Comments for The Retired Photographer

Comment on Fotodiox Pro Mamiya 645 – EOS Lens Adapter by Mike

Mike — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:48:22 +0000

Sorry – meant to say Ben, not Robert!

Comment on Fotodiox Pro Mamiya 645 – EOS Lens Adapter by Mike

Mike — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:46:49 +0000

Robert -

I just acquired 3 Mamiya 645 manual focus lenses: 120mm f4 Macro, 80mm f4 Macro, and the 50mm Shift. I am using the Fotodiox Pro adapter. Fotodiox’s website says that the lenses will focus to infinity with their adapter, yet when I put them on the Canon 5D Mark III, although all of the lenses will focus closely, all fail to focus to infinity. Like you, I plan to shoot mainly landscape, which is difficult without infinity focusing.

It is doubtful that the lenses are not working properly since it is unlikely all three would have the same error. Am I doing something wrong?

Comment on Fotodiox Pro Mamiya 645 – EOS Lens Adapter by admin

admin — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:29:54 +0000

Robert, I also love my Mamiya 645′s and plan to eventually upgrade to a digital back version someday. Since your e-mail I tried the adapter on some of my other Mamiya lenses and all worked fine with the adapter. I do admit that my adapter is a little loose on my 1D Mark III, maybe that is why I am not having any trouble, in that, nothing is in the way. I have heard of other people having your problem but most work fine on their Canon bodies. I have also noticed that when the Mamiya 500mm lens is mounted on my 1D Mark III that infinity is a little soft, I have not tested the other Mamiya lenses at infinity.

As far as the camera’s settings, I usually use only AV when using the Mamiys lenses. I have no idea why your camera’s lock up like that. Have you tried a Canon (3rd party) manual extension tube on your camera’s? It would be interesting to see if your camera’s locked up with a manual extension tube.

Comment on Fotodiox Pro Mamiya 645 – EOS Lens Adapter by Robert

Robert — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:53:05 +0000

Ben, like you I have used a Mamiya 645 Pro for many years love the thing to death but lately shoot it rarely mostly due to the cost and now the inconvenience of getting my film processed. Fast forward, I bought a Canon EOS 1D Mark II which is used primarily in studio with the 24 to 105mm F4 “L” series lens. For landscapes I purchase a used but in great shape Canon EOS 1Ds both great cameras, at the same time I purchase a Fotodiox Mamiya 645 to Canon EOS adapter to use my Mimiya lenses on the Canon cameras. I’m no novice when it comes to manual lenses but am totally disappointed with this adapter, it’s built beautifully mounts nicely and everything about it is top notch except it doesn’t work on any of my Canon cameras they just lock up when the shutter is released and the camera needs to be shut off before the mirror will drop.
Tried it on (all Canon) 20D, Elan 7Ne, 1D Mark II and my 1Ds same thing, tried in M mode and AV, I even looked in the menus to see if there was something I was missing. I also wrote to Fotodiox and explained the situation and have received no response (about 14 days). Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.
Robert in London Canada

Comment on Black-crowned Night Heron in Nesting Tree by admin

admin — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 02:45:11 +0000

Thanks for the response. I am not a pixel peeper but did view the original image at 100%. Since I shot the image at 1/100 sec at ISO200, there is a little bit of movement blur, not lens softness. I am now using the camera at ISO800 for my bird shots but have not tested this lens out at this ISO yet. I expect the image to be excellent and I am looking forward to a real test later this spring.
You have to remember that this lens was designed for the Mamiya 645 system which has an image area approx three times larger than a full frame DSLR. Using my Canon 1D Mark III, the 645 image area is almost four times bigger than the 1.3 crop factor of my Mark III. All this means that you are using the center portion of the lens which is the sharpest area of any lens. Also, you must stop down the lens manually which darkens the image and must keep the camera on AE or manual to get the speed right with your choice of f/stop. A very sturdy tripod is a must to use this setup with.
I have seen this lens go for around $1000 on eBay which is a bargain compared to what the DSLR manufactures are asking for their 500mm lenses.

Comment on Black-crowned Night Heron in Nesting Tree by wilco

wilco — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 02:06:59 +0000

How sharp is the lens? I am looking for review compare to other 500mm lenses and cannot find about it on the net. Can you post 100% crop of the sample photo that you take.

Thanks

Comment on “The Vested Interest” Photographers Vest by Red Stripe Lager Mix Blog

Red Stripe Lager Mix Blog — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:27:42 +0000

Pack Ben Vests…

[...] es these great photo vests on the side. He explained that when wearing the vest [...]…

Comment on Sunrise Over The Mittens, Monument Valley Tribal Park, AZ by Sunrise Over The Mittens In HDR | The Retired Photographer

Sunrise Over The Mittens In HDR | The Retired Photographer — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 18:47:08 +0000

[...] my second post on this image but, this time, processed as a HDR image. You can see my older post here. My friend Robert Arrington, who was standing right next to me while I took this image, was taking [...]

Comment on About Me by admin

admin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 01:14:17 +0000

Thank you Roxanne for the kind words. No, the Mark II will definitely be used in my continuing endeavor photographing. It is also nice that I have full support from my wife who loves what I do, that in itself makes it all worthwhile.

Comment on About Me by Roxanne Evans

Roxanne Evans — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 23:37:47 +0000

Kudos for jumping back into your photography. Hopefully that wonderful 5D MII never goes back into the closet as you’re doing a lovely job with it.