[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

[jrpower10]

I never owned a D but love the Z. I shoot mainly landscapes and for that it's hard to beat. Most of my photography is shot on a tripod but I have found I can handhold when required, the iso capabilities allowing me to keep high enough shutter speeds to control shake. I have carried it for a couple of hours with a 67 55-100mm zoom attached (a monster lens) and been OK, but that combo is heavy. I wouldn't try a several hour hike with it and more than 1-2 lenses, and even then it'll get heavy.

[grispie]

Any other thoughts or experiences you might have would be helpful.

can't comment on the medium format question,
but if the leica x vario is anything like the digilux 2, you can't sell that.. :-)

[mikeodial]

can't comment on the medium format question,
but if the leica x vario is anything like the digilux 2, you can't sell that.. :-)

I agree. A wonderful little camera, way underrated and currently affordable as it's been discontinued. (Bought mine used but like new)

I changed my A7R / Leica Monochrom and lenses into 645z with 28-45, 90Macro, FA 150/2.8 and A*300/4 lenses (plus an RX100III for really unobtrusive shooting). Very happy for two years now, no back ache so far - with regular gym :-)
The Fuji (and the X1D) have the same 44x33 sensor. Some people say that Pentax should make more new lenses for the Z, but I am really satisfied with my actual lineup. I don´t see a long tele on the Fuji horizon, which is a drawback IMO.
This is one of my recent landscapes with the Z, with the A* 300 mm f:4 ED IF



Carsten
Flickr

[texandrews]

My experiences with my Z have all exceeded my expectations is all I can say, and the lenses I have perform mostly wonderfully---and only one is in the new class of contemporary lenses, with another several FA's. My120 A and 35 A are excellent. Usage in the field is superb, files are superb. Can't recommend it highly enough. And the used lenses (non-contemporary) are cheap.

[BostonUKshooter]

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!

[mikeodial]

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!

Hi Boston UK shooter. (I am also in the Boston area and grew up in the UK).

Thank you so much for your input this is immensely helpful. I have high confidence in Pentax cameras, having used them for most of my life. The size issue is definitely a factor, and perhaps the only way to really tell is rent a set up for a defined trip and then try it all out.

I am watching for what Fuji is going to do, I know someone who has had their hands on it and they really like it.

Mike

[Chapel]

I had a Leaf Aptus II- 8 back on a Mamiya camera. The Leaf back was very nice up to ISO 100 and started getting noisy after that and was basically unusable at 400. It was a 40mp CCD back like the Pentax 645D though older. Now my 645Z seems great up to ISO 1600, which is where I the Auto ISO maximum set, so I can hand hold and still have nice sharp pictures.
Greg

[MDR Foto]

I moved from the Sony a7rii to the Pentax 645Z two months ago and I'm not looking back. This thing is a beast of a camera and 90% of my shooting is handheld. But, I shoot portraits and use the 300mm f4 and the 90mm marco almost exclusively. Major love for this camera...

[BostonUKshooter]

I changed my A7R / Leica Monochrom and lenses into 645z with 28-45, 90Macro, FA 150/2.8 and A*300/4 lenses (plus an RX100III for really unobtrusive shooting). Very happy for two years now, no back ache so far - with regular gym :-)
The Fuji (and the X1D) have the same 44x33 sensor. Some people say that Pentax should make more new lenses for the Z, but I am really satisfied with my actual lineup. I don´t see a long tele on the Fuji horizon, which is a drawback IMO.
This is one of my recent landscapes with the Z, with the A* 300 mm f:4 ED IF



Carsten
Flickr

Just looked at this one on Flickr....beautiful detail in the trees!

---------- Post added 01-18-17 at 09:23 PM ----------

Hi Boston UK shooter. (I am also in the Boston area and grew up in the UK).

Thank you so much for your input this is immensely helpful. I have high confidence in Pentax cameras, having used them for most of my life. The size issue is definitely a factor, and perhaps the only way to really tell is rent a set up for a defined trip and then try it all out.

I am watching for what Fuji is going to do, I know someone who has had their hands on it and they really like it.

Mike

Hi Mike - OK good to hear.....I'm actually in Boston , England! Happy shooting, Ian

[disconnekt]

The 645Z is going to be the best bang for the buck if you're looking for a DMF camera body under 10 G's (even if you get it used from keh.com, adorama or b&h.)

[bull drinkwater]

looking at the specs i'd love to get my hands on a z, I've been shooting the d for 4 yrs it's met my needs. if you have the dinar and want the newest get the z, otherwise you can pick up a d for about 4k and do ok.

[texandrews]

I moved from the Sony a7rii to the Pentax 645Z two months ago and I'm not looking back. This thing is a beast of a camera and 90% of my shooting is handheld. But, I shoot portraits and use the 300mm f4 and the 90mm marco almost exclusively. Major love for this camera...

I am quite interested in hearing more about your experience---please tell us. I came from an A7R, kept it for a while alongside the Z, but hardly ever used it. Finally traded it in this fall plus some other stuff to get the K1 and a lens as my Z backup.

[TDvN57]

I agree with the others, the z is going to serve you better. The lens range I can recommend is:

1. the new 28-45 (expensive but very good). I recently found a new 25mm D-FA (the full frame version) on ebay and I like this lens more than the 28-45.

2. For the mid range a good lens is the 80-160 zoom (my favorite carry with me lens).

3. for longer 150-300 zoom. Contrary to some other users, I have found this lens to be very sharp and is my go-to lens for wildlife.

These three lenses are my "golden" trio and always go into my carry bag.

4. for telephoto 400mm prime can be also used with the 1.4 converter, but I'm not to fond of this lens.

If you want to do macro, the new 90mm macro lens is apparently the cats whiskers of lenses. I have the older 120mm macro which is a great lens, but lately I started using the 80-160mm with a helicoid extension ring instead. Works just as good as the 120 and is much lighter to carry around.

If you are an old 6x7 shooter, then the 645z plus glass will be a dream for you. The camera might be heavier than the 6x7, but the glass is feather light in comparison.

Hope this helps.

Have fun!!!
Theuns