Jamie123
Veteran
I want to put together an RZ system and was wondering what the highly regarded lenses in the line-up are. I mean in terms of quality not versatility or availability.
So, any suggestions?
So, any suggestions?
Wcarpenter
Established
I have the 110/2.8 and really like it. The FOV is very nice for me and the lens is tack sharp. Its speed relative to the other RZ lenses is also a plus. Its definitely worth a look.
sevo
Fokutorendaburando
The 50mm ULD, 110mm and 140mm are generally considered the best 6x7 lens each in their focal length - but "the focal lengths that YOU feel most comfortable with" is the better answer. All RZ lenses are good enough that lens quality will be among your least problems - if you prefer 65, 90, 127 or 180mm, you will doubtlessly make better pictures with your favourite focal length rather than the benchmark king with the wrong length.
goros
Member
I have the 50 ULD and the 110, and also the 180 for RB. The two I use more are the 50 and 110 as they cover the angles I were used to when using 135 format.
From what I have seen, Mamiya lenses are top class, any of them, so just choose those that suit your style.
Cheers
From what I have seen, Mamiya lenses are top class, any of them, so just choose those that suit your style.
Cheers
Jamie123
Veteran
I think I'm probably going to get the 65mm, 110mm and 180mm lenses. However, even with those FLs I'm still a bit confused as there seems to be quite a lot of variation. For example, there's a 65mm M LA and there's a 65mm W. What's the difference? What's the difference between the 110mm W and the plain version? And last but not least, what's the difference between the plain 180mm f4.5, the W version and the W-N version??
sevo
Fokutorendaburando
W lenses are a bit younger (IIRC all lenses were revamped to W after the introduction of the II) and have half f-stop click marks - maybe there are some cases where that change came with an optics upgrade, but the focal lengths I had in both W and pre-W version seem to have had no optical changes.
LA, ULD and N are later optical designs. YMMV whether you really want them in every case. Mamiya seem to have loved adding moving elements - many later lenses have them. These are doubtlessly a technological advance, at least if the mechanism controlling them is coupled to the focusing - which it can't on a bellows focused camera like the RZ. If you are not the studio photographer targeted by later stages of RZ marketing and design, you often won't have the time to fiddle with the lens tuning ring (which must be set to the focused distance manually) and may end up with results that are no better or even worse than with the plain predecessor lens...
LA, ULD and N are later optical designs. YMMV whether you really want them in every case. Mamiya seem to have loved adding moving elements - many later lenses have them. These are doubtlessly a technological advance, at least if the mechanism controlling them is coupled to the focusing - which it can't on a bellows focused camera like the RZ. If you are not the studio photographer targeted by later stages of RZ marketing and design, you often won't have the time to fiddle with the lens tuning ring (which must be set to the focused distance manually) and may end up with results that are no better or even worse than with the plain predecessor lens...