tashley
Subscriber Member
So, for those who dread my switch to Hassy in case I jinx the entire range, good news: I have settled to keep with the Phase 1 gear and just decided that I have to test each item I buy carefully and not get too tee'd off when stuff is not up to spec.
So a few weeks ago I posted images from a brand new Mammy 28D I'd bought which was fuzzy as heck wide open... some people said 'doh, it's wide open' and others said 'doh, take it back'. I took it back. Then had another that did the same. Took it back.
Yesterday my dealer said as I was heading out the door 'oh by the way...' and produced a second hand one. It's a heck of a sight better! To be honest even at F11 I could ask for slightly better corners but hell, it was £1800 and it's pretty darned good!
On top of that and in the same batch he had an 'old style' (Pre-Phase) Hartblei for £395 so I gave it a run. It's a damned sight better than the loaner I had, not too shabby at distances of twenty foot or more just rather fuzzy on the sides closer up and at wider apertures. It's really not much more than an expensive lensbaby but at a push, being careful and using the centre 2/3rds of the frame and breathing evenly, it produces files that look sharpish at the edges and pretty good on centre, even when shifted...
So, a good day! And I also ordered a Slvestri BiCam with flexi bellows and sliding stitching back, with a Schneider 38. Yum yum....
Here's a comparison of the first and second Mammy 28s wide open. I'll post comparative Hartblei shots as soon as I can get to the location of my first trial shoot with the one I have now... guess which is which? Both 100% centre crops.
View attachment 11364
View attachment 11363
So a few weeks ago I posted images from a brand new Mammy 28D I'd bought which was fuzzy as heck wide open... some people said 'doh, it's wide open' and others said 'doh, take it back'. I took it back. Then had another that did the same. Took it back.
Yesterday my dealer said as I was heading out the door 'oh by the way...' and produced a second hand one. It's a heck of a sight better! To be honest even at F11 I could ask for slightly better corners but hell, it was £1800 and it's pretty darned good!
On top of that and in the same batch he had an 'old style' (Pre-Phase) Hartblei for £395 so I gave it a run. It's a damned sight better than the loaner I had, not too shabby at distances of twenty foot or more just rather fuzzy on the sides closer up and at wider apertures. It's really not much more than an expensive lensbaby but at a push, being careful and using the centre 2/3rds of the frame and breathing evenly, it produces files that look sharpish at the edges and pretty good on centre, even when shifted...
So, a good day! And I also ordered a Slvestri BiCam with flexi bellows and sliding stitching back, with a Schneider 38. Yum yum....
Here's a comparison of the first and second Mammy 28s wide open. I'll post comparative Hartblei shots as soon as I can get to the location of my first trial shoot with the one I have now... guess which is which? Both 100% centre crops.
View attachment 11364
View attachment 11363
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