Pentax 645Z Medium Format camera review by The Camera Store

[drjlo]

A very detailed, thoughtful review of the interesting Pentax 645Z, with comparisons to Nikon D810 even and a serious effort to look into video capabilities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oT-fnHHTFs

 

[RLPhoto]

I liked the 645Z but its the lens lineup that kept me from buying one.

 

[moreorless]

I liked the 645Z but the its the lens lineup that kept me from buying one.

They have just released a 28-45mm wideangle zoom with IS but its priced at the same kind of level as the 25mm.

If there looking to really exploit the low light/shallow DOF potential of the camera I'd say they need to put out a lens with at least F/2.

 

[RLPhoto]

I liked the 645Z but the its the lens lineup that kept me from buying one.

They have just released a 28-45mm wideangle zoom with IS but its priced at the same kind of level as the 25mm.

If there looking to really exploit the low light/shallow DOF potential of the camera I'd say they need to put out a lens with at least F/2.

They needed some LS primes.

 

[moreorless]

I liked the 645Z but the its the lens lineup that kept me from buying one.

They have just released a 28-45mm wideangle zoom with IS but its priced at the same kind of level as the 25mm.

If there looking to really exploit the low light/shallow DOF potential of the camera I'd say they need to put out a lens with at least F/2.

They needed some LS primes.

There is an older 75mm F/2.8 with a leaf shutter I believe but they do clearly lag behind something like the S2.

At present the Pentax 645 system seems to be aimed much more at Landscape/Macro users.

 

[RLPhoto]

I liked the 645Z but the its the lens lineup that kept me from buying one.

They have just released a 28-45mm wideangle zoom with IS but its priced at the same kind of level as the 25mm.

If there looking to really exploit the low light/shallow DOF potential of the camera I'd say they need to put out a lens with at least F/2.

They needed some LS primes.

There is an older 75mm F/2.8 with a leaf shutter I believe but they do clearly lag behind something like the S2.

At present the Pentax 645 system seems to be aimed much more at Landscape/Macro users.

It's a really nice camera for the money but I ended up going with Hasselblad. Pentax would have had me all aboard too.

 

[l_d_allan]

Could CaNikon with Sony 50 mpx MF Exmr be much smaller than 645z? Accept ff lens

Also smaller than Leica S2?

And perhaps the hypothetical EMF mount could accept EF lenses directly? The image circle from EF primes might appear like a true 8mm fish-eye, but obviously be rectilinear.

My understanding of the existing T/S lenses is that they have the image circle of MF lenses.

Those T/S lenses could have T/S removed, have the EMF mount, with AF and maybe IS. Those could be the initial primes for the hypothetical Canon MF.

 

[Busted Knuckles]

Is there not a flange distance issue w/ EF TS lenses?

 

[moreorless]

Is there not a flange distance issue w/ EF TS lenses?

There is actually a Russian company that's designed a camera specifically for the Canon T/S lenses if I remember correctly although its not an SLR. When you look at the focal lengths I can understand why, the 17mm is wider than any native medium format lens I know of.

The talk about the Leica S does I'd say show you the problem Pentax have with there digital 44x33mm system, its still using a 645 flange distance that's I'd guess about 20mm longer than it needs to be resulting in a massive(I'd guess partly empty) box infront of the camera. They would IMHO have been smarter to go with a smaller flange distance like Leica and just make an adapter for the older lenses.