In Praise of a New Lens.

I'm trapped inside by the first polar storm of the season, with constant sleety rain, snow on the hills and wind gusting up to 120 kph. Many roads are closed due to flooding, ferry services between our two main islands are cancelled due to swells exceeding seven meters, and the airport has just shut due to "conditions beyond operational limits". Apparently on the last flight in, they ran out of sick bags... So, I thought I'd put together a post for the Forum.

 

At the beginning of the year I obtained a Mamiya 645 1000s outfit that included the Mamiya Sekor 105-210mm ULD C f/4.5 zoom lens. Rather to my surprise the optical quality of the lens is at least the equal of the Mamiya Sekor prime lenses in this range, so I went hunting for the smaller 55-110mm Mamiya Sekor C f/4.5 zoom. I found a fairly minty copy in Japan at a reasonable price and it arrived a week ago, and to my great pleasure it's proving to be as good a performer as it's big brother. The only downside for these two lenses is the f/4.5 aperture which decreases the brightness of the viewfinder image when compared to the prime lenses, and the weight. Still, the viewfinder image is perfectly usable due to the excellent Mamiya focusing screens, and I don't mind a heavy camera.

 

I thought I'd put together a sort of "grab bag" for the outfit, leaving out many of the other accessories, something I could pick up and take out without having to make the agonising decisions about just what to pack. I found a tidy little high-impact, weatherproof case with atmospheric control at the local hardware store for the princely sum of $65, about a quarter the price of the equivalent Pelican case, and here's how it worked out.

 

Mamiya 645 1000S

 

In the case is the camera with TTL metering finder, power wind and 55-110mm lens, the 105-210 zoom wearing a Teleplus 2x converter, (just for emergencies), the 35mm f/3.5 lens and a few other necessities. The outfit pretty much covers my normal requirements. I'll post a few samples from the lens from the first two films I ran; they were Ilford HP5 Plus developed in PMK Pyro and scanned on the Epson V700 Photo using Silverfast SE software.

 

Martinborough 001

 

 

Hoist

 

 

MG

 

 

Martinborough 002

 

 

Frost

 

 

Earthcare

 

 

Cool Change

 

 

Nissan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice outfit and results, Rick. Years ago I took the ferry from Picton to Wellington, and remember it was a pretty rough crossing even in clear weather. Here in the American Southwest, it's been rather the opposite, just too hot to get out and enjoy much photography right now.

Great images and nice outfit. Thanks for sharing.

That makes a great kit, Rick. Of course, a lot of the beauty of your images must be assigned to the manual shutter actuator;-) On my 645, with the help of an adaptor, I use lenses I had for my usually defunct Pentacon 6. I have a Kiev 55 which I liked better than a zebra 50, the 80 standard, a 180 f/2.8 Sonnar, and a magnificient, late multicoated 300 f/4 Sonnar. The 300 works great with a 6 element telextender giving me a 600 f/8. Stop down metering isn't a problem and 6x4.5 is so much easier to work with than 135.

Whoops, almost forgot the Russian 30mm rectlinear.

Thanks Dave; as a survivor of the Cook Strait crossing you'll have a fair idea just how tempestuous that body of water can become. Thank you Mike; I find it interesting to see what other members are using and what they are producing, and I know you have the same approach. Oddly enough, Chauncey, I've been toying with the idea of getting an adapter for the P6 mount lenses; I have a couple of Russian lenses I'd quite like to try on the Mamiya. Thanks for the compliment!

Really nice, very nice indeed.

 

My medium format is almost all from the DDR, The lenses are great although the mechanicals of the bodies are maybe a little less so.

Edited July 14, 2017 by JDMvW

As said, great outfit and great photos to go with it. I've yet to meet a Mamiya that I didn't like.

 

I have to admit, though, that I'd prefer to see a photo of an MGB rather than a Midget :) (I have a bit of bias there)

Lovely pictures , Rick; as always. I wish i could get back soon to post some. Regards, sp.

Thanks, JDM, I have similar feelings about the DDR MF cameras, being the proud owner of two Pentacon Six bodies, both of which malfunction...I agree Ben, the Midget was never much more than a toy; we used to call them "Noddy Cars" down here, in deference to the series of English childrens' books of the 1950's. I owned a MGB GT for a couple of years in my distant youth, painted traditional British Racing Green. You can't do much better than a BRG MGB GT...I do hope you can get around to posting some images, SP; I really miss your walkabouts that were such a feature of the Forum a couple of years ago.

Rick,

 

I need to do a photo session with my car :) . I don't have any great photos of it since putting the new top on it. Mine is a 1970(so chrome bumper) and of course is British Racing Green. I went with tan rather than the traditional black for the top, and I have to say that I think it looks great.

You've not got space for enough film amongst the foam in that faux-Pelican case, Rick. :) Semi-seriously: I don't know if you have any of those Japan Camera Hunter five-roll 120 cases, but if you don't, I'd quite recommend them. Carrying one of those is more space-efficient than five film boxes, stops unboxed films rolling around like they can do if stored loose in a camera bag (granted, not a problem with your foam case), and serves as a nice light-tight storage (if you get the case in black) for exposed rolls whose wrappers have been binned.

 

Seriously: superb pictures.

 

--Dave

Thanks, Dave, I do have a miscellany of little cases for transporting film, filters and exposure meters etc., but the Japan Camera Hunter ones do look tidy and practical. This assemblage is more for popping into a vehicle when I' m town and around, and I can fit two or three rolls into the case, but if I have something more complicated in mind I have a bigger leather case that came with the kit that holds more accessories plus the camera.

 

I'd love to see some pics of the car, Ben.

Your fine post with the Mamiya and lenses has inspired me to get out my Mamiya gear. I have a 645E and a 645J. Likely the "J" will be the one this outing since I like the waist level finder that I have on it. No zooms, but I have the following lenses: 35, 55, 70 (leaf shutter), 80, and 200. Also have the 55 macro as well.

The new lens is certainly nice. Your photos are nice and sharp and the exposures are spot on from my monitor. I am in the process of building up a Mamiya kit myself. I have the 645e body and 80mm sekor lens is all. It's not the most popular model of Mamiya but I think it is perfect for my needs. I would buy it again. I have been buying filters for it mostly so far. I doubt I will purchase another lens and just shoot the 80mm.

.

..and the exposures are spot on from my monitor

 

That's comforting, rossb; it's good to know that others are seeing the photographs as I see them. You just never know...You might become smitten enough to start keeping an eye open for the odd lens... That sounds a very nice collection, Mike and I'm looking forward to seeing some work from it.

Edited July 18, 2017 by rick_drawbridge

Rick, here it is.

 

This was shot with my Speed Graphic and the 135mm Raptar that came on it with some long-expired but still decent Velvia(and developed at home with an Arista kit as there is not a lab nearby that will develop sheet film). I was leaving work and saw what I thought was interesting light from a storm rolling in, so pulled out the camera, set it up, and fired off a frame. I used about 1/2º of tilt to keep the car in focus at I think around f/22-I just wish I'd walked a bit to the right to get a more interesting 3/4 shot.

 

 

If the heat ever tames, I'm need to take some time to do a photo shoot at the river in one of my favorite spots. I'm now up to 5 RB67 lenses, and although I've used them all I've never compared them side-by-side in the same general subjects. It seems like that would be a good time to do just that with a familiar subject. I've driven the car to work the past two days, and unfortunately I'm too accustomed to air conditioning and the evening drive home in traffic with the brake/gas/clutch gearstick tap dance with no air circulation and an exhaust pipe a few inches under my legs manages to leave me worn out.

Very nice indeed, Ben, the tan top really gives the car a lift. I'm feeling quite nostalgic! You're right about the unsuitability of the car for commuting; I have recollections of sitting waiting at the lights with the fumes from buses and trucks washing over me. I recall that the MGB had quite an efficient heater, a feature no doubt the Brits demanded in their cooler climate, but air conditioning involved opening a window... Definitely a fun car for the open road. Thanks for posting the pic.

 

That sounds like a fine RB67 system you're accumulating, and the lenses are all great. I used RB's for years commercially, and they were a very reliable and versatile camera.