43mm or 50mm

[webster]

I am now thinking about getting another lens for my mamiya 7ii. but i am not sure if i should get the 43 ot 50mm. getting both is not an option 🙁 so i'd like to check with members who have had experience with the Mamiya 7ii's 43mm or 50mm lenses to probably share your experience with it and probably which lens would you choose.

the 43mm sounds tempting but when compared to the 50mm, the distortion is more noticeable on the 43.

 

[photomadnz]

Lens

Lens

Hi, I have both so probably qualified to put my input across. I would probably say go for the 50mm. They are both intensely sharp so they are pretty even there. The 43mm can be a little too wide. The viewfinders arent perfect and what can look ideal throught the viewfinder can be too wide on the tranny. With this being the case I often find the 50mm lens is perfect when the extra is taken into account.

The 43mm can sometimes suffer from quite noticiable fall off which can leave the edges noticably underexposed when scanned. The 50mm doesnt suffer from this at all.

You will get people raving about the 43mm but Im yet to see too many people actually shooting really nice stuff with it.

Anyway my 2 cents worth.. Any questions I will try to help if I can.. Cheers

 

[craygc]

From FoV perspective, whether a 43mm or 50mm is what you should choose, in the end, its a personal choice. Are you comfortable with a 21mm in 135 format?. It seems many people here like the FoV of a 50mm lens in 135, so if that describes you, that might make going to the 21mm equivalent for the M7 uncomfortably wide. In 135 I like 35mm and 21mm so I do the same with my M7.
Actually, I dont find the M7's 43mm as wide as the 21mm on the Leica due to the more square format...

 

[jplomley]

Craig,

Are you using a centre filter on the 43mm. Just curious as I am also considering the 43/50 dilema.

As an aside, beautiful images as only the Mamiya can deliver. How are you scanning your negs? Flatbed or drum?

 

[joe r]

Both lenses are superb. I prefer the focal length of the 50mm. Do you prefer a 21mm or 24mm is 35mm format?

Another consideration -- the 50mm pairs nicely with the 80mm, and the 43mm pairs with the 65mm.

I scan for web on an Epson flatbed, and get a drum scan when making a big print.

 

[dazedgonebye]

From FoV perspective, whether a 43mm or 50mm is what you should choose, in the end, its a personal choice. Are you comfortable with a 21mm in 135 format?. It seems many people here like the FoV of a 50mm lens in 135, so if that describes you, that might make going to the 21mm equivalent for the M7 uncomfortably wide. In 135 I like 35mm and 21mm so I do the same with my M7.
Actually, I dont find the M7's 43mm as wide as the 21mm on the Leica due to the more square format...

Sweet...too bad I'm too poor for Mamiya gas.

 

[TJV]

I've wanted the 50mm for my M7ii for a long time but am put off because I use a lot of fill flash and I'd need to get a flash bracket to mount a flash alongside the optical viewfinder. Does anyone have any practical experience doing this? Bulk of kit is an issue for me but not a deal breaker. It seems like such a great lens and it's the only FOV I miss in my kit, the other lenses being 65 amd 80mm respectively.

 

[drjoke]

What film do you use? The photos are very nice