Meeting with a Pentax rep re. 645z issues

rcdurston · 11-05-2014, 10:11 AM

Well tomorrow I'm hopefully meeting with a rep to chat about some of the issues I feel are at the forefront with the 645z.
I've narrowed it down to my top five.

1. Chromatic aberrations on the lenses, I can accept some of the older ones but the brand new 55mm is one of the worst offenders

2. AF is near useless. Can I be the only one who finds the sensor zone too small and the AF system/controls way over complicated. It is also not accurate enough to be usable.

3. Why is there a wait time between firing the shutter and the ability to change the ss or aperture?

4. Tethering option

5. Auto gain on LiveView. You can't over ride the exposure in LV so you can focus on contrasty subjects.

Any comments?

thanks
Rob

**jrpower10** · 11-05-2014, 10:43 AM

Interesting comment re CA on the 55mm. I confess I don't have a 645z (yet), but am planning a purchase soon and was going for this lens initially. I don't see any mention of CA issues in the database reviews. Could your problem be a sample problem rather than generic to the lens design?

LFLee · 11-05-2014, 10:46 AM

Originally posted by rcdurston

Well tomorrow I'm hopefully meeting with a rep to chat about some of the issues I feel are at the forefront with the 645z.
I've narrowed it down to my top five.

1. Chromatic aberrations on the lenses, I can accept some of the older ones but the brand new 55mm is one of the worst offenders

2. AF is near useless. Can I be the only one who finds the sensor zone too small and the AF system/controls way over complicated. It is also not accurate enough to be usable.

3. Why is there a wait time between firing the shutter and the ability to change the ss or aperture?

4. Tethering option

5. Auto gain on LiveView. You can't over ride the exposure in LV so you can focus on contrasty subjects.

Any comments?

thanks
Rob

Hope they listen and made improvements from a pro like you...

btw, did other digital medium format don't have CA problem (just wondering...)?

Zav · 11-05-2014, 10:47 AM

I don't have a 645Z. I find your comment about the AF surprising whilst some reviews have reported that for a medium format it was way ahead of the competition.
The rest of the bunch must be a waste of space (AF wise).

gha128 · 11-05-2014, 12:16 PM

I photograph my 6 year old with a 645z when she is moving around....

The fact that we have more than one AF point is a miracle. Compare with phase when there is just one.

Can't CA be removed in post?

I agree on tethering

A more pressing issue is the lack of professional support and after service.

fluffycloud · 11-05-2014, 12:29 PM

Originally posted by rcdurston

Well tomorrow I'm hopefully meeting with a rep to chat about some of the issues I feel are at the forefront with the 645z.
I've narrowed it down to my top five.

1. Chromatic aberrations on the lenses, I can accept some of the older ones but the brand new 55mm is one of the worst offenders

2. AF is near useless. Can I be the only one who finds the sensor zone too small and the AF system/controls way over complicated. It is also not accurate enough to be usable.

3. Why is there a wait time between firing the shutter and the ability to change the ss or aperture?

4. Tethering option

5. Auto gain on LiveView. You can't over ride the exposure in LV so you can focus on contrasty subjects.

Any comments?

thanks
Rob

rcdurston,
You are spot on with these issues. I am a working pro photographer for about 15 years now. I've shot about four jobs with my 645z. Just on my last shoot for Variety magazine I shot a portrait
with the 55mm after viewing my dng's I noticed CA on the subjects Levi's jeans. Really? Like you said.. older lenses I can let it slide but with $5000+ DFA lens this was disappointing. I was shooting Canon-1dsMk3 before and never had any issues with this.
645z is a great camera for a great price but if they are marketing this for pros then they really need to address these issues. Even more frustrating is seeing IT2 disc released in other countries already and nada in the US yet??
Good to hear you are trying to take these issues up with them.. I hope you make some progress.

2351HD · 11-05-2014, 01:10 PM

Originally posted by fluffycloud

rcdurston,
You are spot on with these issues. I am a working pro photographer for about 15 years now. I've shot about four jobs with my 645z. Just on my last shoot for Variety magazine I shot a portrait
with the 55mm after viewing my dng's I noticed CA on the subjects Levi's jeans. Really? Like you said.. older lenses I can let it slide but with $5000+ DFA lens this was disappointing. I was shooting Canon-1dsMk3 before and never had any issues with this.
645z is a great camera for a great price but if they are marketing this for pros then they really need to address these issues. Even more frustrating is seeing IT2 disc released in other countries already and nada in the US yet??
Good to hear you are trying to take these issues up with them.. I hope you make some progress.

So you must have bought a different 55mm lens than me to spend $5000+ on it........ Mine cost $1200, actually it came with the camera.

Not sure of everybody's frustration with the camera, it's leagues ahead of anything else.

As for auto gain, wasn't it mentioned in a forum post that using M mode fixes it?

rcdurston · 11-05-2014, 01:11 PM

Here are two very tight crops on the 55mm.
Umbrella shot has classic magenta fringing around the bright white parts, down his arm and cheek too.

The girl has green bleeding out of the shadows under the railing.

2351HD · 11-05-2014, 01:15 PM

Originally posted by rcdurston

Well tomorrow I'm hopefully meeting with a rep to chat about some of the issues I feel are at the forefront with the 645z.
I've narrowed it down to my top five.

1. Chromatic aberrations on the lenses, I can accept some of the older ones but the brand new 55mm is one of the worst offenders

2. AF is near useless. Can I be the only one who finds the sensor zone too small and the AF system/controls way over complicated. It is also not accurate enough to be usable.

3. Why is there a wait time between firing the shutter and the ability to change the ss or aperture?

4. Tethering option

5. Auto gain on LiveView. You can't over ride the exposure in LV so you can focus on contrasty subjects.

Any comments?

thanks
Rob

Rob what lenses do you use?

fluffycloud · 11-05-2014, 01:35 PM

Originally posted by 2351HD

So you must have bought a different 55mm lens than me to spend $5000+ on it........ Mine cost $1200, actually it came with the camera.

Not sure of everybody's frustration with the camera, it's leagues ahead of anything else.

As for auto gain, wasn't it mentioned in a forum post that using M mode fixes it?

Ha.. yes, you got me there. I picked up mine for about $1000 new.
I was referring to the other new lens versions 90 and 28-70 that are 5k.
Honestly, the ca was not that bad from the 55 but I was surprised to see it.

rcdurston · 11-05-2014, 01:39 PM

I have the A 35mm 3.5, FA 45-85, FA 55mm AL [IF] SDM AW and the FA150mm f2.8

R

2351HD · 11-05-2014, 01:54 PM

You should try the 90, it's great and not too long of a fl.

Best to invest in a login at diglloyd.com to see the test results first.

rcdurston · 11-05-2014, 02:03 PM

A 90 would be well on the far end of the focal range that I would ever use. Most of my stuff is very wide, 75-100 degrees on the horizontal.

CDW · 11-05-2014, 02:12 PM

Originally posted by rcdurston

Well tomorrow I'm hopefully meeting with a rep to chat about some of the issues I feel are at the forefront with the 645z.
I've narrowed it down to my top five.

1. Chromatic aberrations on the lenses, I can accept some of the older ones but the brand new 55mm is one of the worst offenders

2. AF is near useless. Can I be the only one who finds the sensor zone too small and the AF system/controls way over complicated. It is also not accurate enough to be usable.

3. Why is there a wait time between firing the shutter and the ability to change the ss or aperture?

4. Tethering option

5. Auto gain on LiveView. You can't over ride the exposure in LV so you can focus on contrasty subjects.

Any comments?

thanks
Rob

With the exception of my 75 and 80-160, all of my lenses are manual focus. CA is not a problem for me with any of them including my 55mm manual focus.. Tithering is a non-issue for me as I don't do portraiture or studio. I seldom shoot AF, even with my smaller format DSLRs. Everyone's mileage may vary.

Looking at the images the color balance and post processing are visually far more of an issue for me personally than the CA, which is easily removed in post.

rcdurston · 11-05-2014, 02:24 PM

Originally posted by CDW

With the exception of my 75 and 80-160, all of my lenses are manual focus. CA is not a problem for me with any of them including my 55mm manual focus.. Tithering is a non-issue for me as I don't do portraiture or studio. I seldom shoot AF, even with my smaller format DSLRs. Everyone's mileage may vary.

Looking at the images the color balance and post processing are visually far more of an issue for me personally than the CA, which is easily removed in post.

No unfortunately, the CA in these images, especially the umbrella image is difficult to get rid of. The more you try to dial it up and feather it out, the more it darts to sap the flesh tone out of the surrounding area.
Don't worry CDW, the colour balance and post worked out just fine for the images. I've done it a few times before

11-05-2014, 10:11 AM	#1
rcdurston Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 51	Meeting with a Pentax rep re. 645z issues Well tomorrow I'm hopefully meeting with a rep to chat about some of the issues I feel are at the forefront with the 645z. I've narrowed it down to my top five. 1. Chromatic aberrations on the lenses, I can accept some of the older ones but the brand new 55mm is one of the worst offenders 2. AF is near useless. Can I be the only one who finds the sensor zone too small and the AF system/controls way over complicated. It is also not accurate enough to be usable. 3. Why is there a wait time between firing the shutter and the ability to change the ss or aperture? 4. Tethering option 5. Auto gain on LiveView. You can't over ride the exposure in LV so you can focus on contrasty subjects. Any comments? thanks Rob

11-05-2014, 01:11 PM	#8
rcdurston Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 51 Original Poster	Here are two very tight crops on the 55mm. Umbrella shot has classic magenta fringing around the bright white parts, down his arm and cheek too. The girl has green bleeding out of the shadows under the railing. Attached Images

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11-05-2014, 10:43 AM	#2
jrpower10 Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Richland, Washington, USA Posts: 935	Interesting comment re CA on the 55mm. I confess I don't have a 645z (yet), but am planning a purchase soon and was going for this lens initially. I don't see any mention of CA issues in the database reviews. Could your problem be a sample problem rather than generic to the lens design?

11-05-2014, 10:46 AM	#3
LFLee Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Southern California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,292	Originally posted by rcdurston Well tomorrow I'm hopefully meeting with a rep to chat about some of the issues I feel are at the forefront with the 645z. I've narrowed it down to my top five. 1. Chromatic aberrations on the lenses, I can accept some of the older ones but the brand new 55mm is one of the worst offenders 2. AF is near useless. Can I be the only one who finds the sensor zone too small and the AF system/controls way over complicated. It is also not accurate enough to be usable. 3. Why is there a wait time between firing the shutter and the ability to change the ss or aperture? 4. Tethering option 5. Auto gain on LiveView. You can't over ride the exposure in LV so you can focus on contrasty subjects. Any comments? thanks Rob Hope they listen and made improvements from a pro like you... btw, did other digital medium format don't have CA problem (just wondering...)?

11-05-2014, 10:47 AM	#4
Zav Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,371	I don't have a 645Z. I find your comment about the AF surprising whilst some reviews have reported that for a medium format it was way ahead of the competition. The rest of the bunch must be a waste of space (AF wise).

11-05-2014, 12:16 PM	#5
gha128 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 49	I photograph my 6 year old with a 645z when she is moving around.... The fact that we have more than one AF point is a miracle. Compare with phase when there is just one. Can't CA be removed in post? I agree on tethering A more pressing issue is the lack of professional support and after service.

11-05-2014, 12:29 PM	#6
fluffycloud New Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 5	Originally posted by rcdurston Well tomorrow I'm hopefully meeting with a rep to chat about some of the issues I feel are at the forefront with the 645z. I've narrowed it down to my top five. 1. Chromatic aberrations on the lenses, I can accept some of the older ones but the brand new 55mm is one of the worst offenders 2. AF is near useless. Can I be the only one who finds the sensor zone too small and the AF system/controls way over complicated. It is also not accurate enough to be usable. 3. Why is there a wait time between firing the shutter and the ability to change the ss or aperture? 4. Tethering option 5. Auto gain on LiveView. You can't over ride the exposure in LV so you can focus on contrasty subjects. Any comments? thanks Rob rcdurston, You are spot on with these issues. I am a working pro photographer for about 15 years now. I've shot about four jobs with my 645z. Just on my last shoot for Variety magazine I shot a portrait with the 55mm after viewing my dng's I noticed CA on the subjects Levi's jeans. Really? Like you said.. older lenses I can let it slide but with $5000+ DFA lens this was disappointing. I was shooting Canon-1dsMk3 before and never had any issues with this. 645z is a great camera for a great price but if they are marketing this for pros then they really need to address these issues. Even more frustrating is seeing IT2 disc released in other countries already and nada in the US yet?? Good to hear you are trying to take these issues up with them.. I hope you make some progress.

11-05-2014, 01:10 PM	#7
2351HD Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Brisbane, Australia Photos: Albums Posts: 750	Originally posted by fluffycloud rcdurston, You are spot on with these issues. I am a working pro photographer for about 15 years now. I've shot about four jobs with my 645z. Just on my last shoot for Variety magazine I shot a portrait with the 55mm after viewing my dng's I noticed CA on the subjects Levi's jeans. Really? Like you said.. older lenses I can let it slide but with $5000+ DFA lens this was disappointing. I was shooting Canon-1dsMk3 before and never had any issues with this. 645z is a great camera for a great price but if they are marketing this for pros then they really need to address these issues. Even more frustrating is seeing IT2 disc released in other countries already and nada in the US yet?? Good to hear you are trying to take these issues up with them.. I hope you make some progress. So you must have bought a different 55mm lens than me to spend $5000+ on it........ Mine cost $1200, actually it came with the camera. Not sure of everybody's frustration with the camera, it's leagues ahead of anything else. As for auto gain, wasn't it mentioned in a forum post that using M mode fixes it?

11-05-2014, 01:15 PM	#9
2351HD Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Brisbane, Australia Photos: Albums Posts: 750	Originally posted by rcdurston Well tomorrow I'm hopefully meeting with a rep to chat about some of the issues I feel are at the forefront with the 645z. I've narrowed it down to my top five. 1. Chromatic aberrations on the lenses, I can accept some of the older ones but the brand new 55mm is one of the worst offenders 2. AF is near useless. Can I be the only one who finds the sensor zone too small and the AF system/controls way over complicated. It is also not accurate enough to be usable. 3. Why is there a wait time between firing the shutter and the ability to change the ss or aperture? 4. Tethering option 5. Auto gain on LiveView. You can't over ride the exposure in LV so you can focus on contrasty subjects. Any comments? thanks Rob Rob what lenses do you use?

11-05-2014, 01:35 PM	#10
fluffycloud New Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Posts: 5	Originally posted by 2351HD So you must have bought a different 55mm lens than me to spend $5000+ on it........ Mine cost $1200, actually it came with the camera. Not sure of everybody's frustration with the camera, it's leagues ahead of anything else. As for auto gain, wasn't it mentioned in a forum post that using M mode fixes it? Ha.. yes, you got me there. I picked up mine for about $1000 new. I was referring to the other new lens versions 90 and 28-70 that are 5k. Honestly, the ca was not that bad from the 55 but I was surprised to see it.

11-05-2014, 01:39 PM	#11
rcdurston Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 51 Original Poster	I have the A 35mm 3.5, FA 45-85, FA 55mm AL [IF] SDM AW and the FA150mm f2.8 R

11-05-2014, 01:54 PM	#12
2351HD Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Brisbane, Australia Photos: Albums Posts: 750	You should try the 90, it's great and not too long of a fl. Best to invest in a login at diglloyd.com to see the test results first.

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11-05-2014, 02:03 PM	#13
rcdurston Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 51 Original Poster	A 90 would be well on the far end of the focal range that I would ever use. Most of my stuff is very wide, 75-100 degrees on the horizontal.

11-05-2014, 02:12 PM	#14
CDW Site Supporter Join Date: May 2011 Location: Big Island, Hawaii & Utah Posts: 457	Originally posted by rcdurston Well tomorrow I'm hopefully meeting with a rep to chat about some of the issues I feel are at the forefront with the 645z. I've narrowed it down to my top five. 1. Chromatic aberrations on the lenses, I can accept some of the older ones but the brand new 55mm is one of the worst offenders 2. AF is near useless. Can I be the only one who finds the sensor zone too small and the AF system/controls way over complicated. It is also not accurate enough to be usable. 3. Why is there a wait time between firing the shutter and the ability to change the ss or aperture? 4. Tethering option 5. Auto gain on LiveView. You can't over ride the exposure in LV so you can focus on contrasty subjects. Any comments? thanks Rob With the exception of my 75 and 80-160, all of my lenses are manual focus. CA is not a problem for me with any of them including my 55mm manual focus.. Tithering is a non-issue for me as I don't do portraiture or studio. I seldom shoot AF, even with my smaller format DSLRs. Everyone's mileage may vary. Looking at the images the color balance and post processing are visually far more of an issue for me personally than the CA, which is easily removed in post.

11-05-2014, 02:24 PM	#15
rcdurston Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 51 Original Poster	Originally posted by CDW With the exception of my 75 and 80-160, all of my lenses are manual focus. CA is not a problem for me with any of them including my 55mm manual focus.. Tithering is a non-issue for me as I don't do portraiture or studio. I seldom shoot AF, even with my smaller format DSLRs. Everyone's mileage may vary. Looking at the images the color balance and post processing are visually far more of an issue for me personally than the CA, which is easily removed in post. No unfortunately, the CA in these images, especially the umbrella image is difficult to get rid of. The more you try to dial it up and feather it out, the more it darts to sap the flesh tone out of the surrounding area. Don't worry CDW, the colour balance and post worked out just fine for the images. I've done it a few times before