[PhilRich]

Last Saturday there was a break in the cloudy weather that we've been having here in W Washington. I just purchased the 645 FA 150-300mm lens ED(IF) lens on Ebay. The cost was only $250 plus shipping. I also have the 645 FA 200 and the 67 SMC 200 (latest version). So, in addition to testing the new to me zoom, the three were evaluated to compare image quality.

I test my lens from my front porch shooting down the street. Our neighborhood isn't anything fancy but does offer a great variety of objects near and far. The lens were mounted on a 645Z on a heavy tripod without change in viewing position. All three exposures were at the same speed and aperture. Each file was processed using Photoshop CC via Bridge. The files were process using the Auto adjustment feature identically (no individual slider tweaking).

For this post I've selected a crop that is focused on a house down the street being about 130 yards distant. I've also posted the full frame image. The power post seen in the crops is about 20 yards in front of the house.

Here's the full frame picture.
_IMG8645 645 150-300 f11 @ 200 Series 1 Full Frame by

This is the crop of the picture taken with the 645 FA 150-300:
_IMG8645 645 150-300 f11 @ 200 Series 1 Crop by

This is the crop of the picture taken with the 645 FA 200:
_IMG8646 645 200 f11 Series 1 Crop by

This is the crop of the picture taken with the 67 SMC 200:
_IMG8647 67 SMC 200 f11 Series1 Crop by

In comparing these I find that the 645 FA 200 image is inferior to the other two, however I think it's images are very usable. While the 67 SMC 200 is quite good, I was surprised that the 645 FA 150-300 image is slightly better than that of the 67 SMC 200, giving better contrast and a very small bit more resolution. Overall I'm quite impressed with the 150-300 lens. I shoot mostly landscapes and thus am not handicapped by it's being a rather slow lens. It is also compact for it's focal length range. Results even at 300mm are quite good, so it will be with me for a lot of outings.

In looking at the images from all three lens I found that each excelled a some point in the scene a little better than the others. Also, I'm aware that my evaluations are limited to the quality of my display and technique. As for usage, the 67 200 will be relegated to use on my 67 film camera. It fits nicely in the bag used for this camera along with the 55-100 and 45. The FA 200 mostly stays home.

---

Last edited by PhilRich; 01-28-2021 at 07:32 PM. Reason: Edited to post correct crop for the 645 FA 200mm

[UncleVanya]

Is it possible that the focus was better with the other two lenses? Zoomed out on a mobile the FA looked better than the others - perhaps contrast? But zoomed in the softness appeared. I didn’t spend a long time on it but I’m not sure anything in the crop was tack sharp with that lens - was it sharper elsewhere in the frame?

[Paul the Sunman]

The first and second crops are the same picture!! Taken with the zoom, not the FA 200.

[LaHo]

The first and second crops are the same picture!! Taken with the zoom, not the FA 200.

That is correct. I found the FA 200 crop on Flickr. I don't think it is inferior to the other two, but it is back focused. The wilderness behind the house is in focus in the FA 200 crop.

_IMG8646 645 200 f11 Series 1 Crop by

[desertscape]

You might want to compare these lenses at f/5.6 rather than f/11 since the diaphragm will reduce aberrations when stopped down to f/11. You're not going to see a lot of diference. To really see their weakness, try opening them up to f/5.6.

[PhilRich]

The first and second crops are the same picture!! Taken with the zoom, not the FA 200.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. It has been corrected.

---------- Post added 01-28-21 at 08:43 PM ----------

I'm open to comments and suggestions and whatever that can be employed to obtain better results. I think that since the house was 130 yds away, at f11 the focus isn't real critical concerning the house, the depth of field would be about 50 ft? As regards to the focal point, it was placed on the house. For the two 645 FA's.

[barondla]

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. It has been corrected.

---------- Post added 01-28-21 at 08:43 PM ----------

I'm open to comments and suggestions and whatever that can be employed to obtain better results. I think that since the house was 130 yds away, at f11 the focus isn't real critical concerning the house, the depth of field would be about 50 ft? As regards to the focal point, it was placed on the house. For the two 645 FA's.

Dof just means things will be acceptably sharp. There will always be one point that is the sharpest. Once infinity is reached, everything further away will be equally sharp. The fact the house is out of focus and the background is in shows the house isn't at infinity. Good test, you just need to give the 200 another chance.

Thanks,
barondla