REVIEW: MAMIYA AF 80MM F2.8 D LENS
Mamiya’s newly updated 645 80mm auto-focus lens specifically for digital
BRIEF BACKGROUND ON THE MAMIYA 645 AF “D” LENSES
On March 19, 2008 Mamiya announced the new Mamiya 645AFD III and the new Mamiya-Sekor AF 80mm F2.8 D lens. The 80mm’s optical formula is unchanged from the original Mamiya AF 80mm F2.8, but the coatings are new (hence the “D” designation) and optimized for digital photography.
MAMIYA SEKOR 645AF 80mm F2.8 D
Lens Composition
Angular Field of View
Equiv. 35mm Focal Length
Minimum Focus
Magnification Ratio
Diaphragm Action
Aperture Range
Filter Size
Filter Connection
Lens Cap
Lens Hood
Weight
Lens Size
First Year Available
Compatible Cameras
6 Elements / 5 Groups
47 Degrees @ Infinity
50mm / 58mm on the ZD
27.5 inches / 70 centimeters
0.15
Electromagnetic - Fully Automatic
F2.8 to F22 in 1/3 Stop Increments
67mm, Non-rotating
Screw-in
67mm Snap-type Plastic Cap
Bayonet (Replacement)
11.6 Ounces / 330 Grams
2 x 3.2 inches / 51.5 x 80.5 mm
March 2008 (Press Release)
645AFD II / III, ZD, Phase One P645
The new “D” lenses work with the Mamiya 645AFD II, Mamiya 645AFD III, Mamiya ZD integrated dSLR and the Phase One P645 body. The Mamiya ZD integrated dSLR may require a firmware update - click here for more information. The new “D” lenses are not compatible with the Mamiya 645AF or the original Mamiya 645AFD. The 645AF requires a hardware and firmware upgrade; the 645AFD requires a firmware upgrade (see additional comment on page 3 of this review). Here is the Mamiya service center contact for the US and Canada -
Mamiya-Sekor AF 28mm F4.5 D
Mamiya-Sekor AF 150mm F2.8 IF D
Mamiya-Sekor AF 75-150mm F4.5 D
Mamiya-Sekor AF 45mm F2.8 D
Mamiya-Sekor AF 80mm F2.8 D
Mamiya-Sekor MF 120mm F4 Macro D
~$1400 Web
MAMIYA DIGITAL LENSES
Mamiya-Sekor AF 45-90mm F4.5 ASPH D *
* Unconfirmed rumors of the 45-90mm ASPH being delayed or possibly cancelled.
MAMIYA US
Attention: Service Department
MAC Group
8 Westchester Plaza
Elmsford, NY 10523
Telephone (914) 347-3300
Email info@mamiya.com
Web www.mamiya.com
LENS HANDLING
The original Mamiya’s 645AF auto-focus lenses garnered little praise for build quality. The plastic barrels and free spinning focus rings are in sharp contrast to the build quality found Leica-R, Contax 645 or Hasselblad V lens. What Mamiya lacks in build quality, they make up for in performance. The Mamiya 645AF lenses are generally considered sharp and (bless their hearts) dirt cheap on Ebay for second hand copies, so while many criticize the economy feel, most users praise the lenses when it comes to performance and value. The new Mamiya “D” lenses up the ante in terms of build quality and especially price.
MAMIYA CANADA
Attention: Tom Truty, Service Manager
Vistek
496 Queen Street East
Toronto, ON, M5A 4GB
Telephone (416) 365-1777 ext 3298
Email tomt@vistek.ca
Web www.vistek.ca
So what exactly does “D” mean? Here is how Mamiya explains it (quoted from here) - “While all Mamiya lenses can be used on today’s high performance digital backs, the new Mamiya Sekor D series of lenses raise sharpness to a new level. Utilizing exotic Low Dispersion glass and Aspherical lens elements, the Sekor D Digital Lens series produces ultra-wide coverage (28mm f4.5), exceptional color accuracy and sharp, contrasty images. And all Mamiya Digital lenses are designed to work with film backs, not only digital backs!”
The new D lenses incorporate a new 16-bit CPU into the lens. Again, taken directly from Mamiya’s website - “The Sekor AF 80mm f/2.8 D utilizes a 16 bit CPU that allows easy firmware upgrading, finer lens characteristic correction and faster, more reliable communication between the lens, camera body and digital back.” While researching the lens and reading translated webpages from at www.mamiya.co.jp, Mamiya talked about the using the additional lens and exposure information in their Mamiya Digital PhotoStudio software for lens corrections. This sounds intriguing but appears Mamiya stopped developing the software around July 2007. Here’s a link for the last public version 1.30 posted in December 2006.
Since the last update predates the 80mm F2.8 D by 15 months, there cannot be any 80mm specific data tables loaded into the software. Though, the optical formula in the 80mm D is the same as its predecessor, so perhaps the 80mm D would not need new data set? I’ll tackle that question some other day.