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RB67: Teleconverters & Close-ups


fritz_liedtke

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I'm considering purchasing a RB67 system (used), and in order to save money, may purchase a 2x

teleconverter, so that my 90mm lens can also be my 180mm lens. What are your experiences with

teleconverters? Which are best in quality in terms of both image quality and durability? What other powers (1.4x, 1.7x, etc.) are available other than the 2x?

 

<p>

 

I'd like to know if anyone can tell me the quality of various 2x teleconverters (such as the Mamiya, Rokinar, Vivitar, Pentax, Kenko, etc.): which gives the best performance (meaning least loss of resolution, fuzziness in corners, etc.)? Are there any which have NO drawbacks? Can anyone refer me to specific test results on teleconverters? I don't want to save $400 by buying a teleconverter rather than a lens, only to compromise in image quality, and go kicking myself over ruined images.

 

<p>

 

Can anyone tell me what the pros and cons of working with a bellows (on the RB67) as opposed to

screw-on close-up lenses (say on another camera like the Pentax 67) for close-up work? Is there

better image quality, depth of field, less distortion...?

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Hi Fritz, <p>

 

I wrote up a tutorial of macro photography, that has the clearest

chart I know of showing all of the close-up pros and cons. It uses

Canon EOS as examples, but you'll have no problem with it at

<a href="http://speedcore.com/usr/fs/photo">

http://speedcore.com/usr/fs/photo</a>. <p>

 

On SLR cameras, whether 35mm or MF, the sharpest, "cheapest"

(considering their power) lenses are the range of normal to about

3x normal focal length. Wide-angles, zooms, super-telephotos, etc.,

all will be poor in comparison. I'd expect that you'd get better

images with a 35mm prime short tele than an MF normal+TC, especially

if you shoot with superlow grain film like Velvia (where the lens

resolution, not the film grain, is the bottleneck to huge

enlargements). <p>

 

Frank

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  • 1 year later...
There is a 140 macro lens made by Mamiya for close up work. I would try some test shots with this before you buy anything. The depth of field may or may not be good enough for you, but it will difinatly be sharper than a teleconverter or extention tube. It also comes very close to the 180mm for portrait work. You can get a used 140 macro in decent shape off of ebay or something for less than $600.
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