Mamiya lens AF 150mm 3.5 experience?

[cyron123]

Hello,
Has anybody some experience with the older Mamiya lens AF 150mm 3.5? How good is the shapes and Bokeh? Especially in comparison to the newer phase one 150mm.

The price differences are huge..
Thank you.

[synn]

Hello,
Has anybody some experience with the older Mamiya lens AF 150mm 3.5? How good is the shapes and Bokeh? Especially in comparison to the newer phase one 150mm.

The price differences are huge..
Thank you.

Moin, Thorsten.

I have this lens, but I really won't recommend it. It's one of the few older lenses that do not work that well on modern backs. I have found mine to be quite soft compared to other older Mamiya lenses although the bokeh is not too bad.

If you don't mind the additional reach, I highly recommend that you go for the 210mm f/4 ULD. It is tack sharp on my Credo 40, is quite small and light and bokeh is very good too. Quite cheap used as well.

The only thing that is not so ncie is that the built in hood isn't the best design out there.

[cyron123]

Moin Moin Synn,
I have already the 210mm and yes it is sharp enough for me. Sometimes it is a bit too long.

But if the 150mm is not really good I have to save money for the newer one...
Thank you.
Cyron

[synn]

Hi Thorsten,

After this dialog, I got curious about the lens again and did a quick test. Nothing special, just a shot of my living room. Camera was rested on a table. f/4.5, 1.6s, ISO 100.

Did a quick run through C1P 8 with basic sharpening and curves and I must say, I find the lens to be much sharper than I remember it to be.

Do take a look at the sample attached at 100% (Focus is on the whisky collection: Right click- > view image)and see if this would suit your expectations. It could save you a lot of money!

[Ken Doo]

The old 150mm AF was good in its time (film) but really pales in comparison to its current generation replacements, the 150mm D and 150mm LS.  For whatever reason, it seems that the current FMV for a used Phase 150mm D series lens is really low, particularly considering the overall performance of this lens.  It's worthwhile to get at least the 150 D. 

ken

[Christoph B.]

The old 150mm AF was good in its time (film) but really pales in comparison to its current generation replacements, the 150mm D and 150mm LS.  For whatever reason, it seems that the current FMV for a used Phase 150mm D series lens is really low, particularly considering the overall performance of this lens.  It's worthwhile to get at least the 150 D. 

ken

I thought the 150 LS was based on the 150 3.5 N design?

[cyron123]

Hello synn,
Thank you for the picture. I will working in higher than f9 for my work. I think this lens work good for me.
I will give it a try...

[tochnia]

I have seen huge difference in picture quality between shots at aperture 3.5 and 4.5 at my Mamiya AF 150 f3.5 Lens /I have 2 copies/.
So at 4.5 lens is giving good quality, but at 3.5 it is dodgy.. 

[jreederphoto]

It's not bad for the money. And pretty lightweight if I remember.

But I now have the newer 150mm f/2.8 AF...zero complaints with this lens.

Jordan

[Christoph B.]

If you had the choice of either a 150mm 3.5 or 120mm 4.0 (both modern versions with aperture controlled by the camera) - which would you choose for portraits?

I'm happy with the 210mm but sometimes it's a little bit long

[tochnia]

Macro 120mm f4 D is way better than 150/3.5 AF 

[Christoph B.]

Macro 120mm f4 D is way better than 150/3.5 AF 

But what about the 'non-D'? I'm talking about this one specifically:

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTMzWDgwMA==/z/ZgAAAOSwqu9VK8OE/$_1.JPG - no AF but aperture control by camera (which I prefer when doing studio shoots)

I'm still swaying back and forth. I liked working with 100mm on 35mm, which is approx. 150mm on 645 - and it's quite a bit cheaper and has AF (which isn't necessary but quite convenient).
The 120mm however is clearly sharper and gives me the ability to shoot macros (which isn't necessary either but also quite convenient).

[jreederphoto]

The 120mm non AF is a great lens...I have one as well. Very good lens even at 80mp

[LasseDPF]

The 120mm MF is a great lens. In terms of image quality I have never felt a need to upgrade.

Focus is geared heavily towards the close/macro side (to be expected I guess, it is a macro lens).. For portraits it is still good, but be careful in turning the barrel as you quiclky end up shifting focus quite a lot.

Not a big issue, but something to keep in mind.

[Conner999]

Have owned the 150/3.5 N MF, 150/2.8 MF and the 120/4 MF, all used on D800e, and still have the latter two - which will never be parted with.  The 120/4 is $%^& stellar for macro, close focus and portrait work (where I normally use it).

I truly wish someone would license the optics for use on Nikon with auto-stopdown as I'd love to be able to use it more commercially. As one poster said, as you get closer to infinity the focus helicoid 'pitch' gets faster and care must be taken not to mis-focus.

The 150/2.8MF is also a knock-out. Both it and the 120 are very, very sharp yet with a great 'look', strong CA control and color tonality. They're loved by alt lens users on hgh-MP SLRs as a result. I can't use them for commercial work 99.99% of time due to manual stop-down, but love them for personal projects where it's not an issue.

The 150 3.5MF is "ok". Not bad, but not stellar.  It's faster sister, at least in MF variant, readily bests it, as does the 120 w/o question. 

If I were a Phase MFDB owner considering the 3 (based on the assumptions below),  I'd readily, w/o hesitation, acquire the 120/4 and/or the 150/2.8 AF - starting with the 120 due to it versatility.

(Assumptions: The 3.5's AF formula = MF version, the 2.8 AF formula => MF variant (The D has a stellar reputation) and (IIRC) the 120/4's formula remains unchanged) 

[Christoph B.]

Finding a 120mm isn't quite that easy though.

I've been trying for quite some time now, really hard to get in Austria... most of them are the old versions with manual aperture and in second hand stores you get charged up to 600€ / 680$ for them.
Not a single store in the whole of Austria has the MF for AF version (let alone the 'D')  and I couldn't find one in Germany either - but as I'm mainly using it for portrait and beauty photography and therefore I have no use for the completely manual version.

[synn]

Used the 150 for a gig yesterday. Location and studio portraits.
Will share the results soon.

Sufficed to say, I am very happy with the results. beautiful rendering and good transition to out of focus areas.

I am glad I have this lens another shot. Complete steal for the price!