Mamiya 300mm f4.5 Review

[PLLove]

I want to do more beauty work, and have currently been using my 150 f2.8D and 105-210 ULD lens.  I would like a slightly longer focal length and was considering the 300mm f4.5 (~200mm effective focal length for 35mm).

Does anyone have anything to say about this lens?  Good and bad--I want them both.

I know the minimum focus distance is a bit long (>10 ft), so that's a bit of a negative for me.  How is the focus speed, sharpness, color/contrast, etc.  Do you think it would be useful or beauty work?  Or, shoud I just stick with my 105-210 zoom?

Thanks,
Pat

[Jack Flesher]

I want to do more beauty work, and have currently been using my 150 f2.8D and 105-210 ULD lens.  I would like a slightly longer focal length and was considering the 300mm f4.5 (~200mm effective focal length for 35mm).

Does anyone have anything to say about this lens?  Good and bad--I want them both.

I know the minimum focus distance is a bit long (>10 ft), so that's a bit of a negative for me.  How is the focus speed, sharpness, color/contrast, etc.  Do you think it would be useful or beauty work?  Or, shoud I just stick with my 105-210 zoom?

Thanks,
Pat

The Mamiya 300 f4.5 AF APO is a great lens.  It is in the same league as the 150 2.8D, being razor sharp wide open.  I use the 105-210
too and it is a decent lens, but simply not in the same league as the 300 APO.

Cheers,

[yaya]

The 300 is an excellent lens but I am wondering if it's not too long for beauty work, where many people prefer to be quite close to the subject.
At 1,430g it's also quite heavy so might not be easy to work with handheld. See if you can borrow/ rent one and try it before committing.

Yair

[PLLove]

The 300 is an excellent lens but I am wondering if it's not too long for beauty work, where many people prefer to be quite close to the subject.
At 1,430g it's also quite heavy so might not be easy to work with handheld. See if you can borrow/ rent one and try it before committing.

Yair

I have held one, and it doesnt seem that much heavier than my 105-210.  BUT, the 300 has a tripod foot, so I can rotate the camera on a tripod.  I missed this using my 200 f2 VR on my D3.  

I really like the 200mm focal length (35mm equiv) for beauty work, but the 105-210 zoom my suffice.

-P

[J-KNIGHT]

I want to do more beauty work, and have currently been using my 150 f2.8D and 105-210 ULD lens.  I would like a slightly longer focal length and was considering the 300mm f4.5 (~200mm effective focal length for 35mm).

Does anyone have anything to say about this lens?  Good and bad--I want them both.

I know the minimum focus distance is a bit long (>10 ft), so that's a bit of a negative for me.  How is the focus speed, sharpness, color/contrast, etc.  Do you think it would be useful or beauty work?  Or, shoud I just stick with my 105-210 zoom?

Thanks,
Pat

Great lens for beauty.  Sharp, EASY to focus, APO correction for perfect skin tones, very flare resistant - killer optic. Want one? I have two.

[PLLove]

Great lens for beauty.  Sharp, EASY to focus, APO correction for perfect skin tones, very flare resistant - killer optic. Want one? I have two.

Two?  Sure, let's chat.

pat at plovephotogragphy dot com