enlighten me on 645 format please!

winger · Jun 23, 2008

Downside is the slightly noisy winder

- ya gotta hear it to believe it. In a workshop I took, mine got nicknamed "Thumper" because you could hear it across a meadow. And the batteries are a plus - much easier to remember and find.

luvmydogs · Jun 23, 2008

Thanks again.

I was at a local camera store today (Vistek) and they actually had a used Contax sitting there. I asked to look at it, and the salesperson was very much against me purchasing it. He tried to sell the new Mamiya (of course, why wouldn't he!). There's a difference in price of maybe, hmmm...$4000??? (assuming the 80 lens)

He said that if something goes wrong with the contax body I am scr*wed because service will take forever, etc.

I actually tried to buy a pentax setup on evil bay but unfortunately could not (yet) b/c the seller did not price out the shipping rate to Canada.

Greg_E · Jun 23, 2008

Go with a nice Mamiya ProTL that can still be fixed. Or you can get a decent 645AF or AFD on ebay for about half the price of new. The Super/Pro/TL are still good cameras and work plenty well. Personally I would stay clear of the 645e because I don't like the thought of not being able to remove the viewfinder and not being able to remove the film back. For me those two things combined kill the thoughts, as I would rather use a 1000s so that I can change between prism and waistlevel finder as desired. The Super/Pro/TL are nice because if you ever get a client that requires digital, you can rent a back (Megavision is up to 39MP color or monochrome I think).

Curt · Jun 23, 2008

Did I mention that one of the many accessories I have is a 90 degree rotating mechanism that when it is mounted on the tripod and the camera is mounted on it, it rotates the camera from horizontal to a vertical position on the lens axis? Very handy to have, you can do it faster than I can describe it.

Jose A Martinez · Jun 23, 2008

The Rollei 6000 system have a back 645 that you can use landscape and vertical just rotating it, I have two backs of these and if you load them with a 220 size roll you have 32 frames to shoot. One of the better things a 645 format has is that is propotional to the photo paper sizes, so if you print full frame you fill all the sheet.

keithwms · Jun 24, 2008

That is my main complaint about the Mamiya 645 systems... the lack of a rotatable back. This was a disappointment to me since I've used an RB67 and a Mamiya 6 for years and never had to rotate the body of either!

Initially, I thought, no big deal, I'll just get a vertical grip for my 645 AFD. No luck- they don't make any. Having to hold or rotacam the body to get portrait format is an enduring peeve of mine, since Mamiya got just about everything else right and it'd be so easy to implement. Ah well you can't have everything.

Using a 645 on a tripod always seemed somehow ironic to me, if I am going to use a tripod then I just go for the rb. One thing I did to mitigate my portrait peeve is to get a wrist strap, which runs from the strap lug to the tripod mount. It really helps relax the hand a bit more when you are doing a lot in portrait mode without a tripod.

k_jupiter · Jun 24, 2008

I suspect I am in the minority.

Get a damned A16 back with viewfinder mask for your Hassey. To do anything else is really stupid.

I shoot a Mamiya rb67. I have 6x7 backs and a couple 6x4.5 backs. There is no visual compensation needed. You look through the view finder, realize you have a 645 screen in there and you adjust. You know the camera, you know the lens, you know the accessories. Use it. Why in the heck would you want another system?

The other option is to shoot all your portraits using an 8x10.

I do that too.

tim in san jose

Nick Zentena · Jun 25, 2008

From the sound of it the A16 back isn't much if any cheaper then a full 645 camera.

k_jupiter · Jun 25, 2008

I beg to differ.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hasselblad-Blac...oryZ3351QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hasselblad-A16-...oryZ3351QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hasselblad-A16-...oryZ3351QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

tim in san jose

pentaxuser · Jun 25, 2008

MartinB said:
The NII has only 4 features not on the N and for me not significant - the N is much less expensive. QUOTE]

What are the 4 features? This might help the OP and it would certainly help me. Thanks

pentaxuser

MartinB · Jun 26, 2008

What are the 4 features? This might help the OP and it would certainly help me. Thanks

pentaxuser[/QUOTE]

As far as I remember:
1) mirror lockup
2) can adjust custom functions, including choosing 15 frames instead of standard 16 per roll of 120
3) additional data available for the data imprint function
4) can set exp compensation in 1/2 steps as well as 1/3

I have found the shutter release smooth and vibration free so even though mirror lockup sounds tempting, for me it has not been an issue even when shooting in the 1/2 to 1/30th sec range.

Though others have advocated sticking with the blad, since Macy asked specifically about the 645 format bodies, there is a useful article at Luminous Landcape comparing Contax, Mamiya, Pentax LL comparison article

pentaxuser · Jun 26, 2008

Thanks Martin for your explanation and the article reference which was also helpful. I had thought that one of the features of the 645Nii v 645N was an increase in sync speed from 1/60th to 125th but the article confirms this not to be the case.

pentaxuser

luvmydogs · Jun 27, 2008

Thanks for everyone's input!!!! I have found myself a Pentax 645NII, a 75mm and a 120mm lens for a good deal.

fschifano · Jun 27, 2008

That 120 mm lens will be perfect for portraits. I'm sometimes using 135 mm on 6x6 and it's just the right length for me. The 120 mm lens is close enough, and the negative just that much smaller, to be just as appropriate.

Congrats on the purchase.

luvmydogs · Jun 27, 2008

Thank you Frank. I can hardly wait for it to get here so that I may try it out.

Rolleijoe · Jun 30, 2008

luvmydogs said:
Ok, so after attending Nicole's workshop in Toronto, and feeling very inspired, I have decided to take the big leap and use film exclusively - not only for personal work, but also for my business (believe me, this is no small decision). I've been wanting to do this for a while but after attending Nicole's workshop I finally feel ready to really "shoot from the heart."

So...I currently use my Hassey for most of my personal portrait work. Now that I will be shooting film with my clients as well, I would like a non-square medium format camera as well. I do not want a 6x7 format as those cameras are simply too much for me to carry. I do have a Mamiya 7II but that is not, for me at least, an ideal portraiture camera.

After seeing Nicole, I am leaning towards perhaps a Pentax 645NII. However, before I make the leap, I also would love to hear of others' experiences with the 645 format - I also am considering the Contax 645 and the Mamiya 645 (the AFII or III).

I'd love to hear some feedback from those who have any one (or all!) of these cameras.

Thanks in advance!

I just recently acquired a Mamiya M645 Pro, and it's got the correct "feel" for me. After 30 years of shooting Rolleiflex 6x6, there are some things to get used to, but it's not that bad.

One think I noticed is that all the cameras you list are auto-focus. When doing weddings that can be alright, (the Mamiya is replacing my Nikon N90s which 35mm is getting harder for me to see in the darkroom, so now my wife will probably be using it).

With autofocus, you're letting the machine do the majority of film for you. I'm very old school with my Rolleis I don't even use a light meter, and different speeds of film all get processed the same way, same time, and turn out fine.

If you're not comfortable with manual controls, then go autoeverything, but give the Mamiya a look, there are a couple of little tricks I've already picked up to make shooting faster.

You can always go to pbase and check out actual examples. Plus there is an adapter for Zeiss glass I hear, which is great for me.

enlighten me on 645 format please!

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency