DOUBLE DOWN OR FOLD?

About a month ago I wrote of selling the Mamiya ZD. The Canon 1Ds Mark III had arrived and it was time to sell X to pay for Y. Over the next couple weeks the Mamiya ZD did exceptionally well in bright, harsh sunlight - the conditions where the 1Ds Mark III struggles with highlights. For better or worse, I decided to double down and buy a couple more lenses for the ZD. For now the Canon 1Ds Mark III will be used with two zooms - the 24-105L IS and 70-200/4 L IS. For the ZD the 35-80-150 trio adds depth to the 24-105L IS. On a full frame 135 negative (ie - the Canon 1Ds Mark III) -

1. •Mamiya 35mm equates to ~24mm FOV
   

2. •Mamiya 80mm equates to ~56mm FOV
   

3. •Mamiya 150mm equates to ~102mm FOV
   

The Mamiya 80mm D has been a great workhorse. I have used the Mamiya 150mm F3.5 AF before, and for about $275 it is a bargain. The Mamiya 35mm AF has a mixed reputation on the discussion forums with some people claiming it is sharp, others saying the corners are unacceptable. Despite the mixed reviews, I took a chance on the 35mm. I expect the 35-80-150 to be well spaced and a competent team in terms of sharpness, contrast, bokeh and color. And for traveling there a couple other upsides -

1. •Each lens weighs ~1 pound or less. Like Canon lenses, the lens hoods reverse for storage.
   

2. •The filter sizes are 67mm and 77mm which are the same filters I will be carrying the Canon L zooms.  The 150mm is a 58mm thread, so a step ring will be needed.
   

THE MAMIYA 35MM FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The following comments are based upon first impressions. The lens build quality is the same as the new “D” lenses -

1. •Auto focus / manual focus ring on the lens barrel
   

2. •All metal barrel
   

3. •A dampened manual focus ring
   

4. •Petal shaped lens hood
   

5. •Balances nicely on the ZD (not nose heavy)
   

One drawback to the Mamiya 35mm is its F3.5 aperture which results in a slightly dimmer viewfinder compared to the F2.8 lenses such as the 45mm and 55mm. The 35mm’s build quality feels slightly nicer than the 80mm D - which is a pleasant surprise. The biggest difference is the quasi dampened focus ring.

Next were some quick pictures in the backyard. When focused at infinity, the corners were sharp at F11. F8 was okay - no worse than a Canon 35L on a full-frame dSLR, but not sharp either. As focus is moved forward, the corners get better and better. Even at F3.5 the corners can be sharp if the focus distance is around 10 feet or so. Shooting at infinity really is not my style. I prefer having the focus point in the foreground (if possible), so I am feeling pretty positive about the 35mm.

THE FIRST FIELD TEST

The next mission was a quick round of shots at golden hour. Shooting wide angle is not my strong suite. Dallas does not have sweeping beaches or majestic mountains, so finding nice wide angle scenes is not easy (for me anyway). Another surprise was how wide 35mm felt at 48x36mm sensor. According to the numbers the Mamiya’s 35mm’s FOV is ~24mm (technically 21mm x the 1.1x crop factor). The Mamiya 35mm felt more like a 18mm or 21mm lens on a Canon 1Ds. There was a strong wide angle effect in terms of converging lines when the lens was tilted upwards or downwards.

In actual pictures the sharpness and contrast exceed my expectations. I did not see any obvious signs of CA or fringing. There probably is some, but nothing jumped out when viewing the raw files on a 30” monitor. There is not much bokeh. To force bokeh the subject would have to be very close (10 feet or closer). Thus far the verdict is a big thumbs up. After using the 35mm on the ZD, I cannot imagine spending $3-4k for the 28mm D. 35mm is plenty wide enough (for me) and the 35mm is not very demanding in terms of technique. The Mamiya 35mm F3.5 AF is a nice “value option” with used prices around $700 USD - which feels like a fair price.