First light -- Mamiya 645 300mm f/2.8 APO

Folks,

I finally got some clear weather in June and tried out a lens I bought
on E-Bay last winter -- a Mamiya 645 300mm f/2.8 APO. I just scanned
the slides last weekend. Unfortunately I've got a flexure problem
with the setup, so this is the only image I've posted at present. (A
very nice composition centered on M24 was ruined by trailing.) Even
on this mosaic in northern Cygnus, the stars are trailed a bit, but it
doesn't show up at the scale I've posted.

I think this lens has great potential. I've also used it wide open
with very similar results to these at f/4.0. There is some lateral
color at the edges, but I'm unsure if this is from the lens or the
scanner (Nikon 8000). I'll have to put the transparencies under a
microscope to tell. Vignetting is not a problem at f/4; I haven't
checked at f/2.8.

The image is at:

http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~tleen/astro/NorthernCygnusMosaic.html

As always, suggestions are most appreciated.

Cheers
Todd Leen

Hi Todd,

This is a great mosaic image! 300/2.8 is a nice lens. I have Mamiya 645 and 200/2.8 but never got good pictures like yours. There is always some flexure problem with 200/2.8. It's a shame that it doesn't have a tripod connector!

I saw somebody use 300/2.8 on a 6x7 film holder. The 6x7 frame is nicely covered by this lens even at F2.8. I believe you can use this lens wide open. Please take more pictures like this.

Wei-Hao