[kuau]

Well my 645-67 pentad adaptor showed up today in the mail from Singapore, used purchased off of bay.
So I went ahead a put on my Pentax 45mm 6x7 lens and went out shooting,
Oh boy, no good.. sharp 2/3rds of the frame and the other 1/3rd"corners are no good, soft with cyan CA, which is correctable, but again 45mm not happening on the 645D.
Now I have tried a 645 45mm FA, 645 45-85mm FA zoom, and now the 67 version of the 45mm prime, best result by far so far is the zoom.
Hard to tell in these jpgs I created in Lr3 1600 pix wide SRGB, but if you looked at the original DNG files at 100%, night and day difference.

Here is the 45mm 67 at F13 LR3, cyan ca -20

Here is the 45-85mm FA at 45mm F13 AF LR3



Steven

[sergiolov]

Thanks for posting these shots, Steven. I was planning to buy a 67 45 tomorrow, and your tests are greatly appreciated. Could you post a pair of 100% crops?
Sergio

[desertscape]

The 45mm shows some lateral chromatic even with film but it is not something I see very often with this lens. Pentax should have upgraded this design like the 55mm and gone to a Distagon-like design.

[kuau]

yeah they should have, now I have to decide whiter or not to even keep my 645-67 adaptor. The only lens I would use on it is the 55mm 6x7 which Lloyd at Diglloyd says the 55mm x7 is a much better performer then the new 55mm 645.

Steven

[kuau]

sergiolov
I would give the lens a pass.
Steven

[Smolk]

Steven, does that mean you think the 45-85 zoom is better at 55 too? as you've put it up for sale, I'd be surprised.

[kuau]

Smolk,
Yeah, now I am thinking about keeping the 45-85mm for now, and I think shooting at 55mm on the 45-85mm is pretty good.
I was really hoping that the 45mm 6x7 lens with adaptor was going to be the ticket,
wow was I wrong, no better then the 645 45mm FA lens...
To Bad.
I just picked up a 645 150mm FA today and did some test shoots using AF, I am hoping for some good results.
Steven
ps. I a know I have said this before but if Pentax had come out with the 645D, and 3 new lens to start with, They would have sold a whole bunch of them well at least here in the states.

[Smolk]

I should have been more specific: the 67 latest 55mm which can be recognized by its styling, having name and aperture on the barrel in the same way as the 645 - A lenses have it. That one is reportedly much better than the previous 67 and 6x7 f1:4 lenses. I haven't seen DigLloyd's review so I'm not sure which one he took.

Although I like primes, in my current situation it is easier for me to carry the zoom instead of the 55 and 75mm as I always want the 35mm and either 120mm, 150mm and sometimes 200mm.

[leping]

I should have been more specific: the 67 latest 55mm which can be recognized by its styling, having name and aperture on the barrel in the same way as the 645 - A lenses have it. That one is reportedly much better than the previous 67 and 6x7 f1:4 lenses. I haven't seen DigLloyd's review so I'm not sure which one he took.

Lloyd tested my 67 55mm/f4, the latest version. I have another one, converted to a fixed down tilt special. All the 4 latest 55mm/f4 samples passed my hands are equally outstanding.

He also has my 67 45mm/f4, not tested yet. My experience with it on film was (3 samples) not as sharp as the 55mm/f4 latest, and there are some color fringes (CA). But it was at least even on film, maybe helped by the (inevitable) film flatness issue (when a lens has field curvature the edges are focused to a closer distance. When the film is also curved, edges closer to the lens, it can patially compensate).

[tuco]

Pentax didn't do use any favors by identifying the difference between the later lens generations as 6x7 and 67 but saying something like SMC Pentax 6x7 55mm and SMC Pentax 67 55mm clearly identifies which generation of the 55mm your talking about, for example, and that is the markings you'll see on the lens in addition to the cosmetic differences.

[leping]

Pentax didn't do use any favors by identifying the difference between the later lens generations as 6x7 and 67 but saying something like SMC Pentax 6x7 55mm and SMC Pentax 67 55mm clearly identifies which generation of the 55mm your talking about, for example, and that is the markings you'll see on the lens in addition to the cosmetic differences.

The minimum focus distance is different, the latest is 0.35m (1.1') and the earlier "67 f/4" is 0.4m (1.3'), as can be checked easily on the scale. The latest f/4 is a Distagon variant and much sharper.

Here is a very useful database: their optical quality assessment (grading) is right on the money to my personal experiences.

Pentax 67 Lens Guide

BTW the thumbnail image on the left is from the 45mm/f4 on Velvia. Anyone can spot color fringing at the high contrast edges please?

[tuco]

The minimum focus distance is different, the latest is 0.35m (1.1') and the earlier "67 f/4" is 0.4m (1.3'), as can be checked easily on the scale. The latest f/4 is a Distagon variant and much sharper.

Here is a very useful database: their optical quality assessment (grading) is right on the money to my personal experiences.

Pentax 67 Lens Guide

BTW the thumbnail image on the left is from the 45mm/f4 on Velvia. Anyone can spot color fringing at the high contrast edges please?

Yes, I'm familiar with that site and the lens optic differences. I've had the SMCP 67 55mm since about 1995. I was just trying to point out is if you say SMCP 67 55mm or SMCP 6x7 55mm you can help someone online identify which generation you or they may have because that is how Pentax marks the difference in those two lens generations.

[kuau]

Leping,
The 45mm 6X7 is not happening on the 645D period.
I know the latest 55 6x7 is good, but I am not sure how much better it would be side by side comparison with my 45-85mm FA. My 55mm testing on the 645 45-85mm zoom was not bad at all,
well at least at f11-f13 which is where I live at on my 645D.
I don't think I will go 55mm 6X7, not my favorite focal length for me on the 645D.
In regards to all these lens tests done on film, personally I would toss them out the door.
The 645D is a totally different animal.
I am still waiting to see a good copy of the acclaimed 645 FA35mm, If anyone has one, and also a 645D I would love to see some DNG's from it.


Steven

[bensonga]

I am still waiting to see a good copy of the acclaimed 645 FA35mm, If anyone has one, and also a 645D I would love to see some DNG's from it.
Steven

Check with Royce Howland....his FA35 on a 645D looks pretty good.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-medium-format-645-6x7-645d/129443-...e-fa-35mm.html

Gary

[rlj]

I too have a late model P67 45mm that I've used on a 645D body via the Pentax adapter. However, I do NOT see any color casts as in the Steven's images. In fact, my 45mm seems quite sharp across the frame at f8. I will not hesitate to use it. There is some very mild CA noticeable in the corners, but only visible at 100%; not a serious issue to me (I've seen much worse CA on new Zeiss 24-70 zooms on the Sony A900).

My guess is that some elements are not properly centered in Steven's copy. So I would not be too quick in faulting all P67 45mm lenses. (My late model P67 55/4 is EXCEEDINGLY sharp, and also resolves very well at macro distances on the 645D body easily showing the pixel structure of my laptop's monitor at minimum focus.)

Leica M8 users had a lot of color cast issues, and there is a program called CornerFix that could correct such images. It can be used in a batch mode.

***

On a related topic:

Some people have asked for a full frame FA 35/3.5 AL image on the 645D. The attached image is a small FF JPG processed from a RAW file using Raw Developer on a Mac. The RAW file for this image can be found at (if it gets too many hits, I may delete it):

http://www.visionsurgery.net/Resources/pics/_IGP0448.DNG

It was shot on tripod, MU, wireless release, f8 at 1/250 using ISO 200. The image is sharp across the frame. (There was a slight breeze, so some branches may show some movement.) I will not bother to post other f-stops. f3.5 is softer, but who cares on a WA for landscape?