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Mamiya 105-210 MF Which version?

IsakBergwall

New member
Hi!

Quick question!

Which Mamiya 105-250 MF zoom is better? The ULD (58mm) or the 77mm version? They are priced similary but I can't make out which has the best image quality?

I am going to use it on a phaseOne 645 AF body with P25+ back..

thank you for your help!

with regards
Isak Bergwall
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
The ULD is very good, a newer design, and likely the better candidate. Also, at some point in the manufacturing, the lens needed to be reprogramed to work properly on a DF body. If you search the net, you can find the serial number cutoff for these done at factory. If you buy an older one, it can be reprogrammed by MAC, but you need to send it in for the service.
 

IsakBergwall

New member
Thank you Jack!

It is dirt cheap on the net so I think I will go for it (like 150$ or something..)

Is this reprogramming only for the DF body or the AF/AFDIII as well?
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
MF version won't need any updates - its dumb as a rock and you will be shooting with stopped down metering. However, that in itself isn't a big issue for landscape use at least. AF version is definitely worth getting updated though.

One thing I have found recently in trying a couple of 200/2.8 APO MF lenses is that there is a big difference in the performance of some of the newer glass vs older. I've been disappointed by two copies of this lens due to poor acuity vs 210 ULD AF & 300/4.5 APO AF and had to return both of them. The 210 AF ULD is a screaming lens for the money.

Btw, if anyone is looking for a 2x converter for MF glass I'm thinking about selling mine again.
 

IsakBergwall

New member
Thank you for your response Graham!

I have just buyed a body, back and 35mm AF lens so my budget is kind of low, So I am thinking of going with some cheap mf glass for now and then upgrade to AF versions when the money starts rolling in (I am an student so I am not exactly made of money lol).

would you say a MF 210'ish is better than the zoom or is it more the AF versions that are better?
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Isak,

I've not had any experience with the 210 MF version although I believe the lens is basically identical optically, perhaps with newer coatings. I have the AF version which was new stock at $700 which is excellent. I know Jack has more experience with the MF glass (especially as I bought some from him :) ). My comparison is with using an IQ160 so probably a bit extreme vs say a film or P25+ or ZD etc which are much more forgiving.

At the current manual lens pricing you can't really go wrong. Ultimately the quality of an image has more to do with composition, DoF, tonality and mood than just ultimate sharpness so it's worth balancing those factors. We often get hung up on the details when they don't matter as much in the final print IMHO.

Btw, great choice with the P25+ - I really like this back as a general travel and long exposure solution. It works well with most glass and the big fat pixels give us more acceptable DoF and it's an easy back to use. I sold mine a few months ago and missed it so much that I bought another :thumbup:
 
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