Dear forum guys/gals ....
I should have lashed myself to the mast.
After a great deal of reading, waiting, and general dithering about, I am now the proud owner of a Mamiya AFDII with a ZD back.
After only a few shots, its clear that everyone was spot on in their posts, it's way not a speed demon, focuses worse than my antique F100, and needs a ton of lux. In short, not a surprise in the above sentence. These are the prices that you pay for life on the cheap.
I am willing to make all the above sacrifices for the IQ! I mainly shoot figure nude studies in the studio, and I feel that this step up in IQ was a cheaper way to get it than a D3X! As near as I could tell, with the D3X, I would still need the D300 for somethings. ( Just like with the Mamiya ) This is my hobby, and I intentionally never try to make money from it, my day job is stressful enough, I don't need more on the weekends.
This is a portrait of my neighbors father, shot in his driveway with very little concern for the light
It looks to me like LR does not do well with moire, and I need to have a deeper look at that.
On the link below, I have some comparisons with my Nikon D300 w/ 18-200 and the ZD w/ 80mm, I know that this is a way not fair test, but it gives me a real feel what to expect when I get out the better lenses. I've done a few portraits with a very good copy of the Tamron 28-75, and my 55 1.2 AI'd conversion is a sweet lens on digital.
http://www.private.jonesii.net/2010%2005%2022%20Mamiya/index.html
Please feel free to have a look, and any comments are welcome.
Dave
I should have lashed myself to the mast.
After a great deal of reading, waiting, and general dithering about, I am now the proud owner of a Mamiya AFDII with a ZD back.
After only a few shots, its clear that everyone was spot on in their posts, it's way not a speed demon, focuses worse than my antique F100, and needs a ton of lux. In short, not a surprise in the above sentence. These are the prices that you pay for life on the cheap.
I am willing to make all the above sacrifices for the IQ! I mainly shoot figure nude studies in the studio, and I feel that this step up in IQ was a cheaper way to get it than a D3X! As near as I could tell, with the D3X, I would still need the D300 for somethings. ( Just like with the Mamiya ) This is my hobby, and I intentionally never try to make money from it, my day job is stressful enough, I don't need more on the weekends.
This is a portrait of my neighbors father, shot in his driveway with very little concern for the light
It looks to me like LR does not do well with moire, and I need to have a deeper look at that.
On the link below, I have some comparisons with my Nikon D300 w/ 18-200 and the ZD w/ 80mm, I know that this is a way not fair test, but it gives me a real feel what to expect when I get out the better lenses. I've done a few portraits with a very good copy of the Tamron 28-75, and my 55 1.2 AI'd conversion is a sweet lens on digital.
http://www.private.jonesii.net/2010%2005%2022%20Mamiya/index.html
Please feel free to have a look, and any comments are welcome.
Dave