The "Mini-Gun" Mamiya 250mm f/5

 I bought the rare 250mm f/5 from e(vil)-bay while I was in Singapore and I have brought it back to Thailand for some closeup portraits.  Its a hell of a lens.  All metal and glass.  Not much plastic (only the levers or the aperture ring seems to be plastic).

I posted this snapshot of the lens as a scale on facebook and I loved one of my friend's comment.  He said it looked like the mini-gun from the worms game.  I agree with him so I decided to nickname it the "Mini-Gun".

I tested the lens in SG with a roll of film.  Its ok except the last 2 shots went missing.  Double checked and realised it has a bit of oily aperture :S.  Which means the shutter may not be functioning correctly.  I need to send it for a good CLA but due to time constraints, I decided to let it be for the while.  Since I don't think I will be using it that often.

However, today, I decided to shoot some instant photos with the mini-gun and surprsingly.  It handles pretty well and surprisingly my hit rate was pretty good even with such shallow DOF and slow shutter.  Heavy camera really has less camera shake? hehehe.

Here are 4 of the better ones..

 

There are a few more but I'm just too tired to scan and post them now.  But I have to say the bokeh and sharpness of this lens is quite lengenary as mentioned in other photographic forums.  Contrast and colours are good too.  The only bad thing (optically) besides the weight is that it slightly vignettes on the Instant photos.  I dun really mind though as I guess I would use it mainly for portraits for instant photos so that is not really a big issue to me :) .  Its still surprising cheap in the ebay market (less than $800 SGD) so its really really a bargain to get such a good glass with such a price tag.  But I guess my muscle of my arms will get bigger if I used it more often.  hehe 

Another favourite - SOLD -

I did a crazy thing yesterday. I saw a minty 250mm f/5 Press lens at an incredible price and condition which I could not get my eyes off in E(vil)-bay.  

Since I do not have a day job at the moment, I do not have the luxuries to buy it on the spot.  You may asked "Didn't you sell off your Hassy for 2k?"  Well that money is actually used to pay off the credit card bills that I incurred from purchasing the Press Camera.  And actually I spent another $500 on another Super 23 with lens and back :P  So the 2k already down the drain liao.  Not to mention I restocked a lot of 120 film for my new camera.

 As I was venting my fustration in facebook.  Some RF photog friends gave me an idea.  Sell off my Hexar!  Its a great RF I got just about a year ago.  I think less than 10 rolls were passed through it only and I actually re-calibrated the RF patch myself.  Its a great camera and actually I used it more often then my Bessa R3M.  Actually, I totally stopped using my R3 after I got the Hexar.  Its that good.  

But I don't really need 2 RF bodies at the moment.  I'm shooting MF more often in Thailand and with my NEX 3.  The only time I find I'm using the Hexar was in Singapore, where I do street photography in an urban environment.  I also really need to downsize as all the lenses and gears I have that are mostly in my dry cabinet.  The Press cameras are huge.(and so are the lenses).. :P So I made the hard decision, sell the Hexar away and get the rare 250mm.  Anyway, I still have a Bessa if I need to shoot RF style. 

Goodbye! My companion for 2 years

Almost 2 years actually.  I bought my used Hasselblad 500CM camera in 2009 in late Sept (see post).  I have been shooting over 40 rolls of film with the camera and I was very happy with it.  So happy, during the course of shooting.  I accquired another lens, a prism and another A12 back to compliment it as a shooting system for me.  

I loved how it handles and the safety features that prevents you from accidentally exposing the film (not so smart for the Mamiya Universal in this department),  The  lenses were pretty good too.  But 6x6 is really not a good format for me particularly in landscape.  I found that I shot most of the rolls with my family and portraits rather than serious landscapes(original intention of purchasing the camera).  I found that most of the shots I took needs to be cropped to 2:3 to be good for me.  I found that I spend more time trying to frame a shot in a square that it disrupts my original intention of angle of view or pre-vis.  Its a great camera but I just find myself struggling with it.  Maybe if I took more time to master it then I might get used to it.  Actually I think I am getting used to it but I just find that the slides are still small considering the fact there are 6x7, 6x9 or even 4inx5in.

I started to look for a view camera that accepts 120 roll film (easier to load the film, easier to develop, easier to handle and cheaper)  in 6x9.  Not 6x7 as I want to prevent myself trying out another aspect ratio.  I am so used to 35mm and so 6x9 should be the way to go (as explained in my previous post).  I plan to buy it mainly just for landscapes and keep my Hassy for other things.  Then after some research, I found out about the Mamiya Press system.  Its cheaper then a Hassy system and its very modular like a Hassy too.  So naturally I got one and after using it for just a week.  I know its a keeper.  I started to neglect my Hassy because besides shooting landscapes, its great for family shots or portraits too :P.  For the pass 2 months, it was in my dry cabinet and the thought of selling it came when I find my drybox in Thailand is not big enough for both of them.. :P  At first, it was a bit reluctant sale until the developed slides of my Press camera came back.  The colours and sharpness actually are equal or I dare say, even more superior then the Hasselblad!  So I made up my mind to sell away my Hassy system to get back some cash to invest in more lenses and accessories for my new Press camera.

Anyway, here are some landscapes/nature shots I took with this companion of 2 years,  Its has been great having you serve me but I guess you have a better home now.  One who might use you more often to create great images rather then sitting idly in my dry cabinet :)

One goes, another comes...

Personally, ever since I started holding a camera in my hands.  I had never ever dropped one while shooting.  Ever!

Well, maybe except once when I was fooling around with my friend's kid and my bag dropped and broke my Bessa R.  But it was not when I am holding or shooting with the camera. 

Anyway,  I dropped my "Beast".  That was about 2 weeks ago during a shoot . The whole camera was 1.7m above the ground on my tripod when it dropped.  And it hit the ground with such a large bang I thought the whole thing was gone.  Luckily (not sure to say if its lucky), only the lens was damaged.  But it was a lens I was having great fun and results with.  My 75mm!! Its physically looking alright but the shutter and aperture was jammed.  I managed to release the jammed shutter and aperture later by pulling the lens barrel by sheer force.  It was a straight down drop so the lens seems to slightly pushed into the helicoid.  It still focus well but the shutter just won't fire now. :S

Feeling sad, I was thinking of looking for a broken 75mm or Seiko S0 shutter part on ebay when I saw a lens being listed. The legendary and rare 100mm 2.8!  The only 2.8 lens in this Mamiya Press system!!  And it was in pristine condition!  Without thinking, I emailed the guy for a shipping quote and bought the lens.  While waiting for the lens, I was stuck with my backup copy of the 100mm 3.5 for the pass 2 weeks to shoot with.  I was using the 75mm more often as it provides full coverage to the Instant FP100c and FB3000B without any vignetting.  The 100mm has slight vignettes if open wide but once stopped down to f5.6, Its literally gone. 

Shooting with the 100mm 3.5 on film makes me excited.  Why?  Because from the viewfinder, the angle of view was very very familiar to me.  I was wondering why then I found out that its Field of View (FOV) is actually around 40mm angle of view on a 35mm system!! Which means it's my favourite RF focal length!!!  (My favourite RF lens is my VC 40mm 1.4)  This means the new 100mm 2.8 would be almost an exact same lens (FOV and DOF too!) on my "Beast".  So I was waiting in agony for the new lens to come... f/2.8 will be like f/1.4 on 35mm or greater!

It also means I can get to shoot handheld with my 3000B Instant indoors and at night :)    Anyway, I planned to bring the damaged 75mm back to Singapore and see if Steven of Camera Hospital could fix it.  I just absolutely love how the lens renders colour.  Its FOV is about 35mm but the main issue is its speed.  Its only a 5.6 lens so I plan to use it more for landscapes and outdoor shoots. 

Here's a great link on the Mamiya Press camera system overview for those who are interested in this camera :)

And finally a test shot of the lens indoor at f/2.8 with 3000B.  Sharp and sweet!  Bokeh is wonderful too! 

Mamiya Press Universal "The Beast"

I gave my new MF camera a nickname.  I called it The Beast! :P Because its huge!!  Its really the largest camera body I have worked with (maybe except the Mamiya RB67).  Just click on the images and you can see a blown up photo. The lens is a 75mm Sekor.  All was not smooth when I got it from ebay in Japan.  The 100mm lens that came with it was severely damaged when it was shipped here.  The seller was honest and tried to look for another copy of the lens for me as a replacement.  I then saw he listed another lens that I planned to get (but not so soon actually because of the price..... )  One of the best lenses Mamiya made during that era.  The 75mm f/5.6 Sekor.  I made some calculations and decided to buy this lens instead of waiting for the 100mm.  Since the latter is frequently seen in ebay while this is quite rare.

The seller was honest and gave me a discounted price! I recieved the lens since last Friday and I could finally shoot with the beast!  I tested the Polaroid back and a roll of Tmax 4 and so far so good.  It looks promising but its definitely a camera that needs to get used to.

Firstly, as you can see from the pictures, the grip is actually on the left so if you are left handed, this camera is built for you!  I had a tough time getting used to hold the camera steady while I focus with my right hand.  Its very akward in the beginning and my first roll of Tmax could tell as most of the shots are a bit blur..  Sharp but not razor sharp like my Hassy.  I think one of the reason is it has been raining for the pass week and I am spoilt with fast lenses in my 35mm arsenal :P  This lens max aperture is only 5.6... :P  So some shots was actually taken at 1/8 seconds indoor... Still, sharpness is acceptable.  And for those who think why I could shoot at 1/8 handheld with such a monster. 

2 reasons.  1st one, it's a RF!  So no mirror slap like the Hassy!  2nd, its shutter is on the lens and its a copal shutter! Soft sweet and almost quiet shutter!  So its actually much quieter to shoot with this camera.  (another reason why its a press camera)  

The camera was first produced in the 1967s.  As it names implies, it is for press photographers during that era where 35mm was still not the main work horse in press industries.  The reason is if they need to print big in newspaper (like a full page), they need bigger negatives at that time as printing technology is still at its infancy stages.  Nowadays, we dun really need such huge negatives.

Overall, I am very impressed with this little investment.  I paid about a thousand SGD and a bit more for the body, 2 backs and the 75mm lens with hood , finder plus shipping (twice).  Will write more once I shoot more with it :) And here's a last photo of me holding the camera to my face as a comparison.  The huge lens mount and open back... hehehe.. Just a big metal box...