Mamiya Announces New 645AFDIII & Two Digital Lenses

By DE Contributor | Apr 1, 2008

Mamiya 645AFDIII

A Great New Addition

Mamiya has announced an exciting new addition to their professional line of medium format film/digital cameras—the Mamiya 645AFDIII.

 “The Mamiya 6454AFDIII builds upon the Mamiya 645AFDII’s success,” states Jeff Karp, Mamiya Marketing Product Manager. “The enhancements in the 645AFDIII camera take us to an even higher level of compatibility and performance with digital backs and lenses.”

 The 645AFDIII’s updated intercommunication protocol MSCE (Mamiya Serial Communication for External), provides increased information transfer between the digital back and the camera body, making data transfer fast and reliable.

 The Mamiya 645AFDIII employs a new, powerful and silent coreless motor that makes auto focusing faster and quieter than ever before. To further improve focusing control, the focusing point is user-selectable and can be positioned in the center, right or left side of the screen or set on “auto” to let the camera select the focus point.


Two New Digital Lenses for Mamiya Medium Format Cameras


Mamiya has announced two new high performance digital (Mamiya Sekor D Series) lenses for the Mamiya 645AFD II and the newly announced 645AFD III camera systems.

 “Like all lenses in the Mamiya Sekor D series, the optics have been designed specifically to direct light onto the digital sensor at an angle ideal for digital photography,” says Jeff Karp, Mamiya Product Marketing Manager. “The resolving power of these new lenses corresponds perfectly with the requirements of today’s high megapixel sensors. The continuing goal of Mamiya is to produce optics that exceed current standards for modern photographic lenses.”

 Mamiya’s newest lenses—Mamiya Sekor AF 150mm f2.8 IF D and 45-90mm Zoom AF f/4.5 D Aspherical – are important additions to Mamiya’s growing line of high performance digital lenses. Consistent with all new lenses being developed for the D Series, these new lenses contain a 16bit CPU allowing easy firmware upgrading, finer lens characteristic correction and faster, more reliable communication between the lens and camera body.


Mamiya Sekor AF150mm f/2.8 IF D Lens

Mamiya Sekor AF 150mm F2.8 IF D Lens

 The Mamiya Sekor AF 150mm F2.8 IF D is Mamiya’s fastest telephoto lens. The use of low-dispersion glass allows correction of chromatic aberration and produces critically accurate color and high contrast images from infinity to the closest focusing distance. With an angle of view of 26 degrees, the lens is equivalent to a 93mm telephoto lens in the 35mm format. The minimum focusing distance is 3.3 feet, which is 1.8 feet closer than the existing AF 150mm F3.5 lens. The use of internal focusing (IF) makes the lens extremely well balanced and perfect for hand-held photography. Autofocus and manual focus functions are easily selected with one-touch action; simply move the focusing ring backwards or forwards. With shallow depth of field and close focusing capabilities, this lens is ideal for portrait photography.

SPECIFICATIONS
 Lens Construction: 8 elements, 7 groups
 Angle of View: 26 degrees
 Aperture range: f/2.8 ~ 22
 Minimum Focusing Distance: 3.3ft (1m)
 Maximum Magnifying Ratio: 0.19
 Area Covered: 218 x 295mm
 Equivalent Focusing Length for 35mm format: 93mm
 Filter Diameter: 72mm
 Lens Hood Type; Bayonet
 Dimensions (Length x Diameter): 4.7 x 3.3 inches (120 x 85mm)
 Weight: 1.7 lb (780g)
 Equivalent Focal Length with ZD Back: 174mm for 645 format
 108mm for 35mm format
 CPU: 16 bit (rewritable)
 Compatible Cameras: Mamiya 645AFD II, 645AFD III & ZD
 Availability: May 2008


Mamiya Sekor Zoom AF 45–90mm f/4.5 D Aspherical Lens

Mamiya Sekor Zoom AF 45-90mm F4.5 D Aspherical

 This newest zoom lens in the Mamiya Sekor Digital Lens Series is a wide angle to normal lens that utilizes the latest aspheric lens technology and low dispersion glass to produce high resolution and large image circle coverage for film and digital backs. By incorporating an aspherical lens element and specialized glass, compact dimensions, excellent color accuracy, outstanding edge sharpness and high resolving power is achieved.

 Since wide angle lenses can cause color shift problems with digital backs (due to the extreme angle at which light rays hit the sensor), the Mamiya Sekor Zoom AF 45-90mm F4.5 D Aspherical has been designed to direct light onto the digital sensor at an angle that is ideal for digital photography.

 With an angle of view of 42-76 degrees, the 45-90mm is equivalent to a 28-56mm lens in the 35mm format. Autofocus and manual focus functions are easily selected with one-touch action; simply move the focusing ring backwards or forwards. The floral hood can be used on the entire zoom range to effectively block unwanted light. In addition, the minimum focusing distance of 19 inches and its effective zoom range make it versatile enough to be considered a multi-purpose lens capable of architecture, landscape or snapshots.



SPECIFICATIONS

 Lens Construction: 13 groups, 10 elements
 Angle of View: 72-46 degrees
 Minimum Aperture: f/4.5 ~ 32
 Minimum Focusing Distance: 19 inches (50cm)
 Maximum Magnification Ratio: 0.12-0.24
 Area Covered: 340 x 459mm at 45mm
 110 x 86mm at 90mm
 Equivalent Focusing Length for 35mm format: 28-56mm
 Filter Diameter: 77mm
 Lens Hood Type: Bayonet Floral shaped Hood
 Dimensions (Length x Diameter): 4.3 x 3.4 inches (110 x 86mm)
 Weight: 2 lb. (910g)
 Equivalent Focal Length with ZD Back: 52-105mm for 645 format
 32-65mm for 35mm format
 CPU: 16 bit (rewritable)
 Compatible Cameras: Mamiya 645AFD II, 645AFD III & ZD
 Availability: TBA

 The new Sekor AF 80mm f/2.8D lens introduced with the 645AFDIII is equipped with an auto/manual focus switch ring that allows fast one-touch selection of auto or manual focus mode. Consistent with all new lenses being developed for the D range, the new 80mm lens contains a 16bit CPU. The 16bit CPU is advantageous for easier firmware upgrading, finer lens characteristic correction and faster, more reliable communication between the lens and the camera body.

 The Sekor AF 80mm f/2.8D has a lens barrel cover made of turned aluminum treated with black alumite, replacing the former lens' black polycarbonate plastic cover. This gives the lens a better appearance and texture and adds to its professional feel.

 For film use, the new AFDIII with HM402 Film Back employs a powerful coreless motor and achieves a winding speed of 2 frames per second when used in conjunction with the 645AFDIII (instead of 1.2fps with Film back HM401 on the AFDII). In addition to exposure mode, aperture value, shutter speed, exposure compensation value, bracketing position, metering mode, etc., the focal length of the lens in use can now be imprinted on the film edge.

 In response to requests from customers for compatibility with rechargeable batteries, the 645AFDIII can also accept nickel-metal hydride AA batteries in addition to the alkaline or lithium AA batteries. The 645AFDIII also allows photographers to select 2nd curtain flash synchronization for creating unique flash photography.

Thanks to Mamiya’s continuing open platform policy, the 645AFDIII is also compatible with digital backs from other makers such as Leaf and Phase One.

The Mamiya 645AFDIII will be available in June 2008.

Mamiya Sekor AF 80mm f/2.8 D Lens w/Hood

COMPATIBILITY: 645AFDII/645AFD III cameras and ZD camera, but not with the previous 645AF and 645AFD models.

SPECIFICATIONS:
Dimensions (L x D): 2 x 3.2 inches (51 x 81mm)
Weight: 11.3 oz. (320g)

For more information, please visit www.mamiya.com



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Last Updated: Oct 10th, 2008 - 22:06:41


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