Mamiya 7/7II with 43mm or 50mm?

gerkshinobi · 07-14-2010

I'm debating on a new lens purchase and currently have a Mamiya 7II with the 80 f/4. If any of you with the 43mm or the 50mm could post up some shots you've taken with them that would be great.

Also, any thoughts on the different lenses would be awesome as well. Thanks in advance!

coelacanth · 07-14-2010

I'm very curious about this, too. Any inspiring photos with these lenses anyone??

nlubis · 07-14-2010

I've only gotten my Mamiya 7 for the last couple of months. Some photos w/ the 43mm
(foreground cropped)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nlubis/...7624020874074/

There are a couple of more photos in the set taken with lens as well.

jonmanjiro · 07-15-2010

Can't go wrong with either. Take a look at this thread:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/foru...ad.php?t=86559

gerkshinobi · 07-15-2010

coelacanth: hey i think i met you with patrice at SF MOMA a while ago. you picked up a 7II?

jonmanjiro: thanks for the link!

gerkshinobi · 07-16-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Double Negative

We already have a thread on the 43/50mm lenses...

Yeah, thanks for pointing that out again. I'm still interested in the poll results, but if the mods want to close this thread then that's okay with me.

craygc · 07-25-2010

This was the 43mm...

Debusti Paolo · 10-01-2010

43mm biogon,what else?

notraces · 10-01-2010

This entire book was shot with the Mam 7II and 43mm lens. If you get a chance to peruse a copy you'll appreciate what the 43mm can do.

http://www.amazon.com/Photo-Jour-Pic.../dp/0292743491

drew.saunders · 10-03-2010

Rent both and know, rather than ask here and guess?

qruyk12 · 10-06-2010

hmm.. very personal preference. i have both but use the 50 much more often. just find it easier to frame quickly.

the 43 comes out for the ultra wide landscapes.

jaredangle · 10-06-2010

I do not own the camera system or any of its lenses, but the photography department of my school has a Mamiya 7ii and the 43mm, 50mm, 80mm and 150mm lenses, which I borrow on their weekly check-out system whenever I possibly can.

I haven't yet used the 50mm, but I can attest to the several pros that the 43mm has.

- very, very sharp
- at f/16, hyperfocal distance almost covers the lens' entire focusing scale, at f/22 hyperfocal distance covers beyond the entire focusing scale.
- increased hand-held ability due to short focal length, goes without saying
- easy to focus
- brightlines in the external finder are easily visible, built-in diopter as well

cons -
- awkward to use with external finder, but this is possibly just my general clumsiness when it comes to alternating between rangefinder and viewfinder
- more expensive

edit - give me a little more time, say an hour or so, and I should be putting up one of my scans from a print with this lens

jaredangle · 10-07-2010

Recent shot, standing in the water with tripod, and the Mamiya 7 and 43mm lens w/ cable release.

kram · 10-09-2010

I have both lens. I brought the Mamiya 7 when it first came out and thought the 43mm (21mm on 35mm film eq) sold it to me. I use the camera for ~ 8 years with only the 80mm lens (sic). The 43mm was the last lens I purchased and have tried to use it more of late.
I love the 50mm lens - but as the 43mm is wider (and was one of the original reasons I purchased the 7) I am trying to use it more. My main concern is light fall off (even at f11?). It is not that big a deal, but some photos look slightly odd to me -edges OK but slightly brighter in the centre (rather than centre OK and darker at the edges??) I don't seem to notice/have this 'problem' with the 50mm.

TareqPhoto · 10-19-2010

I will buy 43mm as my best wide lens, just first i have to figure out my problem with Mamiya 7 then will go for 43mm, i was going to buy 80mm or 150mm first to test my camera if it is working, if it will work with one of those lenses then the problem will be with my 65mm lens not with camera, but i really want to buy 43mm first over 80 or 150.

Ti29er · 12-07-2010

I think unless you use 21mm on the 35mm format, then a 43mm lens is going to be an error on the 7.

I prefer the less exaggerated effects of the 50 / 24mm and thinking about my own picture taking over the years, almost never have call for a 43 / 21mm lens - it's too specialised and exaggerated, not at all suitable for many subject matter.

I too thought along those lines, buy the 43mm!, but at present I’m on the hunt for that all elusive 50mm lens to go with the 150mm as I changed my mind fairly early on about the usefulness of such an extreme wide angle.

thegman · 03-03-2011

I only ever had the 65mm for my Mamiya 7, but now use a 50mm on my Hasselblad. If it's your only lens, I'd say get the 50mm, as 43mm is extreme wide for an every day lens I think. If you've got the 80mm however, I'd definitely get the 43mm, as for non-wide, you're catered for. I love wides though, and I think you'll probably love either.

rtwright88 · 03-03-2011

I only have the 43mm, however, it is superlative lens. Why go 50mm when you can crop a 43mm shot?

Rob-F · 03-05-2011

If you happened to have a 6x7 projector, you could shoot 6x7 slides and project them, and you would have a home version of IMAX!

hatidua · 03-09-2011

43 for me, the 50 (for my use) is simply rather mundane (but I do own it, "just in case").

Canyongazer · 03-14-2011

I shot for many years with the 50/80/150 trio.
Many times I wished my 50 were a bit wider, never wished it were 7mm longer.
In terms of quality, I had zero complaints about the 50, though. Excellent lens.

bensyverson · 06-04-2011

I only have the 80, but the 50 is the only other lens I would consider.

At first glance they seem pretty close in focal length, but the 43mm is a ~22mm equivalent vs the 50mm at ~26mm. To me, the 43 screams "wide angle" whereas the 50 just takes in a wide view.

jnoir · 08-02-2011

Since I am the happy owner of a 7II, I too want to add an extra lens to the "default" kit (that I got with the 80mm lens).

I know better than to choose the lens based on technical differences, since they are so close performance-wise that if I take a decision solely based on that most probably I won't be satisfied.

It makes far more sense to choose which lens to buy based on what I am actually using, or rather what I am missing in what I already have.

But, that's my dilemma, I am not sure which way to go:

- The 43mm may be useful: you can always crop, it's the shorter FL, and not actually common (I can get e.g. a 50mm Flek for my P6, but not a 43mm). I can have a 50mm in the P6 and a 43mm in the M7II, and they may coexist happily. However, I don't think the external viewfinder will have much appeal to me.

- The 50mm is closest to what I use nowadays for wide angle, which is a 24mm lens on a 35mm camera. It appears to be useable without the external viewfinder. However, I don't really have a definitive figure as to the equivalent FL of each M7II lens compared to 35mm, it seems to depend on to whom you ask... In addition, I have not yet managed to get my hands on a 20mm lens for 35mm film, so I am not really sure if such a wide fov will suit me.

My options, or the ones that have already occurred to me, are:

- Buy the 50mm Flek for the P6, and buy the 43mm for the M7II

- Buy the 50mm for the M7II and forget about the P6 (but somehow I like the WLF...), adding a 20mm lens for the 35mm system.

- Try to borrow a 20mm lens off someone (I have no renting facilities available) and test it, try to decide based on that.

- Sell everything and retire to grow lettuce

What would you do?

Turtle · 08-02-2011

50mm IMO. Everyone is different, but I find the 50mm much more widely applicable than the 43mm for my purposes. I probably use the 50mm 10x more than the 43. I use the 65mm more than any of them.

hatidua · 08-12-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnoir

I don't think the external viewfinder will have much appeal to me.

I'll admit, the external viewfinder wouldn't be my first choice. Then again, a dark cloth with a 4x5 is a bit of an inconvenience as well.....but the final images benefit from both of those nuisances