Mamiya 7 II for Portraits

[steve kessel]

I'm keen to explore medium format. Handled a Mamiya 7 II in a shop recently and was thrilled by the feel, the quiet shutter, the whole prospect. Then the salesperson said - not for portraits: the 80mm lens is f4, closest focus distance 1m. I thought longer lens, 150mm but... f4.5, closest focus distance 1.8m - what does that get? I'm very keen on portraits now, especially groups like families, couples, etc so also is 6x7 right for this? Any advice/experiences gratefully received.

[amoz]

If you check the 'mamiya 7II' tagged pictures on flickr, it renders 1300+ images which give you a pretty good idea of its possibilities: http://flickr.com/photos/tags/mamiya7ii/

[Michiel Fokkema]

Hi,

The salesperson was right. The mamiya will do 3/4 portraits at most.
For groups and couples however it will work I suppose.
6x7 is of course right for this kind of work. It is called the ideal format.
For most versatility however Id use a RB67. This workhorse can handle any situation.
Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema

[rpsawin]

Hi,

The salesperson was right. The mamiya will do 3/4 portraits at most.
For groups and couples however it will work I suppose.
6x7 is of course right for this kind of work. It is called the ideal format.
For most versatility however Id use a RB67. This workhorse can handle any situation.
Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema

And don't forget the health benefit you get from lugging the RB67 around...:D

The M7II is a wonderful system with top notch lenses. And Michiel is correct about the RB67 being a workhorse. It's a great system with excellent lenses and lots of capability.

Best regards,

Bob

[Bryce]

Let me start by saying that I've never used a Mamiya 7.
That out of the way, I have extensively used a Mamiya TLR with 80/2.8 and 135/4.5 lenses, as well as a Fuji GS 645s with a 60/4 lens.
I sort of cringe when I hear people complain that medium format lenses are "slow" at F/4 or so. Sure, you aren't likely to shoot in a dim bar and get great results, but as far a DOF is concerned these lenses are directly comparable to 35mm equivalent ones at least 2 stops faster. DOF with a 80 to 150 lens in any format is going to be REALLY thin- like more lens speed wouldn't be very usable.
As far as portraits are concerned, the Mamiya's 80mm lens is just about comparable to to a 35/2 lens on a 35mm camera, and the 150 is about like a 75/2. Only with much smoother OOF, tonality and sharpness. The 1.8M near focus limit is probably limiting though. As said above, you should be able to do a 3/4 length portrait; tighter than that and you'll have to crop.
Would you be better off with a different piece of gear? Depends how much you value portability, ability to shoot without a tripod, versatility and cost.
Is there a way you could rent before buying? That would go much further toward answering your questions than anything.

[wlewisiii]

I'd just like to point out the 210/8. Yes, that probably seems scary slow, but it's a 105 equiv that should do portraits very well for you.

William

[bensyverson]

I'd just like to point out the 210/8. Yes, that probably seems scary slow, but it's a 105 equiv that should do portraits very well for you.

William

You must be joking. :) The 210/8 is not rangefinder coupled (ie, you have to either guess or use an external rangefinder), and its closest focus is 7m/23 feet.

The magnification ratio is a pathetic 0.032X. The standard 80mm has the best magnification ration in the 7 system, at 0.097X. The 150 has almost the same magnication ratio, since its minimum focusing distance is 1.8m vs the 80's 1m. So you can't make a tighter headshot with the 150. Plus, people seem to universally hate the 150, as it's very difficult to focus reliably with the rangefinder.

Personally, I love the perspective of the 80mm for portraits. It forces you to include a little more context, which I like. If you absolutely have to fill that 6x7 frame completely with someone's face (yikes), you can buy an entire RB67 system for less than the price of one used 7 lens. :)