Mamiya 7/7II with 43mm or 50mm?

Mamiya 7/7II with 43mm or 50mm?

  • 43mm

    Votes: 116 59.8%

  • 50mm

    Votes: 78 40.2%
  • Total voters
    194
After I got mine the lust for the 43 pretty well faded away. YMMV as is said, but it's an angle of view that
To me is the widest that fits the 6x7 neg comfortably . I'm a sucker for the wider views in the wider formats ( but hey that's just me ) . Happy shopping , Peter
 
I no longer own the M7II system but have experience with both the 43 and the 50. Besides the field of view difference, another thing to consider is the depth of field. I had gone wanting with the 50 so switched to the 43. The difference, though not great, was still useful.
 
Years ago, bensyverson said in post #22, the 43 mm screams and the 50 mm just takes a wide view. This exactly is the difference between very wide and super-wide. The latter always tends to add a touch of surrealism to your pictures; the former does not. Below 90° of diagonal angle-of-view it's wide; above, super-wide.

So get the 50 mm if you're into a documentary, reportage, real-world photo-journalist style of work. Get the 43 mm for artistic, expressionist, greater-than-life pictures.
 
Both great lens, I found I preferred the 50mm as the 43mm was too wide for me on this camera. Subjects which I would have shot with the 43mm are now done on a 47mm camera with shift capability. Find the veiw you are happy with. Wider does not mean better.
 
Whenever I browse through Flickr for Mamiya 7/7II photos taken with the N 43 mm L or the N 50 mm L lens, most of the time I like the 50 mm pictures better. On many 43 mm pictures the extra-wide angle-of-view is used poorly or entirely wasted; often the picture would have come out better if it had been taken with 50 mm (or even 65 mm) instead. Using the 43 mm well is hard. But if it is used well then the results can be absolutely stunning ... unfortunately, that happens rarely. Many users of the 43 mm would be better off with the 50 mm.

Super-wides such as the N 43 mm L always sneak something extra into the picture on their own—an element of flamboyancy or surrealism. The photographer needs to be aware of that and deal with it.
 
I sold my 43mm and kept the 50mm. I found I had too much foreground for my photos. The fall off anoyed me as well more than anyother medium format lens.
I should have tried it with a centre filter with hindsight. For wider than 50mm I use my corfield WA67 or cambi WRS. The 43mm is a fantastic lens but on the Mamiya 7, I preferred the 50mm.
 
Back in my film days I finally decided, as have others here, that the 6x7 format did not suit the 43 as well as it did the 50.
I had no complaints about the 50...excellent lens.


Shot quite a lot with Fuji GSW 6x9 and their 28mm equivalent lens.
IMO wide angles and the 6x9 ratio make a wonderful combination.
 
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