| Review of: Pentax 645N by rick_reddy on Sat July 28, 2012 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
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I love my Pentax 645n! It has a fast motor drive, autofocus, reliable metering, TTL flash metering, and additional useful features. The optical viewfinder is bright and clear, a very sophisticated design. Ergonomics are perfect by my estimate, as is the layout for controls. By this time, I have thrree film holders, two zoom lenses, Pentax lens shades, and adapter 645 in a kit that would have cost over 10K when the 645n was new.
Cost is worth mentioning, because the real value of optical instruments is what it would cost to buy equivalent products today, less some apportionment for wear. This should not be confused with market value, which is more like a head count of buyers and sellers in the mood to do business at a particular place and time. Since the market is value is low compared to real value, my 645 gear is a good value--and medium format has the added attribute of good image quality.
Make no mistake, this camera can produce fine art quality prints. The optical resolution of Pentax lenses is certainly up to the job, and the negative is 2.7 times the size of 35mm film. Printing with a conventional enlarger, photographers can expect crisp 24" prints from this camera. Beyond a certain threshold of image quality,
it is image content that wins the day. Pentax 645n prints are gallery quality, assuming you also have strong content.
I was already shooting with a Pentax 67II, but there are situations where the 645n is a better choice. All of my 67II lenses can be attached to the 645n using adapter 645, and the two cameras also use the same pentax flash units. Obviously, 67 lenses will not autofocus, but they look as if they were made for the 645n because the fit is perfect. With this arrangement, you get auto aperture and focus can be confirmed by the green light (or beep) in low light. Since some of the 67 lenses are a few stops faster than my 645 zoom lenses ( f/4.5 max) , I usually put a fast lens in my bag.
The 645n camera is an outdoor camera, through and through. For that matter, so is big brother (the 67II). To keep things simple, this means two things: It's good outdoors, and not a good choice for studio photography. The focal plane shutter and 1/60th synch speed are not idea for the studio, but leaf-shutter lenses are available to synch at 1/125, 1/250, and 1/500th of a second. The synch speed of 1/60 is fast enough to walk around and take photos at an event or wedding, where a zoom lens is also desirable.
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