Mamiya TLR SNAFU

[dhbebb]

<p>I recently felt a desire to assemble a small Mamiya TLR outfit (C330f), having had one years ago and sold it. This process went well, except that having spent good money acquiring a correct lens shade for a 65 mm lens, I found this fits the lens directly but will not fit over a normal Hoya 49 mm filter. Mamiya generally displayed great ingenuity in the design of these cameras but seem to have assigned this lens shade to Homer Simpson. I have a generic shallow round lens shade which I can use - are there any extra-small 49 mm filters I could use with the Mamiya shade, or is this just a SNAFU?</p>

[bobbuck19]

<p>I have a c330 and a 65mm lens, never really looked for the correct filters just used the ones I have with step down rings.</p>

[marc_batters]

<blockquote>

<p>...but seem to have assigned this lens shade to Homer Simpson.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>HaHaHa...Yep, the Mamiya lens shades are very poorly designed, (my opinion).<br /> I don't mess with any of them. As mentioned above, just use some stepping rings and use common round/collapsible rubber lens shades, and filters with common thickness rims.<br /> If you don't go much past 52-55mm, there is only minimal shadowing/vignetting at the bottom of the image in the viewfinder. Totally manageable.</p>

<p>http://cthree.my/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/mamiya-c3-vintage-camera-classics.jpg<br /> /> />

[western_isles]

<p>I also had a 330 kit many years ago and loved using it. They made a squarish lens hood which did look very elegant but I do not recall it fitting over a filter.</p>

<p>I usually made do with a Scottish hand (French hand but on a Scotsman)!.</p>

[western_isles]

<p>Sorry, that last post should have read "Scottish flag (French flag but on a Scotsman)!".</p>

<p>One of my senior moments.</p>

[graham_patterson1]

<p>Mamiya did make some 'slim-line' filters that were no wider than the lens barrel. They were never very common. You hit a similar problem fitting two filters to the lenses with 49mm threads - you usually have to file a flat on one filter to provide clearance.<br>

<br />The lens separation of 50mm between the axes (5mm more than the Rollei and copies) must have seemed like a lot when the camera was designed, but squeezing a 180mm f4.5 or 65mm f3.5 into a 49mm barrel was pushing the limits. But a bigger lens axis separation would have meant more parallax. </p>

 

[mike_rosenlof2]

<p>The mamiya TLR lenses with a 49mm filter size are a definite compromise design. In order to fit the 50mm lens spacing, they have extra thin lens barrels. They dent easily thus the chrome rings that usually get lost if filters are used much. Mamiya made extra thin filters (as noted) that are exceptionally hard to find. If you use standard filters, the lens cap doesn't fit well and you can't put standard filters on both the viewing and taking lens together, and the metal lens hood doesn't fit at all.<br>

<br />I'm not a common filter user -- occasionally only. But I use lens hoods often. With the 65mm (and the 180mm super) I use the clamp on lens hood made for the 65 and skip the filters. If I really must use some filter, I'll do that and skip the hood, or shade the lens with my hand.</p>

<p> </p>

[flavio_egoavil]

<p>Another Mamiya user on this forum told that a good idea is to get some junked filter, remove the glass, and glue it to the inside of the 65mm lens shade. That way, any filter can be fitted inside the lens shade. He mentioned using a 67mm filter thread with success. The choice of 67mm due only to having more of such filters available.</p>