[desertdiver]

Greetings to 645D users,

After receiving my new Pentax 645D a few days ago I started to test all lenses from my shelf which could be used on this camera. These are a few original older SMC-A 645 lenses and a couple of Zeiss CF(x) and CB lenses destined for Hasselblad V system cameras. The latter are going to be attached via a Fotodiox (04HBP645P) adapter. The set of lenses is actually lacking two lenses on the wide end, i.e. SMC-FA 35 and a SMC-DA 25. This test just reflects lens depicting properties for my own purpose without considering features like AF or lens communication with the camera, speed of use etc. And this test is of course not a scientific one. Just thought to share this information here.

List of lenses under test:
1) SMC Pentax-DFA 645 55mm f2.8
2) SMC Pentax-A 645 120mm f4 Macro
3) SMC Pentax-A 645 200mm f4
4) Zeiss CFE40IF f4
5) Zeiss CFi50 f4
6) Zeiss CB80 f2.8
7) Zeiss CFi100 f3.5
8) Zeiss CFi150 f4

SMC Pentax-DFA 645 55mm f2.8
This lens starts out at f2.8 with good sharpness in the plane of focus, the corners and borders are a bit soft, there is a bit of haze and CA is evident in brightly lit scenes. The out of focus areas show a bit color fringing. When stopping down to f4 the picture sharpens up overall, the contrast increases, haze and CA are not yet gone. The next aperture (f5.6) improves all aspects, but the flaws still persist, although hardly noticeable. Stopping down to f8 cures all those flaws, i.e. color fringing, haze and CA are gone. Just the corners still have not reached the same level of sharpness as the center. The corner sharpness increases when further stopping down to f11, but from then on center sharpness decreases (most likely due to diffraction). So, diffraction shows its effect more and more at f16 and f22.

SMC Pentax-A 645 120mm f4 Makro
Wide open (f4) this lens already shows very good sharpness in plane of focus over the entire frame although paired with a bit of color fringing in out of focus areas and very little CA in brightly lit scenes. The situation is similar at f5.6 and improves when stopping down to f8. Sharpness (and crispness) reaches its maximum at f11, all flaws are gone. Picture seems to have the highest value of micro contrast. Further closing down the aperture (f16) softens the picture due to diffraction, but capture remains usable. F22 finally softens the result further.

SMC Pentax-A 645 200mm f4
This lens shows CA at all apertures, but is completely removable in post processing. Wide open (f4) the lens produces some haze and a bit of color fringing in out of focus areas. Contrast is a bit on the lower side, but increases when stopped down to f5.6. Here the haze is almost gone, still some minor traces of color fringing. At f8 all flaws are gone and maximum detail is being depicted at f11. The image produced with that aperture is very crisp. F16 still shows good details although diffraction already shows its effect. Picture is still very usable. F22 soften the picture further.

Zeiss CFE40IF f4
There is already very good sharpness in the center and the borders wide open, while the corners are a tiny bit softer. The traces of CA (corners only) in brightly lit scenes can easily be removed. No color fringing. Stopping down to f5.6 improves borders and corners. CA is gone. Max. detail and crispiest result is reached at f8. Results at f11 are almost indiscernible from f8. From f16 diffraction sets in. This lens shows incredible amount of details.

Zeiss Cfi50 f4
Center sharpness is already very good wide open, corners in the plane of focus are softer, but overall impression is better than results from its nearest competitor (focal length wise and things like AF/MF not taken into consideration) the Pentax-DFA 55mm. There is a bit of color fringing in the out of focus areas and a bit of CA in brightly lit scenes. Stopped down to f5.6 corner sharpness improves, CA and color fringing decrease. Situation improves further at f8. CA and color fringing are completely gone. Overall resolution has reached its maximum. Corners improve very little at f11, but center sharpness decreases from here on, most likely due to diffraction. Picture softens further when stopping down to f16 (still usable with a bit more of deconvolution sharpening) and f22.

Zeiss CB80 f2.8
Wide open, this lens lacks contrast, center sharpness okay, borders and corners are soft. There is CA, which can be removed easily. Stopped down to f4 overall result improves, i.e. contrast and sharpness increase, while further closing down to f5.6 yields the biggest jump in sharpness and contrast. Corners are already sharp here. The next smaller aperture (f8) improves overall detail. The highest amount of detail and crispiest picture is reached with f11. From f16 diffraction takes its toll, while results achieved with f16 are still very usable.

Zeiss Cfi100 f3.5
This lens is already quite sharp at f3.5 in plane of focus with some LoCA. Results improve when stopping down to f4, i.e. less LoCA. The aberrations are gone at f5.6 while details further increase. Stopping further down to f8 overall impression is identical, while maximum detail is reached at f11. Diffraction shows its effects from f16 on. Results achieved at f16 and f22 are still very usable (with a bit more deconvolution sharpening). I would rate this lens and the CFE40IF the best lenses of the tested bunch.

Zeiss Cfi150 f4
Here I observed very similar behavior to the Cfi100, i.e. already good sharpness wide open paired with a bit of LoCA. Stopping down to f5.6 there is a bit of LoCA, contrast increases. LoCA is gone at f8 while details increase and still do until f11. Here max resolution is reached. Diffraction sets in slowly at f16, picture is still very usable. Stopping down to f22 the picture gets softer but the result is still usable.

Conclusion
Overall I am quite impressed with the results achieved by those Zeiss lenses. Manual focusing was no problem for me thanks to the 645D's brilliant viewfinder with visible and audible focusing aid. A clear drawback is the missing lens information in the capture's EXIF data, but this is no different from using e.g. a 503CWD.

Regards,
Udo

[desertscape]

I'm guessing that when you say LoCA you mean longitudinal Chromatic? It would be interesting to compare the Zeiss glass to the DA 25mm and the FA 35mm for the 645. .....also, the 75mm f/4.5 Takumar and 55mm latest design for the 67.

[Nuff]

There's a reason Zeiss glass is famous and hasselblads too, I shoot one. I have CB80mm lens, my friend has the CF80mm. We both shoot film (as in full frame). The CF edges out, especially in corners. On film I never noticed any CA or PF. Wide open there's a tingle of CA in very high contract situation. But then film doesn't suffer from PF as badly as digital sensors.

Still, it's a pity to crop such great glass this much

[tuco]

There's a reason Zeiss glass is famous and hasselblads too, I shoot one. I have CB80mm lens, my friend has the CF80mm. We both shoot film (as in full frame). The CF edges out, especially in corners. On film I never noticed any CA or PF. Wide open there's a tingle of CA in very high contract situation. But then film doesn't suffer from PF as badly as digital sensors.

Still, it's a pity to crop such great glass this much

I have a CB 60mm. Of the three CB budget lenses, the 60mm is reported to be optically the same as CFi 60mm with only housing features being different. I got mine for less than half of a 60mm CFi lens and it made for a good deal.

[veraikon]

I have a CB 60mm. Of the three CB budget lenses, the 60mm is reported to be optically the same as CFi 60mm .

Indeed the CB/CFi 60ies are optical the same . The only difference is the "F" button- but if you don´t use on a 20XX Habla - never mind

---------- Post added 03-10-2014 at 06:03 PM ----------

Greetings to 645D users,

The latter are going to be attached via a Fotodiox (04HBP645P) adapter. ... Udo

Udo you made my day. How is the build quality of the adapter ? [and I presume you are from an german speaking country - what was your source (I hope not epray ) ]

[desertdiver]

veraikon,

the adapter is machined pretty well. It is much less material than I did expect. Lens and adapter sit tightly in Z-axis, i.e. no tilt possible, just a fraction of rotation is possible after the adapter clicked into the camera's bayonet. I purchased two such adapters, one from B&H and the other from Fotodiox in the US directly.

Regards,
Udo

---------- Post added 03-11-14 at 07:32 AM ----------

I'm guessing that when you say LoCA you mean longitudinal Chromatic? It would be interesting to compare the Zeiss glass to the DA 25mm and the FA 35mm for the 645. .....also, the 75mm f/4.5 Takumar and 55mm latest design for the 67.

Yes, you are right regarding LoCA. As for a comparison between Zeiss glass and the DA 25mm and FA 35mm I guess there is only the CFE40IF to compare with if you intend to compare similar focal length lenses. There is no counter Zeiss counter part for the DA 25mm.

Regards,
Udo

[veraikon]

thanks !

[The Madshutter]

Hello Udo! Grat to see you here and even better great to see that your 645D arrived! Thank you for your lens compendium, very much appreciated indeed. I am in the process of writing an article for my blog about the 645D, I will share it here once is ready.

So it seems to me that you have been happy with the 645D so far, I am glad

All the best,

Vierii

[desertdiver]

Hello Udo! Grat to see you here and even better great to see that your 645D arrived! Thank you for your lens compendium, very much appreciated indeed. I am in the process of writing an article for my blog about the 645D, I will share it here once is ready.

So it seems to me that you have been happy with the 645D so far, I am glad

All the best,

Vierii

Hello Vieri,

good to see/meet you here. And thanks for your kind words. I am really anxious to read your 645D article on your blog. By the way, compliments for your awesome Italy captures!

All the best, Udo

[The Madshutter]

Hello Vieri,

good to see/meet you here. And thanks for your kind words. I am really anxious to read your 645D article on your blog. By the way, compliments for your awesome Italy captures!

All the best, Udo

Hello Udo,

great to see yo here too! Hope you are doing well, thank you for your words on the "Italian Job" The blog review is in the coming, but I have been shooting quite a bit and hadn't much time to write, sadly. Back to the topic: I got an Hassy adapter, is waiting for me in Italy and as soon as I'll put my hands on it I'll try and find some lenses to try out.

All the best,

Vieri

[Bas Stubert]

Udo,

Thank you for this review, quite an interesting read!

Cheers,

Bas

[hexx]

Hi there, I'm new here and I stumbled upon your article via search. I'm currently using Hassy 501 body with CF 50 FLE, CF 80 and CF 150 together with Leaf digital back.

As we all know, after introduction of 645Z it looks like there will be more people like me thinking about jumping the ship. I have never tried to adapt Hassy glass on anything else, could you please explain how it all works (shutter speed, aperture is set on the lens on Hassy ones) and also if you tried high flash speed sync.

Thank you

[veraikon]

... I have never tried to adapt Hassy glass on anything else, could you please explain how it all works (shutter speed, aperture is set on the lens on Hassy ones) and also if you tried high flash speed sync.

Thank you

The shutter is inside the Pentax 645N/D/Z. Set shutter speed at the camera in M mode or use "A" mode. Use the Carl Zeiss lenses for Hasselblad in "F" mode (green or orange button).
(it is the same principe as using a Habla 200x or 20x).
Aperture is set at the lens with pushing the stop down button. ("stop down metering").

[hexx]

The shutter is inside the Pentax 645N/D/Z. Set shutter speed at the camera in M mode or use "A" mode. Use the Carl Zeiss lenses for Hasselblad in "F" mode (green or orange button).
(it is the same principe as using a Habla 200x or 20x).
Aperture is set at the lens with pushing the stop down button. ("stop down metering").

Thank you very much for your response. I hope there will be some rental options, would like to try it before the switch.

Last weekend I went for a walk around Lake District and weather turned a bit wet (not much, just a bit) which also meant that I couldn't take photos when I reached my destination - this is where Pentax would be very handy. I'm just not confident to use my Leaf in light rain at all. 645Z with kit lens and Hasselblad adaptor for start would be great. I just hope that it's release won't affect that much SH sales of MF backs.

[hexx]

The shutter is inside the Pentax 645N/D/Z. Set shutter speed at the camera in M mode or use "A" mode. Use the Carl Zeiss lenses for Hasselblad in "F" mode (green or orange button).
(it is the same principe as using a Habla 200x or 20x).
Aperture is set at the lens with pushing the stop down button. ("stop down metering").

Forgot to ask one more question - is there any way to use built-in leaf shutter in Hassy lenses and for high speed flash sync?