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Karen Stuebing | profile | all galleries >> Galleries >> An Old Camera and An Old Lens tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

An Old Camera and An Old Lens

These photos were shot with a Mamiya RB ProS using a Mamiya Sekor 150mm soft focus lens. I reckon the camera is close to forty years old. It's medium format meaning it uses 120 film and produces a 6x7 negative. It is entirely mechanical unless you use a metered finder which uses batteries. You don't have to though.

The camera is modular to use a more recent term. Everything can be taken apart and changed. Viewfinder, lens, focus screen and film back. The shutter is in the lens. The camera body is basically a light tight box with a lever to cock the mirror, bellows for focusing and a shutter button.

The RB comes from rotating back. The back goes on an adapter which allows you to rotate it from landscape to portrait orientation. Given the weight of the camera, this is a nice feature. 67 is, of course, the negative format.

The lens used here is the Mamiya Sekor 150mm Soft Focus lens. I became addicted to this lens the first time I used it.

A special type of spherical aberration has been purposely introduced into it to produce photographic images that are sharp yet which have a softness and glow. It uses 3 types of optical glass which corrects for all other types of aberrations.

The soft focus effect is eliminated when the lens is stopped down to f/8 or more and the lens can be used as a regular lens. These photos were shot at 5.6 and 4.0.

Saying Goodbye to July
Saying Goodbye to July
Tractor
Tractor
Resourcefulness
Resourcefulness
Coneflower
Coneflower
Hotter than July
Hotter than July
Off Road
Off Road
A Clear View of the Southern Sky
A Clear View of the Southern Sky
Fog
Fog
Down in the Field
Down in the Field
Locked
Locked
Mossy Rock
Mossy Rock
Classic Chrome
Classic Chrome
Chickory
Chickory
Tire
Tire
Upended
Upended
Just Daisies
Just Daisies
Why Do People Only Lose One Shoe?
Why Do People Only Lose One Shoe?
Once Upon a Time
Once Upon a Time
Rocks and Grass
Rocks and Grass
A Back Porch in a Small Town
A Back Porch in a Small Town
Little Flowers
Little Flowers
Do You Think You Can Tell?
Do You Think You Can Tell?
Triptych
Triptych
In Town
In Town
Barn on Cheesy Creek
Barn on Cheesy Creek
The Wiley Cabin
The Wiley Cabin
Clover
Clover
Alley
Alley
Happy Fourth of July
Happy Fourth of July
Seeking Shade
Seeking Shade
Dog Days
Dog Days
No Broadband!?!
No Broadband!?!
Clogs
Clogs
Mountain Laurel
Mountain Laurel