Mamiyas and other standard lenses compared

caspert79 · Joined: 31 Oct 2010 Posts: 2936 Location: The Netherlands

Camera used Sony A7R2

Lenses in this test:
Auto Mamiya/Sekor 50/1.8
Auto Mamiya/Sekor 50/2
Fujinon 55/1.8
Mamiya EF 50/1.4
Mamiya EF 50/1.7
Mamiya SX 55/1.8
Minolta Rokkor-PG MC 58/1.2
SMC Pentax 50/1.4
Super Takumar 55/1.8
Yashica ML 50/1.4

First the fast lenses wide open:

Overzicht1214 by devoscasper, on Flickr
And the 100% crops:

CROP1214 by devoscasper, on Flickr

The Rokkor, being the fastest (and longest focal length) lens, does the best job of eliminating the background. On the 100% crops, the Rokkor is the softest wide open, but OK this is f/1.2. The other three lenses quite similar; I think the Mamiya EF 50/1.4 has the best contrast.

Then, f/1.7& f/1.8 lenses wide open:

Overzicht1718 by devoscasper, on Flickr
The Auto Mamiya/Sekor 50/1.8 has cooler colors than the other lenses.
100% crops:

CROPS1718 by devoscasper, on Flickr
Sharpest of these lenses wide open: the Auto Mamiya/Sekor 50/1.8 and Mamiya EF 50/1.7, the latter showing most contrast.

Comparison @ f/2:

Overzicht2 by devoscasper, on Flickr

CROPS2 by devoscasper, on Flickr
The Auto Mamiya/Sekor 50/1.8 has the coolest colors. It's also noticeably cooler than the Auto Mamiya/Sekor 50/2. It seems these two lenses are different; or they use different glass?
Best sharpness from the Auto Mamiya/Sekor 50/1.8 and Mamiya EF 50/1.7. The difference in contrast between these two, became much smaller at this aperture.

Comparison @ f/2.8:

Vergelijk28 by devoscasper, on Flickr
100% crops:

CROPS28 by devoscasper, on Flickr
In terms of detail/contrast the Mamiya lenses do all pretty good, as well as the SMC Pentax 50/1.4 and Yashica ML 50/1.4.

Comparison @ f/4:

Vergelijk4 by devoscasper, on Flickr
100% crops:

CROPS4 by devoscasper, on Flickr
It seems the Auto Mamiya/Sekor shows some more unsharpness now, possibly caused by the wind. Clearest image IMO: Auto Mamiya/Sekor 50/2, Mamiya EF 50/1.7, Mamiya SX 55/1.7 and SMC Pentax 50/1.4.

Comparison @ f/5.6:

vergelijk56 by devoscasper, on Flickr

CROPS56 by devoscasper, on Flickr
Detail resolution very good from all lenses. Best sharpness/clearness/contrast the Mamiya 50/1.7 IMO.

Real world relevance is debatable, but IMO the Mamiya EF 50/1.7 is the winner of this test. At f/1.7 it's still fast enough for nice subject isolation, and it's quite sharp and contrasty at any aperture.
A while ago I did another standard lens comparison, containing a lot of other lenses, and the Mamiya EF 50/1.7 was the winner there as well. Kind of an unknown lens to many I guess, but just a very good performer.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the performance Auto Mamiya/Sekor 50/1.8, although I would make the colors a bit warmer in PP.

kiddo · Joined: 29 Jun 2018 Posts: 1130

I've got the revuenon Ef 1.4 versión, Wich might be the same as mamiya. Is a very light and sharp lens, posible the first center crop of 1.4 might be focused a little bit closer than other lenses , as the two black dots in the left side are more visible . It's not easy to do all these tests in real world , but in this case ,they are all capable lenses. Another important issue would be the cost of the adapter and the availability for each one of us, not last the price and quality . Mamiya maybe is the lightest one because it's got more plastic than the others.

caspert79 · Joined: 31 Oct 2010 Posts: 2936 Location: The Netherlands

Oldhand · Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2021 9:59 pm Post subject:

An excellent review.
Thank you for taking the time and trouble.
It is appreciated
Tom

Ultrapix · Joined: 06 Jan 2012 Posts: 551 Location: Italy

Raxar · Joined: 25 Mar 2014 Posts: 222

A big thanks for the comparison Like Dog

EF series looks really good

caspert79 · Joined: 31 Oct 2010 Posts: 2936 Location: The Netherlands

D1N0 · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 2501

I think I like the Pentax colours best. It looks warmer than the rest, but when I took white balance of the back of the chair that was among the cooler ones.

caspert79 · Joined: 31 Oct 2010 Posts: 2936 Location: The Netherlands