Pentax 645 Zoom?

[wjlapier]

I have a Pentax 645 with only the 45mm f/2.8 lens. I see some zoom lens for the Pentax camera but I know nothing about any of them let alone the Pentax line lenses as a whole. Any suggestions for a zoom lens that is not too big ( camera heavy enough ), and still wide to standard FL--maybe mid tele? And not too expensive since I don't use the camera all the time--I should though.

 

[adelorenzo]

When I owned a Pentax 645N the 45-85mm zoom was my absolute favorite lens. It was on my camera most of the time.

It is big and very heavy. There is no getting around that. Also the lens hood was really difficult to find and cost me a pretty penny.

 

[pentaxuser]

While there are several P645 users here and that includes me who sadly has no experience of P645 zooms, I'd recommend a look at Pentaxforums where there is a lot of info on lenses and a lot of people to answer a thread. Membership is free. That way you get answers here hopefully as well as from users there.

pentaxuser

 

[Deleted member 88956]

While there are several P645 users here and that includes me who sadly has no experience of P645 zooms, I'd recommend a look at Pentaxforums where there is a lot of info on lenses and a lot of people to answer a thread. Membership is free. That way you get answers here hopefully as well as from users there.

pentaxuser

Just keep in mind that absolute majority or pentaxforum lens reviews are from digital users, it's the face of times we live in. Make sure when read one, it is NOT from a digital fit as the perspectives most of these are written from, almost entirely do not apply to film performance.

As for the zooms on P645 the wide zoom 45-85 is good indeed and probably the only one that is doable with hand holding. I still prefer primes. I'd rather get the 75 (very compact and lightest, of course not the LS version) (or 55) before any zoom. If you need a longer focal length then obviously a different prime. Your 45 is widely considered the worst lens of the entire range, I don't think I'm in agreement with that as I think all P645 primes are great performers (yes, I have them all up to and including 300 mm).

 

[wjlapier]

I’ll look into the 45-85, maybe the 75 too. I shoot smaller apertures most of the time so regarding the 45 I didn’t see any problem with it in two rolls of 220 Velvia I shot last year. In fact, my first impression was that it was really good.

 

[Alan Gales]

I’ll look into the 45-85, maybe the 75 too. I shoot smaller apertures most of the time so regarding the 45 I didn’t see any problem with it in two rolls of 220 Velvia I shot last year. In fact, my first impression was that it was really good.

You definitely want the 75mm lens. It's small and light and cheap. I'd also recommend the 150mm, especially if you like portraits. The 35mm is really nice but it is pretty wide and a bit pricey. It's about like a 20mm on a 35mm camera. When I sold mine I got $500 for it and it was the manual focus non FA version. I don't know what they are going for now. If you do macro then get the macro lens. Macro people love this lens and you can do portraits with it too. I preferred the 150 strictly for portraits however. I tried the macro lens and liked it but besides the occasional flower, I'm just not much of a macro photographer.

I tried the 45-85 zoom for shooting people hand held. It's a very nice lens but I preferred using the small and light 75mm FA lens. I just zoomed with my feet. The extra coverage wasn't worth the extra size and weight to me but it may be to you.

 

[Deleted member 88956]

You definitely want the 75mm lens. It's small and light and cheap. I'd also recommend the 150mm, especially if you like portraits. The 35mm is really nice but it is pretty wide and a bit pricey. It's about like a 20mm on a 35mm camera. When I sold mine I got $500 for it and it was the manual focus non FA version. I don't know what they are going for now. If you do macro then get the macro lens. Macro people love this lens and you can do portraits with it too. I preferred the 150 strictly for portraits however. I tried the macro lens and liked it but besides the occasional flower, I'm just not much of a macro photographer.

I tried the 45-85 zoom for shooting people hand held. It's a very nice lens but I preferred using the small and light 75mm FA lens. I just zoomed with my feet. The extra coverage wasn't worth the extra size and weight to me but it may be to you.

If P645 means a non-N body, then FA lens is money for nothing.

 

[Alan Gales]

If P645 means a non-N body, then FA lens is money for nothing.

Yes, of course. Sorry if what I said was confusing.

I shot a 645Nll with 75mm FA and 150mm FA lenses. I also owned the non FA 35mm lens which works fine on the N and Nll cameras if you don't mind manual focus only.

 

[Luckless]

I've been debating adding one to my collection, and had read that the lenses in Pentax's 645 series are all forwards/backwards compatible, [The claim was that the latest versions for the digital system will still work as a manual focus lens on the original film body, and the original lenses will still work as a manual focus lens on the latest digital body]

Assuming the above is actually true beyond any weird outliers: Besides the auto focus abilities and some switching to internal focusing, for a given focal length is there any real difference visible between an A, FA, and DFA?

 

[wjlapier]

I have the first version Pentax 645. After doing some initial research I'm now leaning towards the 150mm lens. How is this lens shot wide open?

 

[winger]

I can't really help you with the 150mm. I've been using the P645N since about 2000-ish and have the 75mm and 120mm/macro in AF and the MF 45mm. I definitely prefer the 75mm and 120mm, but the 45mm isn't horrible (though maybe slightly softer?). I haven't really felt the need for a zoom in all the years I've had it. There's enough room for cropping most of the time.

 

[Deleted member 88956]

I have the first version Pentax 645. After doing some initial research I'm now leaning towards the 150mm lens. How is this lens shot wide open?

I'm never too scientific about lens performance as I find lab results largely disconnected from majority of photographic applications and subjects. If I choose to use a lens wide open, then I'm looking for blurring of a lot of what's in the frame. By that alone, any softness, which I think is there in every lens ever produced at its maximum aperture, it is going to take some sort of magic to notice, let alone view as degrading overall quality. That said, 150 and the rest of 645 primes are in high league of quality.

 

[Alan Gales]

Besides the auto focus abilities and some switching to internal focusing, for a given focal length is there any real difference visible between an A, FA, and DFA?

I've read on this forum that FA lenses were a little sharper than the original lenses. All I know is that my original 35mm A lens was plenty sharp. I never did tests to compare it to my two FA lenses but I was plenty happy with it.

The problem with the FA lenses is that since the digital cameras came out the FA lenses really shot up in price. I used to be an eBay Seller of film gear. I once purchased a really nice 400mm FA lens for $400.00 and held on to it for about 3 years. I had no use for a focal length that long and my wife thought I was crazy for spending that much for a lens that I wouldn't use. The thing was, I knew that Pentax was planning on releasing a digital version of the 645 cameras. I listed the lens on eBay about a year after the first Pentax D cameras were released. It sold for over $1,200.00 and the Buyer was thrilled to get it. My wife of course was thrilled that I sold it for that amount!

 

[Deleted member 88956]

I've read on this forum that FA lenses were a little sharper than the original lenses. All I know is that my original 35mm A lens was plenty sharp. I never did tests to compare it to my two FA lenses but I was plenty happy with it.

...

The problem is that people see things, the more they read about them the more they start to see, mostly imaginary seeing though. I never noticed any difference between FA nad A (the 75 in my case) and if I did not have the 645 NII (I wish I did not) I'd only buy the A lenses as I find them classier, prettier, and at least as good as anything newer. Never had a DFA, but keep in mind, if there were no propaganda how much better a new is over an old, they would not sell nearly as well.

 

[dave olson]

Love my Pentax 6x4.5n FA. I don't have a zoom. I prefer prime focal length. The longest lens I have is the 300 F 4 (IF). I also have a 45 F 2.8, 75 F 2.8, 150 F 2.8, 200 F4. I can carry the 45 and 75, the 75 and 150, or mix and match according to what I plan on shooting. With the exception of the 300, all are reasonably light weight and hand holdable. The 300 is with faster shutter speeds. I have had this setup since Pentax introduced it. No inclination to go to digital.