Mamiya Press 75mm & 127mm coverage

Has anybody ever measured the actual circle of coverage of these

lenses? I've been told they'll cover 6x12. I'd like to know how much

more they'll cover. I have a 6x13 back and a camera with rise & fall

on the lens. Will they cover much movement?

 

Andy

The go-to guy on Mamiya Press camera issues in Bob Hutchinson:

 

http://www.bigcamera.com/index.htm

i have used both of these lenses with the polaroid p/n film. the image area is 3x4 (inches), a little bigger than 6x9. both were clearly running out of steam at the edges, and could be used effectively really only at the smaller apertures. my guess is that they would not work well with 6x12 and that movements would be out of the question at that neg size. you really need a 4x5 lens for 6x12 -- the horizontal axis of the two formats is nearly identical. needless to say, i am extrapolating from my results with a 3x4 negative. if others have used these lenses with 6x12 effectively, i'd love to hear.

Hello Andy

 

I have remounted both these lenses on Sinar-lens boards for use on my old Norma. The 75mm have severely cut-off (very dark) in the corners on 4"x5" film, while the 127mm have a little darkening in the corners on 4"x5". Thus - 6x13 cm just MIGHT work with the 127mm, not with the 75mm. However - the 75mm is fantasticly sharp, and is perfectly when used with the 6x7 & 6x9 rollfilm backs on the Sinar. The reason for me converting them is that they (at least here in Norway) can be found very cheap (as "Surplus" - Polaroid 600 SE lenses), and have much better glass & more reliable shutters than I can find in the apropriate price-categori (about $ 100-150,-)

 

Good luck

 

Tor K.

the norma!! you bring back memories. if both lenses are showing complete lite cutoff at the corners on 4x5 (as i expected) it is very likely that image quality in the directly adjacent illuminated areas is not very good. illumination is one thing; usable image is another.

I have the Polaroid versions of these two lenses and have remounted them for use on my Toyo 23G view camera. Just this morning, being curious, I taped a 4x5 groundglass to the camera's rear standard (the opening measures 112mm x 115mm), and with the apertures wide open and focus set at infinity, verified firsthand that both lenses were more than able to cover it.

 

With the 75mm lens, there was just a hint of darkening in the corners but it wasn't objectionable and by the time I stopped down to f/11, it had gone away. I shifted the 127mm lens full left and right (35mm in each direction, 70mm total) and while the image did go soft very quickly once outside of the 4x5 frame, the lens didn't vignette at all, which means the illumination circle must be at least 180mm.

 

Since covering the 6x13 format requires an image circle of just over 140mm and covering 112mm x 115mm requires just over 160mm, these lenses should not only get the job done but also allow you some room for movements, too (assuming your camera is so equipped, of course).

 

The only qualification to my observations is that I don't know if the very latest Polaroid lenses are identical to the Mamiya versions and/or the earlier Polaroid lenses. As I explained earlier, mine are from the tail end of the production run and as I understand it, were made after Mamiya had stopped making the Press/Universal version and shortly before they stopped making the 600se for Polaroid as well. In other words, your mileage may vary...

I have transformed some Grafmatic 4x5 backs to fit directly on the camera. I get negatives they are a litle bit bigger than the Polaroid format. I had never problems of vignitation. My negative size is 8 x 10.2 cm. I think this is the best way to shoot 4x5 films with the Universal or Polaroid 600se. I use for this the 600se, because I can use the Finder from the camera. (Universal has no Finder for 127mm lens)

I recently utilsed a Mamiya 75mm P lens on a 6x12 conversion (56mm x 114mm actually) of one of my Polaroid 900`s with fantastic results! I couldn`t see any fall off at the corners and I was more than satisfied with the results.

The pics can be found at: http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~razzle