Mamiya Press Flat Top Lens?

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ARCHIVIST

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I have just flat topped an early Mamiya Press body with the aim of adding the 65mm lens and finder.

Where the heck do I find a good condition lens and finder? All I have found are lenses with issues. Even from Japan, which I have had good buying experiences in the past, the lenses are touted as good but the feedback for the seller suggests otherwise.

Any assistance would be most appreciated.

BTW I am after the later series finder - the one with the mounting shoe centered and not to one side.

Cheers
Peter
 
I have a 65mm for my Super 23 and it is a great lens. When I received it the focus was very stiff. I put it on my patio table in the sun and waited about an hour. It was then less stiff and I worked it a lot that day and it has been great since. I would be careful to get one with a good shutter.

Here is a shot with it on the film that I dislike the most:


Arista EDU ultra 400 Rodinal 1+100 by John Carter, on Flickr

I got mine probably on Ebay with a finder. But I probably got lucky.
 
Archivist, It seems as if finding the centred finder you prefer, might take some time. There are no less than 20 examples of the 65mm lenses posted on Ebay. Isn't there at least one that's worth taking a chance on ordering? I say that, always having had more than acceptable results with sellers from Japan.
 
I haven't had my Mamiya Press kit in my hands for a very long time. I packed a lot of things away in preparation for a move, which hasn't yet occurred and may not for a long time. Then there was a lot of time I could not carry it due to to a bad back.

But the 65mm lens was the first lens I got after the 100mm that came with the camera. I don't recall a finder with an off-set mount to the camera. I don't recall even having a flash cold shoe off set. However if you are holding one I would guess you are seeing what you describe. If you look at the photos with the listing at https://www.ebay.com/itm/TOP-MINT-M...n&brand=Mamiya&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851 you can see everything seems to be centered.

I didn't look for 65mm finders by themselves. You used to be able to find them where they had been separated from their lens.

As a last resort, if yours is offset, you might be able to get a machinist move it, or even do it yourself since you seem able to do your own work.

Good luck.
 
I had to go back and reread your first post. Sorry, I was confused at first. I understand you are looking for a lens, not that you have one. I cannot help you there. I bought off ebay for a lot of items, and probably only had a couple of bad experiences I couldn't get worked out. I was surprised at the current prices for lenses. 50mm and 250mm lenses used to run closer to the same. Finders for the 50mm and 250mm were hard to find and very expensive if you did find one listed.

I waited several years before I lucked into a 50mm I could even afford, but alas, a 50mm without finder. I only have 6x7 backs, using a ground glass back, found I could use a 65mm finder, at its 6x9 tabs and be close enough. Almost right on actually.

In your case, like I said, I don't know how to tell you to get a good lens. Perhaps Craigs list so you get to examine it before buying. With luck, you may get a later one with the later finder.

Just curious why you want that topped and then use a 65mm lens?
 
I flat topped the Mamiya as I wanted a medium format wide angle shooter. The use of the 65mm or even the 50mm does not require a R/F. Focus is by hyper focal setting or for landscape just set the lens to infinity. The camera is a little lighter and smaller without the R/F and its housing.


The best body to use for this is the first style that Mamiya brought out - nice and compact.
 
I don't recall that I did testing of how easy it would be to ensure things were where I wanted them when I exposed a negative. It just seemed to make sense to use the viewfinder since I had it. I did test the 50mm with a ground glass back and 65mm as I mentioned. I wasn't worried about the top and bottom, but certainly the sides.

What back do you have?

I hope you can find a lens and finder soon. I would love to see your results to see if I might want to try it with a spare back I have.
 
ARCHIVIST said:
I have a 6x9 back. I prefer 6x9 as I find the 6x7 format a little too restrictive. I will find out how to post images here and send one of what I have achieved so far in my conversion.


Cheers
Peter
Click to expand...

When I got mine I got it with the 6x7 back. I wanted that as I though that was a better format not to lose negative space on the more common print sizes. Of course there is also the extra shots as well.

Since then from a simple 6x9 folder, I have decided I wish I had at least one 6x9 back if not more. But it doesn't make a lot of difference with my back problems I can't carry and use it anyway until I get my back problem sorted out or just have to give up.
 
charjohncarter said:
I have a 65mm for my Super 23 and it is a great lens. When I received it the focus was very stiff. I put it on my patio table in the sun and waited about an hour. It was then less stiff and I worked it a lot that day and it has been great since. I would be careful to get one with a good shutter.

Here is a shot with it on the film that I dislike the most:


Arista EDU ultra 400 Rodinal 1+100 by John Carter, on Flickr

I got mine probably on Ebay with a finder. But I probably got lucky.
Click to expand...

Nice! I have a Mamiya Press 23 Super and the 65mm lens too. The FoV is approximately equal to a 28mm lens in 35mm terms on 6x9 format, so finding a clip on optical viewfinder shouldn't be a problem. 🙂

I really must load it up and make some photos soon...

G
 
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