Not sure what I can add to the original post really. I'm copying artworks that range from , say, 8"x10" to 4' square. I am using a Mamiya 120mm macro lens because it is an appropriate/convenient focal length for the job and is widely recommended as a sharp, distortion free lens. I bought the MF version because it is what I could afford. The issue is that I am finding it very difficult to focus accurately. Sorry I missed the workshop, where was it? I am in Manchester.
William.
A thought from a passerby: Maybe you could describe your usual setup a bit more accurately - horizontal or vertical shooting, lighting while focusing, actual aperture while shooting, presence of glass, usual distances? And then someone who knows this situation might help you.
I do have one piece of advice from an idiot though: Get a camera, any camera, with a CMOS chip eg. Pentax or even 35mm 40MP Sony or Nikon, and you will have liveview and all your problems will go away. What you are losing in workflow time, and in bad focus issues and in light needed for low-iso work is simply not worth it.
Although for all I know an AF lens might quickly and simply improve your life. And yes, there is such a thing as a magnified angle viewer for macro work which is compatible with the Mamiya, but in the end there are always fixed focus offsets between mirror-path and sensor-path and focus-shift when you close down during exposure -liveview is just better.
Edmund
