Well, friends, my search for 50mm Mamiya 6 lenses has come up short, so far. It's not the end of the world, I can always buy a half dozen on eBay (at $900 each), and then try to find a matched pair that way;-)

But before I take that route, I'm now seeking any advice, information, leads, etc. on what other equipment might be out there that would be affordable, and do well to acquire wide angle images in MF3d. Not looking for a LEEP!

Thank you all!

Boris

borisstarosta wrote:

> Well, friends, my search for 50mm Mamiya 6 lenses has
> come up short, so far. It's not the end of the world, I
> can always buy a half dozen on eBay (at $900 each), and
> then try to find a matched pair that way;-)
>
> But before I take that route, I'm now seeking any advice,
> information, leads, etc. on what other equipment might be
> out there that would be affordable, and do well to
> acquire wide angle images in MF3d. Not looking for a
> LEEP!

There is always the TL120-55 route. There are fewer than a
dozen of them in existence, but I know where one is that you
might be able to borrow.

It's a TL120-1 with all of its limitations of fixed stereo
base, but with the added limitation of fixed focus. It does
make nice images, though.

It is still possible get a wider base by doing cha-chas
(with all of those limitations). And at f/22, everything
from 6'/2m to infinity is in focus. The single aperture,
though, means that you need to perform exposure adjustments
with film ISO, shutter speed, and neutral-density filters.
This hasn't been a problem for me, but I don't know your
anticipated light levels.

To be fair, I have shot images at f/16, but the near point
goes out to 10 or 12 feet (as I recall).

There is also the buy/sell option. KEH specifically does not
offer lens rentals and they have only a 14-day return policy
(and I don't think it would be ethical to use that as a free
rental anyway). But you could investigate the buy/sell
option from them. I'm sure that you are not the first person
to consider buying a lens from them with the intention of
selling it right back to them.

--
John Thurston
Juneau Alaska
http://stereo.thurstons.us