Mamiya 645E with 150/4 Schneider Xenar and Zeiss Jena 50mm

[Raid Amin]

I decided to use my old MF set after not having used camera and lens for about 9 years.

My Mamiya 645E is not too heavy, and the wonderful Schneider Kreuznach 150/4 is in Pentacon 6 mount, which I use on the E with an adapter. The same lens in other mounts cost over $1000, but in Pentacon 6 mount it was on sale for $500 at Beyer Camera in Germany.

Flm was Fuji NPS in 220 format. I took all photos hand held.


1. At Joe Patti's Seafood in Pensacola. There was fog one morning, and I tried some action photography hand holding the big lens and the E. This is what I managed to get with one attempt:



2. This is my [much] better half, standing in front of our home, with the door open for a back drop. I deliberately slightly underexposed to get a dark background.



3. Here are my girls, dancing and having fun before sunset time at the beach.




4. Lina in her moody self. She is quite some character, and she takes after me!



5. Developing and scanning was done by Precision Camera. They are now sponsors at rangefinderforum.



I really like this Schneider lens, and I used to use it when I was doing wedding photography. I also have used it with my Canon FD 35mm cameras via an adapter. The Zeiss Jena 50mm is also a very good lens. I used it in a few of the posted images in which a wide angle lens was needed.

6. I was panning with this Heron, and I got this image:




7. A vertical shot is to me as important as a horizontol shot. Here, I focused on the foreground with a Zeiss  Jena 50mm lens.




8. I took this close-up of Lina with the Schneider at 5.6.



9. I took this photo most likely with the Zeiss Jena 50mm. It is a great lens, and it came to me in Pentacon 6 mount for about $250. The zebra version is cheaper since it is not multicoated. Mine is multi-coated,



10. This image is from the beach. I love the white sand and the sea oats. The MF captures fine details.



11. This is another photo of beautiful Pensacola Beach. The light was perfect.




12. More of the foggy scenes.

[Philip]

Stunning pictures and, as much as I like the pictures of your girls, my favourites are the first two.   That bird is really remarkable -- not the kind of action shot you'd expect from a medium format camera!

[lesged]

I agree with Philip's remark about the exceptional quality of the first two, but I am moved by the the last photo of boats, as well.

I think the first one has the elements to make it a blue ribbon winning photo. I'd like to suggest cropping out the first upright on the left. I think it will enhance the impact of the graceful preparation for flight. Set against the foggy background it will add to the gentle, but unseen, strength required for this large bird to take off.

I, too, like the children photos. We haven't seen Lina in that kind of mood before, AFAIK.

[Raid Amin]

Stunning pictures and, as much as I like the pictures of your girls, my favourites are the first two.   That bird is really remarkable -- not the kind of action shot you'd expect from a medium format camera!

Thanks for your input, Philip. I was after catching the finer details with a MF camera when I used the E on a very foggy morning.

Raid

[Raid Amin]

I agree with Philip's remark about the exceptional quality of the first two, but I am moved by the the last photo of boats, as well.

I think the first one has the elements to make it a blue ribbon winning photo. I'd like to suggest cropping out the first upright on the left. I think it will enhance the impact of the graceful preparation for flight. Set against the foggy background it will add to the gentle, but unseen, strength required for this large bird to take off.

I, too, like the children photos. We haven't seen Lina in that kind of mood before, AFAIK.

Thanks for your input too, Les. I value feedback at nelsonfoto.
I have now added a few more fog images above. They are all from one roll of 220 film.

Raid

[jamesmck]

This is a great set of photos, Raid.  I have a 645 Super, but I find it too cumbersome to carry around these days.  I particularly like numbers one and five.  You clearly have a way with fog.  The Precision Camera scans look good.  How was the turnaround time?

James

[Raid Amin]

Thank you, James.
It took about 10 days for the Lab to inform me to send payment, and that is the first time the Lab contacted me. Then, withing 3-4 days, I got the scans in the mail. They charge only $12 for developing and scanning of C41 film of any size, so I chose the 220 film for twice the number of frames.

Raid

[br1078lum]

Wonderful shots, Raid.  You should use the Mamiya more often.

PF

[LarryD]

Yes You should use MF more and the choice of lens was perfect.

[martolod]

done well raid.yes you should get the MF kit out more often.
i am actually rather fond of the pentacon 6 lenses. i have one in particular that i use with a p6 to k mount adapter that i use when i do a bit of astro photography. it'ts a big hunk of glass that just seems to pull in the light. it's the same lens i use on another p6-kmount shift lens adapter.
i think there will a few Pentacon 6 bargains out there if people are willing to use adapters.the lenses are just superb as they ought to be seeing that they are cousins to the FSU lenses that i also adore

[Raid Amin]

Wonderful shots, Raid.  You should use the Mamiya more often.

PF

Thanks!
I used this as a test shoot for the Mamiya, and I like the results. The 6x4.5 format is not huge, but its size is much larger than 35mm.

Raid

[Raid Amin]

done well raid.yes you should get the MF kit out more often.
i am actually rather fond of the pentacon 6 lenses. i have one in particular that i use with a p6 to k mount adapter that i use when i do a bit of astro photography. it'ts a big hunk of glass that just seems to pull in the light. it's the same lens i use on another p6-kmount shift lens adapter.
i think there will a few Pentacon 6 bargains out there if people are willing to use adapters.the lenses are just superb as they ought to be seeing that they are cousins to the FSU lenses that i also adore

Thanks.
Yes, there are some good bargains in Zeiss Jena glass for the Pentacon 6. I have the 180mm/2.8 which is a gorgeous piece of glass. Is it that one or do you have a longer lens for astro photography?
It is a small inconvenience to use lenses in a closed-aperture mode when you can get Zeiss quality for less than 1/3 or 1/4 of the cost of Zeiss (West Germany) lenses.

I also have a 120mm Zeiss Jena lens. My normal lens is a Mamiya 80/2.8. It is small and sharp.

Raid

[Julio1fer]

Hope you are able to use this set more often, Raid. The portraits are great.

My favorite is #6, because of the neat reflection of the bird in the water and those foggy boats in the background.

[Raid Amin]

Thank you, Julio. I love such locations that are close to where we live in Pensacola.
Now that I have discovered Precision Camera for scanning MF film, I will use this camera more often.

Raid

[lesged]

Raid,

Thanks for adding more pics to this thread. I agree with the crowd, you should use your 634E more often seeing you can even do hand held action shots so well. I like the second portrait of Lina immensely. She is a wonderful model.

Below is my suggested cropping of your first photo: the bird ready for flight.





OT: It would be wonderful to get together again. Any chance before April 1st? Check both the girls and your school schedule, svp.