Mamiya C330 lenses

Hi,

I have a Mamiya C330s with an 80mm lens and I'm looking to add a

couple of lenses. I'm using it mostly as a walkaround camera and

would like to have something a bit wider and also longer. I've heard

good things about the 105mm but they seem to be in short supply at

places like KEH. The 55mm looks good too but is more expensive than

the 65mm. Anyone have any experience with the 65 and the 135? These

seem to be reasonably priced and slightly more available than the

other 2 options.

 

Henry.

65mm is my favorite walk-around lens. 55mm is excellent lens too but it is slower and the difference is clearly visible on viewing screen. I have both 65mm and 55mm and use the 65mm more (it is my favorite lens for candids).

 

105mm is nice lens too and if you can, get the 105mm DS. It has DOF preview, DOF calculator and selftimer. Some people use it as the standard lens instead of 80mm lens.

 

135mm produces excellent pictures but is slow (again, you will see it in the viewfinder) and requires long bellows draw (makes the camera little unstable). Actually, 105mm require long bellows draw too, but at least the barrels are short.

Very good lense is the 180 Super

What Pavel said. I have all the lenses except the 250mm. What do you want to do with the telephoto? I also found the 135mm a bit unstable for low light, handheld work. The 180 Super is a great lens, but is definitely not for low light, handheld photography. Both the 65mm and 135mm are nice, sharp lenses, contrary to what some will tell you--the 55mm and the 180 Super have the best reputation for sharpness. I have the 105mm DS and if that would fit the bill for your telephoto work, I'd look around for one in good condition.

Thanks for all the info. For now, I'm going to buy a 65mm based on what I've read here. I'm doing alot of casual portraits and candid photography (all handheld) with the 80mm right now, much of it in lower light conditions. It sounds like the 65 will work good for that too. I was hoping to find something just a bit longer than the 80 for head and shoulders shots but that too would be handheld and I'm concerned about the long bellows thing, I had read that before, seems like it ould be unstable. I'm going to hold of on that for now.

 

I have a few examples of pictures I did with the 80mm here;

 

http://digital-journal.net/gallery/index.php?list=11

 

Henry.

I like the 135, but I always use it Tripod mounted. I use the 80 handheld or tripod mounted in good light.

Henry, you'll find many valuable informations about Mamiya 330 cameras and lenses on this page : http://www.btinternet.com/~g.a.patterson/mfaq/m_faq-contents.html.

Sorry, Henry, but the final dot destroyed the link.

http://www.btinternet.com/~g.a.patterson/mfaq/m_faq-contents.html

(i) Many people who have the 65 say it's one of the poorest lenses in the Mamiya TLR lineup. (I don't know, don't have it.) On the wide end, wait for a 55mm, even if it costs and extra $100.

 

(ii) The 135 and the 'old' version of the 105 are Tessar-type designs, with the attendant properties of Tessars. The 135 is a bizarre design, with the iris and shutter behind the lens elements. It's a great lens for portraits, but it ain't the sharpest chisel in the box . . .

 

(iii) If you want 'sharp' on the long end, wait for a 180 Super (not the regular four-element 180).

I had the 65mm and I loved it.

 

I had the 135mm and I loved it.

 

The 55 is too wide and slow as mentioned above.

When I had my C300f, I had almost all of the newer black lenses available for it & found the 65mm to be incredibly sharp when stopped down to f/5.6 or smaller. I found the 135mm to be pretty good, but wasn't blown away with it the way I was with the 65mm lens. I remember the 135mm being quite a bit lighter than the 180mm Super & sometimes packed that lens rather than the 180 for that reason alone. Overall, all of the lenses are pretty good, but remember to use a lens hood. Flare can be pretty bad.

I owned both the 65mm and the 55mm and loved the results from both. For walk-around lens either is a good choice. If you researched Friedlander, Winogrand, and Meyerowitz? work you would be beating a path to use the 55mm. The 80mm is a great lens as well and I used it for primarily 3/4 portrait shots. Good luck.

Can't comment on the specifics of the lenses. Though I have 55, 65, 80, and 135, I've never really compared sharpness. What I can say is to stay with the black shutter versions if at all possible. The chrome shutters will be older and may not be repairable. For some reason Mamiya lenses seem to suffer from serious fungus problems, and user abuse. Be sure to do a penlight test on any lens you're considering, and inspect the barrels for disassembly marks, dents, missing chrome rings (if they matter to you), and correct shutter function. There are way more bad ones out there, than good ones.

I use the 65 as my normal lens on my C330 and C220. I also like the 135. Some people say the 135 is not sharp but I think that is just rumors being recirculated, mine is fine. The 180 is very heavy for candids or walking around.

Jean-Louis, thanks for the link. That will really be helpful.

 

I was able to find a reasonably priced 105mm f/3.5 on e-bay last night as well as a second 330s body. I'm now looking for a 65mm and will try carrying 2 bodies, one with the 65mm and one with the 105mm as a walkaround combo. I'm still looking for a 135 though. In regards to the 55mm and general quality of all the lenses, I feel the 55 is better suited to landscape and maybe a tripod. I don't think I need the ultimate in sharpness from corner to corner with candid and casual portraits. Focal length is more of a concern than edge sharpness for me at this point. I'll keep an eye out for the 55mm and 180 but not so much for walkaround work.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

Henry.

Henry,

 

105mm and 180mm lenses are available in two different optical designs. 105 is available as 105mm (the older design) and 105D or 105DS (the newer design, DS also has a diaphragm in the viewing lens (DOF preview)).

 

180mm is available as 180mm (older) and 180mm-Super (newer). The 180mm-Super is most likely the sharpest and most contrasty in the line-up.

 

I do not know where 65mm gets all that bad press. My 65mm lens is on par with my 55mm (which I know is the latest version with purplish coating and aperture click stops) both in sharpness and contrast. And 65mm lens is easier to focus.

conrad-

 

what's the penlight test you spoke about?

I've used the 55 and 65 and have obtained excellent results with both. I have the 'older' 105 that doesn't have DOF settings and it's served well. At the time I bought the 135 I thought I'd be using it a lot as I enjoy the equivalent focal length in Leica, but I really don't use it much. As noted by another, it requires a lot of bellows and certainly isn't very convenient for hand-held work. Image quality with mine has been terrific. I wonder whether the guy who criticized it earlier had a problem with his. I would note, though, that my work with these is almost always between 5.6 and 16, mostly 8 and 11. Hardly ever wide open.