tobycline

You are right that it is not very significant in its amount of "leaning", and that with prints, some cropping would fix the issue, but is that what we should expect for paying between 1800 and 2500 bucks for a new lens? Couldn't Mamiya be a little more accurate? I know that the finder is just a guide for our own window of creativity, but why not at least get the frames lines to be right level? Anyone else have this problem?

I just purchased a 43mm lens for my Mamiya 7II. I found that the

external viewfinder wasn't consistent in what it was telling me was

level. The internal "bubble sight" showed one thing, and the

internal frame lines showed another thing - ableit, off by only a

few degrees, but enough to be annoying, especially for the price

paid.

 

I sent it back to the shop and they said over the phone that they

were looking through my finder and two others and they ALL were the

same! When the bubble was centered, the frame lines leaned left.

They said that it must be a manufacturing problem and they get a lot

of complaints on this. Has anyone else seen this? What can I do?

I have to agree with John Clark. If you want super sharp images, then the 7II is the way to go. You rarely use a tripod? The 7II is going to be your best bet for hand held shots, hands down (No pun intended). The RF is easy to focus, so if you don't believe me or Mr. Clark, then go rent one and see! One last comment from the peanut gallery is this: The 7II has a meter - the blad does not. Are you going to carry a light meter? Are you going to sell your first born to buy a metered prism from Hasselblad? Either way, bulk and weight are adding up fast and making the 7II look pretty good. It is sharp, metered, and very light and hand-holdable. I'm not sure what you mean by portraits - in the studio or street photography portraits. Studio? Buy an RZ/RB. Street, buy an 7II or stick with the Nikon stuff . . .

 

Have fun deciding - sometimes that's the best part!

Well, one says they will never be as good and another says they are better . . . now I'm really stumped!

I'm a happy Mamiya 7II owner and love the tack sharp optics of the lenses in its range. I can shoot with almost equal quality in sharpness and detail with the lenses

wide open opposed to them stopped down. They don't flare, they don't distort, and I love them - they're great. I'm considering the purchase of a GX617 ( I want a

choice in lens focal length ) and am curious if anyone out there has used both of these cameras to compare the optics of the two systems? I'd ask Philip, but he's in

Alaska . . .

 

Can the Fuji lenses be as sharp wide open as they are stopped down? Are they sharp or soft in the corners? Will I have to stop down to f/16 to get tack sharp images

that equal f/4 shots on the Mamiya lenses? Is is safe to assume that all rangefinder lenses will be very sharp lenses, or does the 7II just have great lenses? What are

your overall impressions of the Fuji GX617 lenses? Thank you for your help - these expensive toys require lots of thought before purchasing.

I think you ought to try Canada before the United States. At least LOOK at the website with prices first . . .

 

Harry's Pro Shop, downtown Toronto.

 

http://harrysproshop.com/

 

Enjoy (P.S. No one I know works at or owns Harry's Pro Shop)

Harry's Pro Shop in Toronto, it is the ONLY way to go.

 

http://harrysproshop.com/

 

You could order from Robert White in the UK and save 150 dollars, but with a Canadian purchase, at least Harry's is just across the border instead of a fourth of the way around the world.

The 7II's 80mm comes in as blazing fast as Nikon's 600mm.

 

F4 is all she wrote.

 

BTW, I'm still waiting and dreaming for Mamiya to make an M7 lens that is a zoom from 40 to 300, fixed F1.4 aperture, only a few inches long, inexpensive, etc . . .

 

Happy Shooting, :o)

Mr. Colton,

 

I was about 10 minutes away from buying the RZ -- what a beautiful camera -- until I decided that it wasn't for me and what I'd be shooting. I'm glad that you are sticking to Mamiya in your other choices because they are all great cameras. As far as your comment about the 7II lenses not being as sharp, I'd check into that a little more if I were you. I could be wrong, but I think the Rangefinder lenses tend to be MORE sharp, not less sharp, than the RZ's. Check out the ezShop heading at the top of this page and click on Medium format. Then click on Mamiya and read Phil G's review on the the 7II. There have to be 50 or more threads talking about the camera and the sharp as tack lenses.

 

For fashion and glamour, I'd stick with the RZ (SLR, wider selection of lenses, revolving back, interchangable backs, no parallax, better meter/prism, bellows, AND, can be used for other applications like shifting and macro.) With all the money you rake in from the nice shots with your RZ, buy the 7II with the 43mm and go out for the weekend for lighter, snapshooting -- especially when your arms are tired and recovering from holding the RZ (if it isn't on your tripod). :o)

 

Let us know what you end up getting,