35mm vs 645 MF SLR for handheld use

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jsheridan1

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I've wonder this myself over the the years, and here is my thought process.
1) Standard lens for 35mm format is 43mm, for MF it is 85mm. That is essentially one stop when it comes to hand holding. Moderate telephotos become impractical.
There is no general 1/focal length shutter speed rule. It's just a good rule of thumb for 35mm format. Actually the necessary speed is related to the angle of view. Of course I admit there are other reasons why you'd probably prefer a little faster shutter speed for medium or large format. On the other hand with larger negative you can use faster film without compromising the IQ too much.
 
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I have both the Pentax 645 and Mamiya 645 1000s. In terms of ergonomics, the Pentax is better for me because I am used to left hand focusing. The Mamiya with its left hand grip requires right hand focusing, which is certainly okay, but it doesn't feel as natural. Unfortunately, the split image focusing screen on my Pentax is rather hard for me to see unless I really take my time and look very carefully. I have many out of focus pictures that are either due to this, or the camera has a problem. I honestly haven't used it enough to confirm what the problem is.

The Mamiya is certainly heavier and feels like it is built like a tank. I've recently taken the left hand grip off to shoot for a while again with no grip to see if it feels any more natural and quicker to use with left hand focusing.

One disadvantage of both cameras is the lack of removable backs. All too often I have a half used roll of film in the Mamiya and wish it had a different film in it for what I want to shoot. If you think this might be an issue for you, you should probably consider the 645 Pro.

I haven't done enough shooting at very slow shutter speeds to say which is best.

You can always buy one camera and sell it if you don't like it and buy the other one.

Dave
 

wblynch

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... The Mamiya with its left hand grip requires right hand focusing, which is certainly okay, but it doesn't feel as natural...

...One disadvantage of both cameras is the lack of removable backs. All too often I have a half used roll of film in the Mamiya and wish it had a different film in it for what I want to shoot..

The first statement is why I threw the grip for my M645 away. It actually feels good in my hands in it's trimmed down state.

The second statement is easy to solve... get TWO bodies! (they're mighty cheap now compared to the 'olden days')
 

CGW

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The first statement is why I threw the grip for my M645 away. It actually feels good in my hands in it's trimmed down state.

The second statement is easy to solve... get TWO bodies! (they're mighty cheap now compared to the 'olden days')

Or just get a Super/Pro/ ProTL with its separate backs and a winder grip on the right hand side.

The "heavy metal" M645 bodies are getting very long in the tooth and IMHO not worth it.
 

waynecrider

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Horses for courses. If my end product was 11x14 or smaller I would choose a 35mm camera. But if your intention is indoor shooting as you mentioned "My intention is to use this camera handheld and with enough speed to be used indoors." and it revolved around portraits or such then I would think about a MF body. The 35mm is obviously your multi use tool that covers weddings, music concerts, children and action work easily besides lens stabilization that came latter, and 645 does give the bigger neg, but in the end the 645 is just a awkward handling body to me compared to a 6x6. I owned a 645Pro and it always seemed an between format that suffered inadequacies in speed, TTL flash and metering to the smaller size, and in format size to the larger formats such as 6x7 and 6x9; A middle child more or less. Of course this was my impression and there are many who will sing it's praises. I say buy one and find out. All that will happen is you will have to sell it. Btw, I owned the 55mm for the pro and I was mostly un-impressed at the negs. The 80 was nice. If I were to go D at some point your older 35mm lenses will work in the brand except in Canon.
 

Hikari

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I would say the Pentax 645NII would work very well for you. I have always preferred MF over 35mm for the quality. 35mm is going to give you faster optics, but I just can't kick the quality of the larger film size. Yes, you can certainly handhold a 645NII at 1/30.
 
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msbarnes

msbarnes

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Jul 23, 2011
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For the Bronica SQ/ETRI and Mamiya 645 cameras, are the backs generally reliable? I haven't looked into this too much but I've heard that film flatness can be a problem with Hassy's. If I go with a 645 SLR then the ability to carry multiple backs would be a big plus if they're reliable and easy to swap.
 
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