5 Frames with the Mamiya 43mm f/4.5

A lot has been written about this wide-angle lens for the Mamiya 7 and 7II medium format (6 x 7) rangefinder cameras, including here at 35mmc. It’s a non-retrofocal (10 elements in 6 groups) lens based on the Zeiss Biogon (1951 patent). It has considerable light fall-off when used without a center filter, although this can be mitigated through a hybrid digital workflow. If one is going to scan, however, it’s fair to ask: why bother with this lens of ancient design and incur the not insignificant cost and hassle of film? After all, plenty of wide and ultrawide lenses are available for the latest mirrorless digital cameras. Aside from the “because it’s there (in my lens cupboard)” argument, I am partial to the Mamiya 43mm because when the stars align, photographs taken with it have a startling sense of “transparency”. This is totally subjective, but maybe it reflects the low geometric distortion of the lens, plus the fact that it has relatively few elements compared to contemporary ultra-wide lenses. With some subjects, the photos don’t have the gestalt of those taken with other wide-angle lenses.

Regardless, the proof of the pudding, etc., so here are five frames taken using the Mamiya N 43mm f/4.5 L lens on a Mamiya 7II camera.

For prospective users, I will note that Mamiya’s depth of field markings were calculated with a very generous circle of confusion. In order to get results that I find acceptable, I need to close the aperture at least two stops beyond what the lens says. Of course, what are acceptable depth of field and sharpness are up to the user. On the bright side, I  haven’t found diffraction to be annoying even at f/22 on the 43mm.

All five negatives were digitized on a Nikon Coolscan 9000 ED scanner and the resulting 4000 dpi, 16-bit/channel files subsequently adjusted in Photoshop. The Granada photo was slightly rotated and cropped, but no barrel/pincushion correction was applied. This photo shows how well the lens reproduces straight lines. The night-time photo was taken using a tripod, and the Alhambra (Granada) photo was shot with the camera lying on the floor. The other three were taken hand-held.

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