| Latest Review Posted | Pentax 645N
This camera came to me as my "introduction" to medium format, as it shares features that are similar with the more familiar 35mm SLR models. As such, it simply couldn't be designed or constructed better.
My entire review can be said quite simply: the 645N was conceived by persons that obviously photographed as often as they engineered cameras, if not more so. The controls are intuitively placed, and there are no irritating menus or settings to browse through. Everything you could need has it's own slider, button or dial, and everything is placed in a compact, convenient location. As I said above, this camera simply gets out of my way...which lets me concentrate on making good photographs instead of fussing over my camera setup. All the relevant information is in the finder, and when you've got the body comfortably resting in your hands you seem to be instantly aligned with the controls. When other people are fidgeting with white balances or metering modes or what-not, I'm simply picking an aperture and burning up film. :D
On that note, the body is surprisingly compact in overall dimensions. Placed next to a Nikon F100 with a 28-105mm lens, the 645N with a the 75mm lens is not appreciably larger. There is quite the weight difference, but since heavy objects tend to stay still with greater ease than lighter ones, this is a matter of no consequence. The construction is top-notch...this feels like a real camera. Picking up a modern DSLR worries me...they... |
