Mamiya TLR 55mm lens question

[ryan_wolstencroft]

I'm having trouble determining a reasonable price to pay for this

particular lens. I've followed a few auctions and saw widely varying

end prices for similar condition items. Two that I was following

awhile back ended with one at $157.50 and the other at $330. both

were said to be near mint condition. So i guess my real question is,

what's a reasonable price for this lens.

 

Bonus question: The 65mm usually goes for cheaper. Is the extra 10mm

of the 55mm worth the extra money in your opinion? I think I have my

heart set on the 55mm so this is really just to hear some opinions.

thanks guys!

[maury_cohen]

I personally like wide. I'd always feel "shortchanged" with the 65.

[pavelp]

This lens used to go for $250 or around on eBay when prices were little more stable. KEH have one on sale right now for $245, but it's in BARGAIN condition (so EXCELLENT rating would be more expensive).

 

The 55mm lens has lots of elements and is rumoured to be sharper than 65mm. I have the 65mm and in my opinion is as sharp as black 80/2.8 S, so I have no problem using the 65. The 65 gives pretty much the view of 35mm point and shoot cameras, so it's nice lens for casual holiday shooting (if there is such a thing with C330). The 55mm will be something like 24mm or 28mm lens which to me is significantly different from 65mm.

[dave_lewis]

I've seen that lens go for as much as $400 and sometimes as little as $100. It's typical eBay feeding frenzy. I bet you can probably get a great one in the $200 range. But be prepared to spend a little more...

[ryan_wolstencroft]

thanks guys for the quick responses. I guess i'll just have to keep my eyes open. there was just one on ebay with a buy-it-now of $199, but i missed the opportunity =( If anyone's planning on selling one in good condition, shoot me a note.

[picturesque]

I have two 55mm lenses and a 65mm, and the 55mm is just a little longer than a 28mm lens on a 35mm camera, with the 65mm being a little longer than the 35m lens on a 35mm camera. Both are sharp so I'd just go on whether you like the wider angle. The 65mm is not so far from the 80mm, so if you have an 80mm, you might miss having a bigger difference between the lens' angles of view. There has been much debate in the past about whether the most recent black lenses have multi-coating. It has never been definitively resolved. I know that older black lenses have a yellow color to the coating--supposedly a single coating. Newer black lenses have a purplish coating--maybe or maybe not multi-coating. One of my 55s is yellow, the other purple. One (the yellow one) is fairly old (in the production cycle of black lenses) judging by the serial number. The newer one was made just before all production stopped--it has a 6 digit serial number rather than 5 digits. I tested both for flare resistance. The patterns were different but the flare was not diminished over the other one. Optically, they are supposed to be the same, but I do feel the newer one is sharper--the older one suffered from fall off of sharpness at the corners. I don't know if it was a problem due to that particular sample or whether due to production issues. I paid $425 for the newer one about 5-6 years ago but it was in mint/new condition and prices were generally higher then. When shopping on the big auction site, be sure to take a look at the pictures to see if you can see the serial numbers and the gold sticker on the viewing lens. Even though the chronology of the serial numbers isn't supposed to be associated with year of production--they kind of are in a general way. Same with the letters on the gold sticker. The higher the number or the later in the alphabet, the newer. If you can't see numbers, ask the seller for the first 3 numbers if they don't want to provide the serial number. As for judging quality--you can't really--so be sure you can return it. The 55 that had the corner sharpness problem looked just fine visually, with no signs of ill use or even de-cementing of elements, etc. The difference in price you mentioned could be due to the age of the lens. A newer one would be more expensive even if both were in mint condition.

[conrad_hoffman]

I paid something like $275 for my black one. It's not the most recent, and I'd have to say the corner sharpness isn't fantastic, though I haven't done many tests that would show it. No question the 65mm doesn't buy that much over the 80mm. Go with the 55mm. No idea on the specific coatings, but single coatings can be blue, yellow, greenish, or other shades, depending on material and layer thickness. It isn't always that well controlled. A quick look at my 55mm doesn't show any obvious color. Might be coated, might not.

[geoff_mcauliffe]

Prices on these lenses do vary, depending on demand at the moment. That's the marketplace. Also, one man's mint is another man's Ex-minus so using the seller's description of condition may or may not be valid. The 55 is noticably wider than the 65 (I have both). The 65 is my "normal" lens, I use the 55 when I want a wider view. I got VERY lucky when I bought my black 55, mint lens + both caps + nice leather case+ 2 filters for lens protection for $240, the same package might be $300 on another day.

[jeffrey_abelson]

I think I spent about $300 for my black 55mm - it's a great lens, though a drop slow.

[jena_tessar]

Hold out for a 55mm. The 65 feels like a wide normal, as others have said. (Having said that, I bet 65 and 135 would be an ideal combination if you could only have two lenses.) You can incidentally use the more common 65 hood on a 55, using a stepping ring as a retaining ring (see <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008Q54"> this thread</A>).

<p>

If you're following more than one of these things on the auction site, consider one of the bidding services like Auction Sniper. They can be set up to keep submitting last-minute bids until you eventually get one. You can update your list once or twice a week and forget about it. It's great if you're not in a hurry.

[ryan_wolstencroft]

thanks everyone for the suggestions and information. i really appreaciate it. keep the info coming if you have any, i'm still watching this thread.

[cxc]

When I was doing similar research, I read more than one comment here in photo.net that the 55 was a higher quality lens than the 65. I don't remember the details. So I have an ePay 55mm coming in the mail...