Which Mamiya 645 lens for budget portraiture.

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andephotographic

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So I bagged a nice looking 645j body, wlf and film back on eBay but have no lens.
I want to use the camera mainly for portraiture I think so I reckon I should go for something longer than the std 80mm.
I've seen 150mm F4 C and F3.5 N lenses for around £70 which is the sort of money I'd be wanting to spend right now.
Any other suggestions?
Is it worth spending a bit more for something else?
I could always get a 150mm to get me going and then trade up for something else later.
 
Not to sure about the 645, but I use a 150mm 3.5 on a 67 and its great as a portrait lens, would like to go a bit longer but I cant complain about the 150, cracking lens.

Mart
 
Theres an american seller selling a 150mm and an 80mm so might try and get them.
 
acs said:
Don't forget factor in import costs if you buy from outside the EU.
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Good point, I've bought from India, China and Japan etc before and never been hit with import duty but I'm guessing that it's more likely with stuff coming from America?
 
andephotographic said:
Good point, I've bought from India, China and Japan etc before and never been hit with import duty but I'm guessing that it's more likely with stuff coming from America?
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Not sure but it can be around 30% of the total cost including shipping. I've been charged every time I've bought anyting from the US, which has been ok as it's been for hard to find items but it could easily make what seems like a cheap item quite expensive.

Having said that I hear of people getting things through regularly so...
 
Be careful if the delivery company is USPS, Parcelforce handle the delivery for them in the UK but if there are any customs charges to be paid, they hold the parcel until you pay the charges as well as applying a £10 'handling fee'. I brought a Vivitar Series 1 70 - 210mm zoom in M42 mount from the US for about £45 with delivery but ended up having to pay an extra £9 for import VAT and another £10 for the 'handling fee' which was very annoying as it doesn't mention the handling fee on parcelforce's website unless you really look nor does it actually say on USPS that they use parcelforce for the job either.
 
s162216 said:
Be careful if the delivery company is USPS, Parcelforce handle the delivery for them in the UK but if there are any customs charges to be paid, they hold the parcel until you pay the charges as well as applying a £10 'handling fee'. I brought a Vivitar Series 1 70 - 210mm zoom in M42 mount from the US for about £45 with delivery but ended up having to pay an extra £9 for import VAT and another £10 for the 'handling fee' which was very annoying as it doesn't mention the handling fee on parcelforce's website unless you really look nor does it actually say on USPS that they use parcelforce for the job either.
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I think it's pretty much universal that if something is shipped by the countrys national post carrier (US Postal Service - USPS), it's delivered to it's eventual destination by the destinations national post carrier - a standars reciprocal agreement thats in force pretty much everywhere. After all, if you sent a parcel by Royal Mail to New Zealand, you wouldn't expect postman pat to get on his bike and take it there himself, would you? Oh - and £10 handling fee for sorting all the paperwork, coming out to collect the money from you, and forwarding it to the correct agencies is not a bad deal - there are shipping agencies that make their entire turnover from expediting these kind of transactions. It just SEEMS a large amount, compared to the tiny actual cost of the kit. If you're worried by it, buy something from this country instead :shrug:
 
You try finding one of those Vivitar zooms in M42 mount which is the original version by Kiron (has a serial number beginning with 22) and you'll see why I ended up having to get it from the US. On ebay theres usually loads of OM and FD mount versions and a few F mount and K mount ones but not many in M42. There are usually a few every so often but after searching for a decent one in good condition for quite a while I was forced to import one as it was something I really wanted.

Just thought that I would mention it as import duty, the handling fee etc all add up eventually.
 
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