Mamiya 6 MF 50mm f/4.0

One word. STUNNER!!! This lens is awesome. I recently shot a Lewis and Clark renactment festival. The lens blew me away. The colors and overall sharpness was amazing. I was using Provia 100. The reds and the yellows and everything else leapt of my light table. I could even see details (brown spots) in the blades of grass surronding the subject in one shot. Some of the costumes were made of velvet like material. I could see the gradations in the knap in the clothing on my transparencies. In the past I mainly used this lens indoors with flash. It was great then but outdoors under sunny conditions it's breathtaking. Tremendous snap and sparkle. I must now have the 75mm and 150mm for this camera. If you are considering buying this lens, buy it. You will not be disappointed. The prices on all these lenses are dropping dramatically because of the digital transition going on. Snap one up. You'll love it.

Sharpness, color fidelity, color saturation, shadow detail, beautiful, classical, buttery smooth imagery

None

Pentax 645 lenses, Hasselblad lenses,KIEV lenses,

Never needed

excellent lens. Practically no distortion that is typically associated with wide angle lens.

I hand hold this lens down to 1/15 as a matter of routine never with signs of camera shake. I suppose that is more of a merit of the M6 system but none the less, impressive

field of view is actually great than what is shown in viewfinder

None

not needed

A world-class landscape lens at a bargin price due to being discontinued by Mamiya. I wanted to give it a 4.5 rating (for the slow max. aperture and poor close focusing distance) but only a 4 is available in the rating system so I gave it that. Optically it is a 5.

I believe this lens to be one of the most optically sharp lenses ever made in any format. It is clear, colorless, and super sharp...the equal of any Hassy or Rollei lens. It is extremely easy to focus via the split image M6 rangefinder viewfinder. At 50mm it is the 35mm equivalent of 28mm or so, so it is plenty wide. Plus, it is very light and has a very accurate leaf shutter, electronically controlled, built into the lens. Handholding with this lens, you get shots that look like tripod mounted ones. Have handheld down to 1/30. It is also very quiet. With the "G" series lenses discontinued by Mamiya this lens is a true bargin, as is the M6 itself.

It is a tad slow at only f4.0 max. aperture. Also, it only focuses to a closest distance of about 1 meter (3 feet).

Various RB67 lenses, and a Hassy 50mm

never needed