I know there have been previous threads on this discussion but it hasn't helped me come to a conclusion. I've sold some things and have some money to drop on a Mamiya 7II system that I've been dying to get for years.
I would like to keep to just a 3 lens kit. The 150 is a definate. I just can't decide whether to go with a 43-65-150 kit or 50-80-150, or even a 43-80-150 kit. First instinct was to get the 50 because I normally don't like super wide angle lenses, but I have always enjoyed the 20mm focal length in 35mm. The 43 is like the "dream" lens of system and one of the greatest lenses known to medium format.
I'm looking to other M7 users to give me some suggestions. The separate viewfinders don't bother me. So getting the 50 over the 43 because you don't NEED the separate finder is not an issue to me.
BTW.. I'll be shooting mostly color landscapes with this camera.
When I had my M7II kit, I had the 50mm and loved it. What is really nice about it, is that you don't have to use external view finder. You can just look to the very edge of the internal view finder and be fine.
Apparently the 43mm is the same design as the Hasselblad SWC / Zeiss 38mm biogon lens, which I am a huge fan of.
This is a very personal decision and will depend on your vision more than anything else. When I first bought my Mamiya 7 outfit I purchased the 43mm, 65mm, 85mm and 150mm. I used this outfit two or three times and decided that the 43mm was wider than I wanted. So I sold it and and bought a 50mm which I prefer.
There is more distance between the 43mm and 65mm so this combination appears to make more sense, but I seem to personally operate more in the 50-65-80 zone.
Sandy King
Quote:
Originally Posted by brian steinberger
I know there have been previous threads on this discussion but it hasn't helped me come to a conclusion. I've sold some things and have some money to drop on a Mamiya 7II system that I've been dying to get for years.
I would like to keep to just a 3 lens kit. The 150 is a definate. I just can't decide whether to go with a 43-65-150 kit or 50-80-150, or even a 43-80-150 kit. First instinct was to get the 50 because I normally don't like super wide angle lenses, but I have always enjoyed the 20mm focal length in 35mm. The 43 is like the "dream" lens of system and one of the greatest lenses known to medium format.
I'm looking to other M7 users to give me some suggestions. The separate viewfinders don't bother me. So getting the 50 over the 43 because you don't NEED the separate finder is not an issue to me.
BTW.. I'll be shooting mostly color landscapes with this camera.
The more I research and think about my personal preference to focal length, I think I agree with David & Sandy, that the 50 may be a better choice as well. I looked at a few photos on flickr.com taken with both the 43 and 50 and although there were a lot of great photos taken with the 43, many of them seemed forced, with a lot of open dead space.
Another thought I forgot to mention in my thread opening was that a used Mamiya 7 or 7II is cheaper if you purchase them with the 80. So more than likely I will be getting a 7 or 7II with the 80. The distance between 43 and 80 is too great, almost allows the need for the 65 to fill the gap, but the 65 and 80 are too close, no need for both unless you have a large budget.
I have a Mamiya 7II with 43,65, and 80mm lenses. This really does come down to being a personal choice based on you perceived needs and vision. I love the 43, but I don't shoot many landscapes with it, but do more street, and urban photos. I think it is very important to use every square millimeter of film and not have any empty or wasted space especially around the edges, and that is perhaps a bit more difficult to do with the 43 than the 50mm lens. The 43 is such a stunning lens though that a little extra work is more than worth the effort in my opinion. I don't think you can go wrong with either lens, they are both wonderful.
I think what I would do if I were in your place is to buy the camera with an 80mm lens and use that for a while. The 80 is a really versatile focal length. Use that until you have a strong need for something else, by then you should have a better understanding of what to get. Deciding what lenses to buy can be a very difficult intellectual exercise made much easier by real life experience. Good luck.
I own a Mamiya 7II system with their 43, 50, 65, 80 and 150 mm lenses.
My favorite two lenses are the 65 and 43 mm. If I only had one lens, I'd use the 65 mm.
Be careful getting a 150 mm lens. I got a dog that would not focus properly. I went round and round with Mamiya. I took me over a year to prove to them that the lens was defective. They finally replaced it, but I would accept the new lens until I thoroughly tested it. So be forewarned, test the 150 mm.
But frankly, if you are doing landscapes, you don't need the 150 mm. The image area in the viewfinder to too small to truly know what you are getting. It's not a great portrait lens 'cause you can't get close. A head shot with the 150 sees from the middle of the chest to the top of the head, with plenty of air above the head.
The camera viewfinder is perfectly made for the 65 mm lens. Both the 43 and 50 require separate viewfinders for framing.
Good luck with whatever you get. Don't cut yourself on the Mamiya 7's optics. Grin.
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When I grow up, I want to be a photographer.
For my Mamiya 7 II the choice lens for me was the 65 mm........the 80 is great but the 65 is the perfect (for me) mild wide.....I had a 50 also but for handheld use the 65 was my favorite--I guess it depends on your intended use....I'll say this though...I used the 65 mm for family images, my children, etc...not landscape or related and I think the 50 was perfect for that but being the typical camera nut I always wanted a 43 as I think the Mamiya is a fabulous camera and the glass is second to none !!
I have the M7 (not ii) with the 50-80-150 set and I couldn't be more pleased. I like wide, but I find even the 50 too wide a lot of the time. I probably use the 80 more than half the time, with the remaining time distributed 3:2 between the 50 and 150. I don't use the 150 as much as I expected; when I bought it I had not thought through the implications of its 2-meter near focusing minimum distance. It's not a "portrait" lens the way a 150 would be for any other medium-format system in which you can focus down to a meter or so.
I agree that it makes more sense to go 50-80-150 if you are looking to "span" the focal length range of the system; it doesn't make sense to me to have both the 50 and 65. I didn't want to mess with the auxiliary viewfinder for the 43; I never use the 50's finder and don't miss it.
What a stunningly sharp, portable camera system. Lenses are second to none; I think they're even better than most of the lenses for my Contax 645 system.
Only thing that could make the M7 better is if it focused closer, and the lenses were a stop faster.
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It's a tricky decision. I use the 50, 80 and 150 but really wish I had the 65 as I often need something between the 50 and 80 but I don't want the heft of yet another lens! The 43 offers a lot of opportunities as an additional lens if you've got the 50 but if you haven't then I'd recommend the 50 as it's probably more applicable to a greater number of scenes. If you're only buying three lenses then the 50, 80 and 150 are probably the ones I'd recommend but 50, 65, 150 or 50, 65, 80 would be equally valid choices for me. I use the 150 infrequently and most of the images I've produced with it have been less interesting than those I've produced with the 50 and 80.
Mamiya 7 lenses.. 43 or 50 to start a kit? 
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