[rdeloe]

Do you have a 645Z (or Fuji GFX 50R/S) and both the SMC Pentax-A 645 35mm f/3.5 and the HD Pentax-D FA 645 35mm f/3.5? If so, I'd be grateful if you could shoot a couple comparison frames for me and put the RAW files somewhere I can find them. Outside, focused long on the same subject, and f/11 would be ideal.

I am using the A and am very satisfied, but have read many times now that the D FA version is a significant step up. With a side-by-side comparison like this, I can figure out whether or not investing in the D FA will result in useful improvements.


Thanks!

Rob

[RICHARD L.]

A friend named "DIGGLES" did exactly that about 2 months ago. Research his post "Testing Pentax 645 35 mm - SMC Pentax A vs HD Pentax DFA" in this medium-format section.

Regards

[rdeloe]

A friend named "DIGGLES" did exactly that about 2 months ago. Research his post "Testing Pentax 645 35 mm - SMC Pentax A vs HD Pentax DFA" in this medium-format section.

Regards

Ha, jackpot! Thanks Richard. I don't know how I missed that post.

Here it is for anyone who is curious and hasn't seen it yet: Testing Pentax 645 35mm - SMC Pentax-A vs HD Pentax-D FA - PentaxForums.com


Rob

[Steve Verrall]

Rob,

For some time I have followed your detailed posts here and in other fora and was inspired to buy several Pentax MF lenses and Fotodiox TLT ROKR tilt/shift adapters, mount them to my Nikon Z7 and see how much useable shift I could extract for my panoramas. In the following example the camera is in landscape orientation and the lens is shifted to left and right.


I will show here some results for the SMC PENTAX-A 645 f/3.5 and would then like to post similar tests for the 45mm f/4 67 lens, the 55mm 6X7 f/4 and the 55mm 67 f/4 lens. Not sure what section to post those in...if someone can advise that would be good


I used a big RRS tripod, geared head, electronic shutter, f/11 in all cases, manual exposure, manual focus, ISO64 and a 2 second timer. I shot two subjects - one about 4oo metres away and another about a kilometre away. I used Lightroom for the raw conversion and made the same tweaks to all images.


For interest, I also shot each subject with the Nikon 24-70 f/4 lens at corresponding focal lengths, to see how well each Pentax compares in the centre of the frame to a modern full format/35mm lens. The Nikon was also shot at f/11, but using autofocus with single point AF area mode. I also have the 24-70 f/2.8 S lens but I did not shoot that in this comparison. It is somewhat better than the f/4 version shown here.

OK, with all that out of the way, I will start by showing the 35mm lens compared to the Nikon against two different subjects. The jetty is the closer subject and the apartment block further away. I will nominate the shots as being from Camera A and Camera B. Feel free to guess which is which. I will post the result in a few days. (Hopefully I stripped all the EXIF from the files!). These are all crops at 100%.


Jetty

Camera A

Attached Images

 

[Steve Verrall]

Jetty

Camera B

[Steve Verrall]

Apartment Block


Camera B

[Steve Verrall]

Apartment Block


Camera A

Attached Images

 

[Steve Verrall]

Finally, I full shifted the lens left and right and rotated the camera body left and right to place the same subjects at the extreme edge of the frame, to see how they fared. This might give away the whole A and B thing, but whatever. Here are the full shifted, extreme edge examples of the same subjects.

[rdeloe]

Rob,

For some time I have followed your detailed posts here and in other fora and was inspired to buy several Pentax MF lenses and Fotodiox TLT ROKR tilt/shift adapters, mount them to my Nikon Z7 and see how much useable shift I could extract for my panoramas. In the following example the camera is in landscape orientation and the lens is shifted to left and right.


I will show here some results for the SMC PENTAX-A 645 f/3.5 and would then like to post similar tests for the 45mm f/4 67 lens, the 55mm 6X7 f/4 and the 55mm 67 f/4 lens. Not sure what section to post those in...if someone can advise that would be good

Hi Steve. Nice to meet you (virtually!)


If you're going to put up a series of these, I suggest you start a new thread. That way the conversation will be easier to find for other people.


I'm curious to see how you like the Pentax 67 lenses. The 45mm lens is nice and compact and has good colour, but I found it to be a bit on the soft side compared to the 45mm position of the Pentax 645 45-85/4.5 The Pentax 67 55/4 is really good. On the plus side, those 67 lenses will allow for as much shift as your adapter permits.

[Steve Verrall]

Thanks Rob,

New thread created here: Comparing four Pentax MF lenses adapted to the Nikon Z7 - PentaxForums.com

Yes, the 67 version of the 55mm f/4 is very good albeit a bit heavy. The 45mm 67 is light, good and consistent across the extended/shifted frame. Using Topaz AI Denoise and then Sharpen helps considerably.
I have the same version of the 35 645 as you and have also been wondering whether to buy the DFA version but now I doubt I will. The extreme shifted edges of my 35 are disappointing and they (sharpish edges) are what I want. Otherwise it is very good.

I may end up trying the Hasselblad 40mm f4 Zeiss Distagon CFE T* FLE Lens and the corresponding TLT ROKR Hassy V adapter to see if I can get the sharp edges I want, an effective FOV of around 22mm in the final pano and around 15,000 pixels across - my holy grail.

Cheers,
Steve.

[rdeloe]

Thanks Rob,

New thread created here: Comparing four Pentax MF lenses adapted to the Nikon Z7 - PentaxForums.com

Yes, the 67 version of the 55mm f/4 is very good albeit a bit heavy. The 45mm 67 is light, good and consistent across the extended/shifted frame. Using Topaz AI Denoise and then Sharpen helps considerably.
I have the same version of the 35 645 as you and have also been wondering whether to buy the DFA version but now I doubt I will. The extreme shifted edges of my 35 are disappointing and they (sharpish edges) are what I want. Otherwise it is very good.

I may end up trying the Hasselblad 40mm f4 Zeiss Distagon CFE T* FLE Lens and the corresponding TLT ROKR Hassy V adapter to see if I can get the sharp edges I want, an effective FOV of around 22mm in the final pano and around 15,000 pixels across - my holy grail.

Cheers,
Steve.

Good luck in the quest! I believe I read some tests of the Hasselblad you're interested in at GetDPI, but I can't recall where. You could try on the medium format forum. If I had to place a bet here, I'd bet that you're not going to be happy. The older wides are just like that. Unfortunately, technical camera lenses are not going to make you happy either. On your sensor you'll be dealing with huge lens cast issues, plus they cost a lot of money and you have to mount them via something like a Cambo Actus because of the very short flange focal distance (so even more expense).

In my own quest for a wider lens than 35mm that can shift on my GFX, I hit a wall. I was briefly excited by the Nikon PC-Nikkor 28/3.5, but after a lot more use gave up on it. Here's the thread at DPReview where I talked about it: A 28mm shift (and tilt) lens for Fuji GFX cameras: Medium Format Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review There are some RAW samples you can play with from my GFX 50R. In the words of the great Mark Knopfler, "The bottle's empty, man, there's nothing left".

[Steve Verrall]

I think that a 40mm (no wider) that can be shifted would be perfect and would give me around 22mm in the final stitched pano, which is a FOV that I like.


Yes, I remember reading that thread some time ago. Recently I came across this YouTube channel: Christopher Leggett - YouTube

I was quite interested in his setup. He uses a Hartblei 40mm TS (which is available in Nikon F mount among others) with Mirex adaptor on his GFX100 and also has the aforementioned 40mm Zeiss.

It may interest you.


Thanks again for your input.

[rdeloe]

Thanks for the link. It's nice to see Mirex is still in business, and making adapters for the GFX. I don't see them on their website so it must be a special order. Way back when I used a pair of Mirex adapters with a Sony A7R -- one for Sony E to Canon EF, and one for Canon EF to Pentax 645. Canon EF is good as the intermediate mount because it has the largest throat (so less chance of mechanical vignetting).


The lens he's using in this video is a SK 28/4.5. I've never seen one for sale so I have no idea what they cost (but I have a feeling the answer is "a lot"). Does he also have a video for the Hartblei 40mm TS?


The 9-shot flat stitch routine he's using is tricky to pull off without a lot of practice and repetition. He seems to do it a lot, so practice obviously makes perfect.

Rob

[Steve Verrall]

Yes, he has a video on the 40mm Zeiss/Hartblei, which is shown with the GFX100 here.

You Tube

You Tube

[rdeloe]

Steve, here's a brand new thread about Hasselblad 40mm options: Hasselblad 40mm F4 CFE or CFE IF ? | The GetDPI Photography Forum