Just how funky is the Mamiya 645 35mm/3.5 N lens?

There have been a couple of reports of soft edges/corners with this

lens. I'm wondering if it would be noticeably worse (at f/5.6, 11 x

14 prints) than, say, the Fuji GS645 60mm I'm using now? Will I be

able to notice the edge/corner softness with a 7x loop on Provia 100F

slides?

 

(That is, I don't mind if I can't make 20x30s: A3 is all I need.)

 

Also, I wonder if recent versions (i.e. purchased new) might be

better than the older (but still N) versions?

 

FWIW, Mamiya Japan says that the new AF version of the lens is

optically the same as the non-AF version.

I think almost any lens can produce good results when stopped down, but on a

tripod, used with slow film, etc., but this is one of the few that I have used

that couldn't. Soft corners, soft everything, murky contrast, very cool,

greenish color rendition. I bought it 8 years ago, used it for a while, and

thankfully got rid of it. Perhaps my sample was bad, but that's my experience.

It doesn't compare to the Fuji lenses (although there is no Fuji 35mm), which

are excellent.

Michael Fourman at Kiev Cameras sells an adapter to Mamiya 645 to accommodate the Arsat 30 mm lens. This is a picture taken with the Arsat which should be "funky " enough for you:

 

http://www.kievcamera.com/foto/p1.jpg

"Soft corners, soft everything, murky contrast, very cool, greenish color rendition"

 

Does this really sound like a lens Mamiya could continue to sell successfully for years? I own the 35 mm and think it's a great lens. Remember, it's a manual focus lens so don't forget your bifocals or you too may get soft everything. I wouldn't hesistate to recommend this lens but like anything else, it can be used imporperly and produce poor results.

 

Mark

"Perhaps my sample was bad, but that's my experience."

"I own the 35 mm and think it's a great lens."

 

Sigh. That's what I was afraid of. It sounds as though I will have to make sure that I have a return option on the lens. Thanks, all.

 

Wow, that Arsat 30mm shot's the sharpest Kiev shot I've ever seen!

I owned this lens many years ago (about 12 actually!!). I found that the lens was soft at the edges until stopped down to f11 - then no problems. For landscapes I found it performed best at f16-22 and focussed at infinity.