image of at the same output size. (sure, I know this is medium
>> format, but we can still compare relative
>> lens performance by "ignoring" capture medium size, it's the output
>> that counts, right?).
>>
>> You should see this Mamiya lens sing at f/8, it's spectacular. Man, I
>> can but only imagine how good their symmetrical
>> 65mm lens for the 7 rangefinder must be.
>>
>> Every time I lust after that OM Zuiko 35mm f/2.0 lens I can't afford
>> right now, I am consoled by using this magical
>> lens (which actually cost me a lot cheaper than the Zuiko :-). Ken,
>> you're the lover of the Zuiko 35mm f/2.8, show
>> us what it can do? (relatively speaking)
>>
>> Sorry for the off-topic rant, but damn, every time I use one of my
>> Mamiya lenses, I realise how pedestrian most lenses
>> for 35mm cameras are by comparison, and I can't understand why the
>> Mamiyas should be so much better? In fact, with the
>> *huge* flange to focal plane distance of the massive RB67 body (which
>> is actually an 8x8cm SLR camera, i.e.
>> even the Pentax67 lenses sit much closer to the film because its
>> mirror is much smaller) the Mamiya lenses
>> (which also cover 4x5in, by the way) should be worse. Yet, they are so
>> much better than most others I've seen.
>> Also, spectacular as the Schneider SA 90/5.6 XL is on the Linhof 617,
>> it needs to be stopped down to f/11 for that
>> level of performance. The Mamiyas are great wide open.
>>
>> And so cheap in the current market...
>>
> --
> _________________________________________________________________
> Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
> Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
> Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.423 / Virus Database: 270.14.25/2450 - Release Date: 10/21/09
16:44:00
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|
