Comments pls on the Mamiya old 35&45mm

[dwdmguy]

Good day.
I'm looking for some comments on the two above AF 645 lenses for my (waiting for return) AFDIII w/Leaf back. (DL28)

I simply cannot afford the D ver of the lens so I'm looking at the older models and I have the manual 55mm I find it quite nice.
Thank you.
Tom

 

[Jack]

Hi Tom:

First off, I found the D version of the 45 *identical* in performance to the old version.

On a full-frame (P45+) sensor, with either version of the 45, the extreme corners were essentially unusable. To put it in perspective, a crop to about a 50 FoV would have cut the worst out. The rest is quite good at the edges and the central 2/3rds are of the imaging circle are excellent. IOW, I *think* this lens would be quite good on a more cropped sensor back like your DL28.

My 35 is a very good copy, and the extreme corners are far better than the 45's. However, the central area is a bit weaker -- I would rate it very good, but not excellent. However, since it is quite usable corner to corner, it is the lens I keep in my bag.

Hope this helps,

 

[kdphotography]

Hi Tom,

I only have experience with the Mamiya 35mm lens. I have a good copy of this lens, and it has performed very well for me. This is one of the lenses that I would like to see Mamiya update with a "d" series----and I would buy it in a heartbeat. Most of my experience with the 35mm Mamiya has been with the Phase P30, which has a slightly cropped sensor. I have done many stitched panoramas with the 35mm lens (no 28mm d series for me) with great success. On a recent trip to Death Valley, the 35mm lens seemed to hold up fine with the Phase P45+.

 

[dwdmguy]

Jack and KD, Thank you very much for your time. I feel better now making the purchase.
Best to you both.
Tom

 

[Jan Brittenson]

The 35 is probably my most used lens. It resolves well when stopped down but loses a bit of contrast on my 21MP ZD back due to what appears to be oblique spherical aberration - even at smaller apertures. This aberration is very gaussian so clears up easily through deconvolution (Photoshop smart sharpen using the lens blur model) - of all the aberrations you can find on a lens this is the most benign IMO. The general rendition is best described as non-fatiguing and pleasant. Color is very good, it has a small amount of veiling flare which makes you lose a stop or two of dynamic range near the bottom - but it also rolls off the highlights (probably where the veil energy comes from). The price is impossible to beat - I have the AF version but I believe they're all the same - it's cheap enough to just buy from KEH to try it out and if you don't like it pass it on at a $25 loss or so.

Just wish it were wider...

 

[Paul2660]

Jack, interesting results on the D 45mm, not what was expected.

With the P45+, I use the 35mm 75% of the time. This is due to my use of filters, around water. I recently sent my 35mm off to Mamiya as the AF broke. They also recalibrated it, to my opinion considerably. Before I felt that the lens was slightly soft center and as you moved to the corners, the effect got worse. Now, it's very sharp center F8 to F11 and much more usable as you get to the corners. It's almost as sharp center as my 55mm which is still my standard for testing. This was a pleasant surprise. Since I use it only for Landscapes the distortion is not as big an issue, however the amount of distortion is considerable (after using the corrections in Capture 4.x). I am also pretty confident that the AF on the AFDIII has been improved with the firmware 1.4. I still can't really manually focus the 35mm with great accuracy. My old eyes just need more light.

The 45mm for me has two issues. I find mine about 2/3's as sharp as my 55mm center from F11 up. It's side fall off however is considerably more harsh. The other issue is I also don't tend to use it as I can usually get the shot with the 35mm and crop or use the 55mm and do a slight pan.

I also assume these issues will just be worse on the P65+ not that I will be getting one anytime soon.

Net, the 35mm if you get a good one can go a long way.

Paul Caldwell
www.photosofarkansas.com