c.u._volp

Chris,

#1 - you can fit any lens to the bellows, but you cannot use it for

shots at infinity in which case you should go for the shift. The

bellows really is designed for very very very close-up things !

#2 - yep, no problems whatsoever, as far as I know.

#3 - I only have the 55-110: it really is a great lens, the best zoom

I've ever had. The 105-210 is supposed to be at least as good (I read

a test recently- it was on par with the leica R-zooms !!). One big

catch, though: It is very long and quite heavy which makes use with a

prism tiring. That's the reason why I bought the compact 55-110 and

keep using prime telephoto lenses.

The teleconverter is not going to work with any of the zooms, i am

afraid. The first and last lenses would come too close. Maybe another

point in favour of the prime lenses.

#4 Nothing to add !

#5 As far as nature, stills and people are concerned, I cannot see why

you should possibly stay with 35mm ! It's different with sports

though, you would miss autofocus and highspeed telephoto lenses there.

Anyway, it's up to you I suppose...

Hope this helps,

best regards.

As far as I know, Mamiya has an actual solution to this very very very common problem:

They modify the shutter speed dial so that it can be locked similarly to the AE-setting. Very simple, I just do not know why they did not think about this in the first place...

Send your M645 to the repair department. I do not know, if they do this to older M645's as well, but I have heard from 645Pro-users who had it done.

Mike - you cannot normally use 35mm-lenses on medium-format cameras because of the smaller image circle. This is the very reason why MF-lenses tend to be more expensive, big image circles are difficult to achieve (resolution is not better, normally). Your 400mm 3.5 ED might be worth a try, though. A lense with this long a focal lens might just give enough coverage on the M645. Try to fit both on two different tripods and "connect" them with a toilet roll or similar. Stepped down, the coverage might be sufficient. Shoot a roll with different apertures; I would love to hear from your results ! Zvrk makes an adaptor for T-2 lenses (35mm) on M645-cameras, but I do not think there is one for Nikon lenses. If the 400/3.5 works well, you might want to have one made (it should cost you at least U$ 200 though).

Adapting your M645-lenses to your Nikon is easy. Zvrk and other companies manufacture adaptors and optically it's not a problem at all, although I cannot really see why you would like to do this. If you use M645-lenses you might as well use the camera and get better pictures than possible with your Nikon !

Best regards.

Whooooooo - what a story ! I would have suffered multiple heart attacks during an undertaking such as this - a mighty Carl Zeiss lens dissembled on the table, what a man !!!

Well done, I do admire your courage.

Happy shooting.

The early 645's are great cameras, but there are at least two major disadvantages compared the newer models:

1. They do not have interchangeable backs. You might not need this feature , though (there has been some discussion on this forum about this...).

2. There is a serious problem with many of the old prisms: sooner or later they seem to suffer from prism separation. Just check the s/h-market for old M645-prism in 100% condition, you won't be able to find many. I have never heard about this problem from users of Mamiya-cameras younger than 1985 when the "Super" came out. Apparently, the guys at mamiya have fixed the problem now.

If you work with a rectangular format such as 4,5x6, you will appreciate a prism, even if you don't need the TTL-metering.

 

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If the Pro/Pro-TL is too expensive for you, why don't you look out for a s/h-M645-Super ? All the current accessories, including winders and prisms can be used on this model (the body has to be slightly modified for the new SV-AE-prism 402, but this is no great deal and the only exception I know of). I have seen well-used bodies for as little as GBP 150 in Britain (= US$ 250).

 

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I hope this helps. The Mamiyas are good cameras !

 

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Best regards,

Uli.

I disagree with Andreas. There are a few people who enjoy using MF-cameras for a style of photography similar to 35mm. It might not be "proper" MF-photography in the eyes of Hassy or MF-Linhof users, but there you are. Cameras like the Mamiya 6/7, Pentax 645, Fuji GA 645, and Mamiya 645 behave very similar to 35mm-cameras of the 1980's. I stopped using my 35mm-SLR's completely when I bought my first Mamiya 645 (I still use my 35mm rangefinder, but that's another story).

The Mamiya 645Pro TL might be the right choice for you, it offers all you asked for (if you add the Pro-prism finder with spot-metering), but it's of course not as sophisticated as the Rolleis and the lenses are probably not of Schneider/Zeiss-quality (a lot cheaper though !).

Joe: the latest Mamiya 645 Pro TL provides TTL-flash now.

Doug: Vignetting might be the reason. Are you using a polarizer by any chance ?

I used to have a similar problem with my 45/2.8N (which is an excellent lens by the way !) when using the Cromatek filter system, especially with the polarizer. I have now switched to Cokin P + an additional 72mm Hoya polarizer with adapter.

I've never had any problems since.

Hope this helps.

Why don't you just do it yourself ? The C-41 process is very easy to use and it is fast, too. I use a Jobo CPE-2+ which I bought second hand. Not too expensive, if you go through a lot of film per year (you save roughly 50% on each roll). 6 rolls of Ilford XP-2 take me 15 mins to develop !

Ulrik - Kiev made RFH's for Hasselblads until recently. Basically, they were modified Kiev 88 magazines. I saw them advertised in Germany for DM 298 a couple of years ago, but apparently they've been discontinued. Maybe you are lucky and find some second-hand.

I have long considered buying a colour-meter, but the high price has put me off so far (a Gossen Color-Pro is about $ 850 at the moment !).

However, I have just come across several adverts offering a "Gossen Sixticolor" for less than GBP 100, second hand - is this an actual colour-meter ?

Has anybody any experience with it ? How accurate is it ?

 

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Thanks for any comments and advice.

In fact, the Rollei 6008-series seem to provide the ideal cameras here:

the mirror stays up for as long as the 'mirror up'

switch is on; the film transport is disabled for as long as the 'multiple exposure' switch is on. While the

'multiple exposure' switch is on, one can trigger the shutter with a remote control cable an unlimited number of

times.

In addition to that, the Schneider lenses are surely the best you can buy for money these days and the shutter is as accurate as you can get.

Ravi - the rumours are true enough, sadly.

Kindermann decided to stop production of their MF-projectors in 1996, I think. Two big retailers, one Japanese and one German, persuaded Kindermann last year to produce a final lot of Diafocus 66T-projectors, though (# 8016). Just take two of these machines and some sort of external gadget (which one can get for as little as 60 US$) and you can start your AV-show.

The name of the German retailer is Brenner FSV, their website www.brenner-foto.de. They sell it for DEM 1299.00 (US$ 700.00 !!!) + shipping.

 

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I cannot believe Kindermann has given up on the whole thing - with new MF-cameras, Autofocus and all that, the popularity of MF-slides is bound to increase again. The market for slide projectors is quite small at the moment, though (Reflecta has gone into receivership last year...).

Help !

I have just tried to clean my 5,6/105mm Rodenstock lens which I haven't used for almost a year and discovered some fungus inside.

Has anybody some advice what to do with it, has anyone ever "opened" a lens like that - is there a chance of getting it all together afterwards ?

How can one prevent something like this from happening in the future ?

 

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Many thanks for any advice.

Gepe still produces AN-mounts 4x4.

The Gepe# is: 6901.

They sell for about US$ 9.00 for a packet of 20 in Europe.

 

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I agree that Rollei had (again) a very good idea at the time !

Some people just take ordinary MF-slides and cut them to fit the Gepe-mounts - seems a bit drastic, but it works, if you don't want to buy an MF-projector.

a) The older M645 models (M645, M645J, M45 1000s) have just inserts like the Pentax. M645 Super and Pro have interchangeable backs (8 different models so far).

b) I haven't compared picture quality, but Mamiya has released more than 30 different lenses so far. The lenses I have are of superb quality, especially the 45/2,8. They are also slightly cheaper than the Pentax's.

c) I have just tried this - no, it does not work. Why would you want to do this anyway ?

Mamiya even makes an external battery case !

Joel,

 

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the address of Rollei's homepage (in English and German) is:

 

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http://www.rollei.de/

 

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They have photos of the different models and explain the differences.

 

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Regards,

Uli Volp.

Try Oehling*-Foto in Mainz/Germany for second-hand Hasselblad.

It is probably the largest Hasselblad-dealer in Germany and not too far from Prague.

The address is: Foto-Oehling*, Ludwigstr. 2, D-55116 Mainz, Germany.

tel +49-6131-28 11 44, fax +49-6131-28 11 88. Try to get hold of Ms Wolf - she knows what she's talking about.

 

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Best of luck,

C.U. Volp

(Cambridge, UK).

Since I don't have a Kiev myself, I can only answer your last question: You may purchase any Kiev lenses + accessories through Brenner-foto (this is where I buy most of my films etc.).

They also offer a fixed price repair-service (currently DM 120.00 = $ 75.00). A new Mir 3,5/65mm lens is DM 500.00 ($ 300.00).

Look up http://www.brenner-foto.de

 

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Best regards,

Uli Volp.

Sorry, I can't help you - but I find this a very interesting question.

Maybe someone knows something about the difference in quality between the old 4.0/150mm and the new 3.5/150mm ?

Also, is there a difference between the old 2.8/80mm and the newly designed 2.8/80mm ? I have both, but haven4t really tested them yet.