Originally posted by mikeodial So a while ago I sold my K3 and moved to a Nikon D810 with mainly Zeiss manual focus (zf.2) lenses. It has been a great platform, but my desire for increased quality is biting me yet again, and I am considering moving to Medium format once more. (Old 6X7 user)
So let me tell you a little about my needs. I shoot mainly landscape, still life, macro, and some street. (limited street). I have/am been addicted to the look of certain lenses and sensors. This kept me with Pentax and the Limited lens for the longest time, then made the move to Nikon for higher resolution (pre the release of the K1). This was also driven by the limited range of lenses available for the K mount at the time. Enough already of the history. I also own two Sigma cameras, the SD1M and D2PM, mainly for the resolution and look of the Foveon sensor. And a Leica X Vario for walk about.
If you are thinking ... Mike you have too much gear you are right.
This is another reason for considering Medium format. If I can sell and consolidate most of this equipment I could make a move to medium format and then have enough resolution and quality to create whatever "look" I want in the future. That's the theory at least.
Cameras on my radar include:
* The above mentioned Pentaxes
* Leica s2 (used)
* The new Fuji
So, I know I am on the Pentax forum, would you recommend a 645D or are its ISO limitations too much?
Is the 645D/Z too much to carry around all the time? (I don't have a problem with the D810 and the smaller ZF.2 lenses)
Any other thoughts or experiences you might have would be helpful.
Mike
For landscape , still life and macro , the 645Z will be very hard to beat....although hand-held is viable, it's at its best on tripod, as even with higher ISO's it's prone to 'shutter-shock' or any other minimal movement. Also depends on the final use of your images...I'm printing at 24" x 36" on an Epson 7900, so image quality/clarity is paramount....I have done some test shots of a relatively dark church ceiling 50 feet above my head , and printed out a heavily cropped version which even shows wood grain and cobwebs - but that was with the new DFA 90mm macro lens, which produces stellar image detail . You certainly need the new DFA lenses to get the 'best' out of the sensor ( the 28-45mm zoom, 90mm macro & 55mm - the quality of the 28-45mm zoom is amazing in my experience , which renders the new revamped 35mm somewhat redundant IMHO). The 645D legacy lenses such as the 150mm also produce excellent results, especially for portraits. I also have the 300mm IFED M* from the 67 (with a 67-645 adapter) , which also produces great clarity.
Weight IS an issue , especially the new lenses, which makes the ensemble 'front-heavy' .... which also mitigates against hand-held work, and you do need a robust hard case or backpack for protection.
If you need high-speed flash sync, you are restricted to Pentax's own dedicated units which offer an HSS type feature , or the German Priolite studio strobes, with dedicated controller, which sync up to 1/4000th second - I have found them useful for still life too.
There is no doubt that cost is also a significant factor - even though it's way cheaper than Hassy , it's still quite a cash layout, but then so is the D810 when you have added Zeiss lenses to the setup! I recently sold all my Nikon gear , to concentrate on the 645Z , which has had the added benefit of slowing down my image making (especially in landscape) , rather than my old 35mm habit of quickly rattling off lots of images , just because you can - 35mm is great for street , sports, wildlife etc where you need speed of reaction and 'motor-drive' , but seems you already have that covered with your Leica? The new Fuji seems to promise much, but there are very few hands-on reviews yet.....but will it provide something 'significantly' better then the 645Z - it's still (some reports say) the same Sony 50MP sensor...will the glass be 'that' much better?
The 645Z is a very good compromise between traditional MF and 35mm , as it has a lot of 35mm menu and external control features built in , but with high quality images from the 50MP sensor - my experience was that the best 36MP D810 images come fairly close in terms of resolution , but the 645Z dynamic range is significantly better.
There are reports here, and elsewhere, of poor and slow Ricoh support for repairs and technical problems, which may give you pause for thought , but my own experience ( 2 years , so far) has been that the camera and lenses have been fault-free needing no repair.
Hope this helps!