My Review of Mamiya 140mm f/4.5 Macro LA Lens for RZ67

Originally submitted at Adorama

Mamiya 140mm f/4.5 Macro LA Lens for RZ67

Mamiya 140mm f/4.5 Macro LA Lens for RZ67

Fantastic Quality

By jbcrane from Fort Collins, CO on 10/17/2011

 

5out of 5

Pros: Consistent Output, Easily Interchangeable, Strong Construction, Durable, Nice Bokeh, Super sharp

Cons: Confusing Adjustments

Best Uses: Macro and portraits

Describe Yourself: Pro Photographer

Was this a gift?: No

This lens is beyond belief in sharpness and contrast. There's not much to say beyond this. Superb optics and easy-to-handle build (for the RZ line) make it easy to work with. The only challenge in working with this lens is finding comprehensive documentation on what LA setting (towards bottom of lens barrel) to use. After some experimentation and a little common sense it becomes second nature. Use in conjunction with either of the extension tubes (available separately) provides an ultimate Macro setup capable of gigantic enlargements through extended reproduction ratios and the already large native 6x7 format. You'll love this lens.

(legalese)

KATA E-702 Element Cover Mini-Review

I picked up the E-702 Element shield in preparation for a trip to Washington's Olympic Peninsula. It doesn't rain much in Colorado and I'm trying to stack the deck in my favor. Ironically, the day before, while preparing to shoot football in pouring rain, I ran to the store and picked up a 2-pack of the inexpensive, disposable L-shaped baggies which worked fine stretched over the D3S for the duration of the game. After only a few hours, though, it was clear I needed something more robust to survive the elements of the Pacific Northwest. The KATA looked like a good solution but at $70 retail I decided to do some homework before actually buying one. After viewing their web demo I ran back up and snatched it up before another rain storm caused someone else to do the same thing.

When I got it home I immediately took out the Mamiya RZ67 replete with FE701 Prism finder, and 250APO behemoth lens (in other words, a BIG HONKIN' CAMERA). You heard me right - this thing will fit my Medium Format rig as well as my DSLR's. This feature was a main selling point for me: that I can purchase one cover and have it work across multiple systems made it a no brainer. My Nikons are very well sealed cameras to begin with. The Mamiya - having been designed more for the studio shooter - is not. One good dose of rain would effectively kill the RZ. While this article is primarily about the F6, rest assured the KATA works on other systems besides D/SLR's.

The first thing I noticed when I took it out of the pack was the main, clear material. It's not the slippery, hard, doomed to crack plastic I'd expected. It's more of a clear, rubberized vinyl with a supple feel to it. The layout, seams and cuts are generous, providing plenty of room for my average sized hands - even with thin, photo gloves on. Each of the 3 orifices has a toggled draw string, and there is a bottom zippered access which allows mounting the camera - either via attachment to the body, or a foot on a telephotos lens - to a tripod or monopod, then zip the enclosure tight around it. I did borrow my D3s' rubber hot-shoe cover for the hot-shoe of the F6 to avoid any risk of the sharp metal inadvertently scraping a hole in the top of the cover - the most vulnerable and potentially damaging place for a leak to form.

The E-702 is laid out essentially as a T. At the top cross-bar two orifices accommodate the hands from either side, and are ribbed with a stiffer yet still supple black, nylon material, complete with a draw cord. These nylon "tunnels" of fabric are long enough - and droop down enough - to accommodate the natural entry angle of someone standing behind the camera to reach up to manipulate the controls. Having used the inexpensive ones just a day earlier I immediately appreciated the room the photographer has to interact with the camera - while still maintaining a "fitted" feel and avoiding the excessive ballooning of a dramatically oversized cover. Both primary and secondary command dials are easily spun, buttons easily pushed and of course the shutter is easily accessible as well. There is plenty of room to mount the MC-30 in the front, 10-pin terminal (before inserting the camera), and reach down and interact with VR and Focus controls on the lens. There even appears to be enough room to open the camera back for unloading/reloading film while safe beneath the protection of the plastic.

The descender of the T is where the lens opening is. You are not shooting through plastic - it is open. But there's a nice, stiff, velcro-enclosed 2-piece collar formed around the lens hood that effectively seals the barrel of the lens from the elements, while having the added bonus of extending the hood against stray weather elements landing on the front lens element. Beneath this velcro tunnel another vinyl skirt lives within the T's terminus and draws tight against the barrel of the lens, forming a second level of protection. Think fine, blowing sand and dirt in the desert. The only downside experienced here is, when the draw-string is tightened too much against the barrel of an external focus lens, it is not free to move and thereby focus. This seems to affect only external focus barrel lenses, where the length of the lens actually changes with a turn of the focus ring. On internal focus lenses it isn't an issue.

The only issue I can see having to get used to is looking through the plastic into the viewfinder. I can see this as a bit of a challenge, especially with rain streaking down the plastic, obscuring your vision. In such instances, however, I think simply lifting the plastic up to acquire focus, then lowering to shoot, would solve the problem. In the case of digital cameras, Live View will come in handy, though still prove an impediment to acquiring accurate focus. Especially if you're using a lens design on which the exterior dimensions change with focus.

The Kata E-702 seems to be a very well thought-through product, and appears to be constructed well. If you're looking for protection for your DSLR or medium format rigs, take a look at the Kata E-702. It's designed for tele use up to a fixed 300mm lens but is easily adaptable to something as small as a 50mm 1.4D (with a hood). With the purchase of the KATA E-702, in theory I've done my best to prepare my gear against the elements, but the real proof is yet to come. I'll look forward to putting it through its paces in the rainiest place in the United States and will have a full, detailed field test upon my return.

Motion & "Dragging" the Shutter

In the perpetual quest that - on a good day could be called "defining your photographic vision," and on a bad day called, "why on earth did I even make that photograph?," I've discovered something that I love in image making: motion. You bet - there's a lot to be said for stopping every pixel dead in its tracks and freezing a moment in time forever... love that, too. But more and more I'm liking the dynamic element a well-shot motion frame provides.

I don't know how many of you out there routinely use a flash in your outdoor photography, but I sure do. The venerable Nikon SB-800 is mounted on my D3S nearly all the time - either via the SC-29 sync chord (allowing you to position the flash virtually anywhere in a 5-6 foot radius but still have it physically connected to the camera), or mounted right onto the hot shoe of the camera itself. I have other flashes like the SB-600 and SB-900, but haven't built that rapport with it quite yet... the SB-800 is my tried and true flash-companion.

Using a flash to help make images with motion is a lot o fun. I usually shoot in "Slow Sync" mode. This essentially allows the camera to better mix ambient light with flash and helps avoid that black background resulting from allowing the flash to provide all the light. With Slow Sync, you can use TTL exposure, then kick in some light at the end to add sharp detail. Sometimes this isn't what I want - but when I'm looking for an image that brings that sense of motion into play, it's exactly what I want. Here's how it works:

If you have people dancing on the lawn and the light is fading, you can do a couple different things: 1) Put the camera on Regular flash mode, setting its minimum shutter speed to something like 1/60 second, then taking the picture. What will happen is the camera will let the flash provide most of the light because it's already pretty dark and not much ambient light will come in at 1/60 second.

Something else to try, though, is to "drag the shutter" by putting the camera on "Slow Sync" and kicking the ISO (in this case 1600) to get a shutter speed you want ... like 1/25 second @ƒ5.6. This allows in enough ambient light to show the not-dark yet background, and also allows the motion trail from the dancers to show in the frame, creating a that soft blur of action. When the flash fires during the exposure it then freezes that moment resulting the soft, blurry trail of ambient lit motion with the "bang" of the strobe to provide enough sharp detail to avoid a completely blurry image. If the image below had been made with a straight flash setting, the background would have lost the beautiful color in the clouds and there would have been three, highly-illuminated (nuked) figures against a dark background. Not quite the effect I was after.

In the Flash section of one of Thom Hogan's excellent field guides he said something pretty elementary but profound. Essentially, a flash isn't a magic wand that you slap on the camera and everything magically turns out perfectly. I couldn't agree more. Don't be afraid to experiment with it to learn what results you do and don't like. This will help remove the mindset of "always having to follow the rules" allowing the much more fun, "how can I be creative here?" space. In photography, the whole game is how you use light. Trust me - it's a lot more fun to learn and grow by trying new things than it is to attempt to memorize every step in a rule book. Have fun.

The Ability to Improvise

Helpful bartender, Gonaives, Haiti. Nikon D3S, 17-35mm/2.8 @ 20mm, 1/40s @ f4, +0.3EV, ISO 6,400

Following up on this topic of improvising a few weeks back, I was thinking about another example how important being able to not settle for "auto-everything" can be. I'm the lucky owner of the amazing Nikon D3S, arguably the best low-light camera available today. Sometimes even that, though, isn't enough to get the shot you want.

UN Elections Detail, Gonaives, Haiti. Nikon D3S, 17-35mm/2.8 @ 17mm, 1/25s @ f7.1, +0.3EV, ISO 12,800

Here's the setting: we were eating dinner in a rather dark restaurant in Gonaives. The table across from us had a group of UN police officers traveling throughout the country preparing for the upcoming elections. I had the opportunity to chat with one of them, Eddy from Lithuania, earlier in the hall and struck up a good conversation. We'd passed their convoy of 20+ Nissan pick up's and SUV's various times throughout the trip and now here they were, sitting across from us having dinner. Fun bunch. Having asked one of the guys earlier if he'd like a group shot before they head out the next morning, I wiped the goat off my beard, grabbed my camera and went over to sit with them for a bit. One thing led to another and pretty soon we were making images.

I didn't have my lighting with me and it was dark. Cranking the camera up to 6,400 gave me something like 1/10 at 2.8 which wasn't going to produce anything they'd be happy to see later. The D3S will go higher but I knew I needed more help and lowered the camera. Looking around for something - anything - to get a little more light to work with produced nothing. The bar tender saw what was going on and disappeared into the back room, emerging with a shop light (like from Lowes), encased in yellow plastic, on an extension cord.

Next thing I know my buddy Chuck jumps up, standing on the stool behind me and does a "Statue of Liberty" thing (one of the guys at the table was from France and we chuckled about it later...) getting that warm, tungsten shop light up high and bouncing off the light-colored ceiling and presto - enough light to make a decent image for them. Because I shoot RAW and wanted to get more depth of field, I kicked the ISO in the final shot up to 12,800, knowing I could clean up whatever noise was generated later in post. Better to have a little noise than have the guys in the back totally blurry due to shallow dof (which is unfixable in post).

Now, in case some of you are wondering why you couldn't just pop up the flash on the camera and let it figure things out; first, the D3S doesn't have an on-camera flash. Second, if it did, it would have produced a harsh, directional light blowing out the faces in the front of the image and barely reaching the guys in the back. And just as important - it would have produced a very unflattering hard shadow on everything behind the front row because the light would have originated from immediately in front of the camera. By getting it up higher and letting the point light radiate some light down on their faces, and bounce some light off the ceiling diffusing it, it softened things up. Don't get me wrong... if I'd taken the time to grab my flashes and umbrellas I'd have a much better image today. But the moment would have passed and the bigger point is being able to improvise with what you have at hand can be a valuable skill to develop as a photographer. No matter what, you're going to find yourself in opportunities for a good image that you don't have that perfect piece of gear for. Learning how to make do with what you have and getting creative will pay dividends down the road.

The real payoff for me was when I turned around to thank the bartender for his assistance. As I handed him the still-on shop light and saw how beautiful and rich that single, tungsten point light shining through the yellow backed housing brought out the warm atmosphere of the restaurant; his red shirt and smiling face - bang. One of my favorite images from the trip. Right there, totally impromptu, because you're engaging with other folks and having fun.

I'm no David Hobby or Joe McNally, but understanding how to improvise and think a little about light is a skill every photographer will benefit from. It's not rocket science... but just not settling for the "auto everything" mind set.

Haiti. Wow.

Desire (pronounced Dez - er- Ray), in the mountains above Gonaives, Haiti.

Just a quickie to get back into the swing of things. Back from Haiti and what an incredible trip. Far exceeding expectations - too much to download here and now, but new doors, new opportunities were opened we never could have have imagined. If anyone ever feels like they need new creative inspiration, hop a plane to Port au Prince and start wandering around. Seriously. When you return your head will be swimming with imagery for years.

Shot a bunch. Mostly the D3S and some B&W film with the F6. Have my films back from Digi-Graphics here in Fort Collins, and finished the first earnest edit of the digitals over the weekend. Glad to put that behind me. Anyone else feel like that? I mean, once you make a frame of a place you don't get back to very often, throwing anything away is tough. And when it holds faces and experiences near and dear to the heart, it can be really tough. But you simply must edit. The more you edit the better your images get. Not only because you're no longer looking through 50 (500!) ho-hum images to see the 1 or 2 great ones (there's that, too...), but because as you look at your images and think, "rats - if only I'd thought to do this or that..." when you were shooting, it would have been such a better image. Well if you're lucky, some of those thoughts stick in your head so the next time you're out shooting you're adjusting with what you learned your last, arduous, emotionally exhausting editing session - and getting better images.

Much of the construction in progress last year had been completed this time through. Colorful, freshly painted homes dotted the country side. Croix des Bouquets, Haiti.

So I did something a little different this time before the ruthless final edit commenced. I took just about every one of the 3,200 frames made and put together a HD video with a sound track produced by the kids at Source de la Grace East our last morning. It moves pretty fast, but it's fair to say that no one in their right mind would sit through the 12 hour slide show required to step through every photo. And - it feels a bit presumptuous (to me) to be the only set of eyes that ever scans all of my frames - good or bad. I understand part of being a good photographer is being able to edit your own images, but man, sometimes I don't see the potential of a frame right away ("the hope of an image," as my friend Mark once said) and once you chuck it, it's gone. So I gave this a shot and it was kinda fun - but have some clean up to do and will link to it in a later post. Side note: Apple TV is the greatest thing since... I don't know what. I put a rough cut of the video up on facebook which promptly mutilated into fb-showable format. But when I stream it off my Mac to the HDTV via Apple TV, it's simply incredible. The quality of the images begins to show, convincing me I'm not simply wasting my time. While using the web to show everything is sure convenient, cheap and fast, as a visual artist when I see my work on the web it's nearly always disappointing.

Traveling with film was a little better this time. DIA still went through every - blessed - roll, but I smiled through the whole thing. No one else seemed to care - in Haiti, Florida or Dallas. Not sure how I feel about that, but it did speed things up a little. DIA asked what speed my film was.

"I'd like it hand-inspected, please," I said - doing my best to be polite while falling over removing my shoes, belt, change in pockets, watch, and getting my ziplock back of liquids out making sure I don't smash them beneath my 30 pound shoulder bag.

"But you don't need to if it's under 800..." he said - clearly not wanting to be bothered with the chore.

"Yes, but it's cumulative and we have multiple flights," I said with a smile. He relented and I was glad to have those images upon my return.

The skinniest, most frightened puppy I've ever seen, Croix des Bouquets, Haiti. Nikon F6, 28-70/2.8 on Kodak Tri-X

I used everything I brought. I was actually able to fit it all in my LowePro Stealth Reporter 400AW shoulder bag. Now nearly 5 years old this bag has become my security blanket when traveling. I know a lot of guys work out of the comando-style harnesses and such, but I'm still finding the shoulder bag more to my liking. It's a little less intimidating to people, and fits perfectly - even bulging with extras - on the floor beneath the airplane seat in front of you.

No real conclusion here other than it's great to get out and it's great to be home again. What a blessing to be able to visit the country of Haiti... there's just something about it that buries itself deep into all your senses. After packing the bus at the airport in Port au Prince Chris and I were walking across the airport parking lot and both turned to each other at the same time and said, "smell that?..." and smiled. "When you smell that smell, you know you're back in Haiti. We're back!" - and it felt great. Now I can't wait to get back again. I'd so much rather be there shooting than here editing.