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Mamiya 150mm 2.8 revisited

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Well after the lighting workshop and some of the raw processing I realized i may have used this lens for just about every shot. i thought it maybe long for this type of work but reality is it is just right. I like the compression from it and also the look. Now one issue it is blindingly sharp . Sometimes a great thing and sometimes a airbrushing nightmare. This lens is not the cheapest tool in the shed around 3300 US but I had to have it and i wanted the speed. Looking back on the purchase i glad i jumped all over it. One of the best lenses i ever shot and that is saying something. Mostly shot with the P25 Plus but also P30 plus and P45 plus backs and all with the new Phase one body
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Some more from the workshop. We shot quite a bit. Now that I have the 28mm Mamiya i want the 45mm 2.8 D lens when that comes out and sell my 35 and 55. That would give me a 28,45,80,150 and 300 . Should be just about perfect and 4 D lenses
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Darn beach shot is a little off color. I shot with a ring flash and frankly you can keep it. Crappy flat lighting from it. No depth to the light
 

LJL

New member
Darn beach shot is a little off color. I shot with a ring flash and frankly you can keep it. Crappy flat lighting from it. No depth to the light
Guy,
If I may interject a comment on this..... The ring flash units tend to produce a very rounded, wrap-around lighting that reduces the sharper shadows you would normally see with angular light, so it will tend to reduce the dimensionality of what you shoot. Usually, ring flashes are used against a more even background that has little character or dimension for comparison. In you beach shot, it appears that the great sky and water are trying to create more dimension, even if out of focus, and the ring flash on the model is maybe a half stop too bright and is imparting its more rounded look against the more angular background depth.

It is doing what is was designed to do, in my opinion, just maybe not the tool to use for this particular shot. Had the sun/sky been much brighter, the flash may look less obvious, and you may have gotten better results. Although folks use them for the kinds of shots you took, I still contend that a much fuller light, like an octo, or even the para would have been better for this particular setting. The octo would have provided a softer light all around, thus isolating the subject more. The para would have provided a much bigger angular source which would create a bit more shadow, and thus depth to the model.

This is a tricky area in which to shoot. It can go very 2d looking fast. In your shot, that looks like what happened with the model, while the rest of the scene held a nice 3D look, so she appears more like a cutout placed on top. Not criticizing, as I think this type of shot is challenging to pull off, so lots of practice and experimentation is needed.

The others look very nice with the variety of simple to more complicated lighting use. The keep that dimensionality you want because the light is coming from a bit more of an angle to help there. The ring flash throws a lot of light straight on, and looks best when used as a fill flash against a brighter background. Just my thoughts and observations from what you have posted.

LJ

P.S. Oh, and that horizon makes me lean to the port side while viewing ;-)
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I agree LJ it maybe a little over just don't really like that look and agree more a fill would be much better. For me these will never make it in my book. Not crazy about the effect of those shots. I do like more a 3d look . A beauty dish would have been a nicer light or the Para and Octo. Agree
 

LJL

New member
Also, the other juxtaposition here appears to be the very bright sun in the sky against the slightly "hotter" light on the model. This is why I thought the ring flash could have been dropped a bit. Another solution here is to do a bit of ND on the sun part of the sky, while masking off the model in post. The final juxtaposition that strikes me is the color temps. The light in the model is much cooler, more sterile looking, while the sea and surf are much warmer looking. If you look at just her legs against the water, things look pretty nice. Those are about a half stop less than the light hitting her arms and torso. The dimensionality holds for the legs against the darker water, but gets flattened when it hits the bright sky background where it also appears to be half a stop too bright and "cooler" in color that the warmer sky. Again, just my observation and thoughts on this tough shot.

LJ

P.S. I think the beauty dish works better in closer. The Para or Octo would have been my choice on a shot like this taken from further back.
 
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Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I dislike the ring for people too. I knew that from past experience, so used it as a direct light here without shooting through it. I'll try and dig up a few of my files to compare.
 
J

jmvdigital

Guest
Guy, thanks for posting all these shots (here and the other threads) with the new 150. Looks like a sweet lens. I've asked CI to put one aside for me if they have it. :)
 
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