[Rondec]

Selling used gear is about finding the right buyer. Unfortunately, there are a lot fewer folks interested in medium format gear than are interested in full frame gear. It's just the way it is, I guess. The camera is still worth something -- my guess would be in the 1000 to 1500 dollar range. The 28-45 is probably worth more than the camera body -- the key is finding someone who wants that lens and also has the money to buy it.

I've had good success on the Pentax Marketplace, but sometimes gear sits there for quite a while before it moves.

[btnapa]

For still image, there is a tradeoff image quality / ease of use, all in one camera, e.g full frame is a good compromise but still a compromise IMO.

From 2016 until my recent move to Sony, K1 was my medium format camera. I wanted to get the 645Z to shoot images for clients who demanded higher res files. K1 seemed to me as the perfect compromise as you called it. A tank of a body, enough resolution, plenty of lenses to get the job done. I miss my K1 already. Shooting with it was a pleasure and the results were more than adequate. Then there was the lingering 4K video issue. For my situation, the need for high spec video has been there for almost 4 years. I waited and waited to see if Pentax would address the issue. I am a still image shooter first, 90% plus. For that 10% or less call for video, I either provide the service or lose the whole job to someone who offers both services. It is a fact not a hypothetical scenario. So after waiting what seemed like an eternity for Pentax to address the video issue, I made the hard choice to let Sony be the single system/solution for both needs. I am not an EVF fan or a Sony fan for that matter but I had to choose based on needs not personal bias. I have been a Asahi Pentax fan for over 50 years and will remain so for eternity. I have plenty of Pentax lenses still in my collection. I may add a K1-next or a K3III if budget allows just to have a Pentax around for some OVF fix!!

[texandrews]

Your experience is not limited to Pentax. My wife tried to sell her old Nikon cameras after she upgraded, no market. Those were D700, D90, D810. She got them new when they came onto the market. After many years of not being able to sell the old ones she traded them in as part of a launch promo to buy the Nikon Z7ii and got +/- USD 650 for all three cameras as a discount on the Z7ii provided she bought the 24-70 Z lens as well. Took the deal. The old cameras were taking up space in the dry box.

I agree with @TexAndrews about getting a headache of all the Pentax price bashing. If you want to take nice pictures then get out there and use what you have. You want more capability then buy a "bigger" model that can do what you need. These are not investments. You want an investment? buy gold or some digital coin, but not cameras.

After using my 645z for seven plus years it is still performing flawlessly and I am still learning new capabilities of the camera. I've used mine in extreme temperatures from +45 degC to -34degC and it never failed. It is a balanced camera and if you care to learn it you will not have to fiddle with menus in the field, key functions have buttons you can control while wearing a glove. I seldom use a tripod and I don't need a FF camera, I use the 645z. I also have a KP with very low shutter count, nice camera, but I hardly use it, don't need it.

Sorry for blowing steam :-)

Looks like we're a pair of steam powered old-schoolers....

[biz-engineer]

After using my 645z for seven plus years it is still performing flawlessly and I am still learning new capabilities of the camera.

I consider the 645z as a professional tool and still valid tool for professional images. I don't know however how much of the camera market is professionally driven. Personally, I feel like cameras are evaluated at 99% based on consumer use cases, consumer beliefs of what's right to buy. There are very few camera models designed primarily for professional use (usually bulky and financially out of reach), the 645z was one of them when it was designed, that's why it weights 1.5Kg, it was never intended to sell to hobby photographers, hence the high price tag at introduction. Everything else is consumer grade, light weight and built cheap to last between 2 to 5 years not more. The opinion about 645z is mostly formed by consumer communities and camera retailers who make 99% of their revenue in the consumer market. The hobby photographer will find 645z heavy, not realizing it was designed to be used heavily in professional conditions. I'm a hobby photographer, but I learn slowly over the years, and I realize more and more that online, reviews, retail and workshop rhetoric is developed for the consumer market because that's where the most money is.

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Last edited by biz-engineer; 05-08-2022 at 09:33 AM.

[mikeSF]

Strange how that happens. I've owned the 645Z since it came out, and can still see myself shooting with that same body for another 5 years and be happy. It's such a wonderful camera.

Good luck with the sale

[w2ck]

Looks like we're a pair of steam powered old-schoolers....

Hi,

Me, three!

Stan

[nelly001]

Even though Pentax is supposedly still selling the Z new I would be astonished if they actually sold any given how hard it is to sell a used one. I'm trying to sell my Z with 28-45 and 55 for well less than half the retail cost and haven't had the slightest interest on ebay. I'm wondering if it is even worth selling it if I have to practically give it away.


Sorry not really a question more of comment and wondering if anyone is engaging in the market for this camera at all now given the Fuji system and others. I knew when I bought it that resale could be a problem but still.... I had a great 7 years with though.

I would be very happy to receive if you are giving it away

[Weevil]

Is you listing visible in the correct category ?

Searching in category = Cameras & Photo for "pentax 645z 28-45mm" didn't find any relevant listing from here, even though "worldwide" was selected...

[Jonathan Mac]

Pentax is between a rock and a hard place, with one being Fujifilm medium format and the other being full-frame, both of which have advantages in size, weight, AF, lens selection, cost and in some cases, resolution.

The only use-cases for Pentax digital MF are someone who really prefers a viewfinder, doesn't mind the size and weight, and or is concerned by the image quality problems that can result from MF mirrorless (reflections off the sensor).

If Pentax don't bring out something that seriously updates the 645 line soon then I suspect it's dead in the water.

Still, there are image quality advantages still so the market must be there, though I imagine you'd take a very considerable hit from what it cost new.

[Thwyllo]

Same story in Europe....a couple of reasonable 645Zs with 55m f2.8 for £2000 but zero bids. Actual sold not much better but depends on shutter count - two body-only sales recently, one with a 6500 count, the other a mere 5, sold for around £2000 and £3000 respectively. Body with 55mm lens sold £1200 and a body with two lenses (55mm and a 150mm 2.8) for 2700 euros.

I'm going to suggest a couple of issues - yes its a great camera with a big sensor, but its only really got commercial use for most people, especially at that price, and that narrows the market to a group that, if they are busy and successful, are upgrading kit regularly and don't want old stuff, so your market would tend to be the 'also rans' or amateurs with few spare bucks... Then we have disruptors like Pixii with an APSC sensor that I recently read DXO have deemed to be, not only the best APSC sensor bar none, but in the Top 9 globally, including medium and large format! Thats just staggering, and their product development is surging ahead. Then stick an Irix 15mm f2.4 on the front and you're in a wet dream. I'm seriously considering disposing of some of my collection for just that combo....

OK so thats potentially an extreme example, but point is, there are other cheaper, smaller solutions out there these days and that doesn't help your case sadly.

[stanh]

I haven't read the whole thread, but I saw this in one of your earlier posts:

Being based in Perth (most isolated capital city in Australia and maybe the world) and not wanting to ship overseas does limit my selling opportunities...

And that clearly answers your question. When I first noted that you are in Australia, I thought that you had limited opportunities to sell unless you were willing to ship international. And for something like this, I am sure that even a "local" buyer (Adelaide? Melbourne?) would want a chance to see the camera before committing big money.

RE eBay, it has been a year or two since my last eBay sale or purchase, but I always found it a good place to buy and a good place to sell.

RE your 645Z - I will have a short visit to Australia in March 2024 (Sydney). Let me know if the package is still available then. And meanwhile, if you do decide to ship international, I would be interested in buying the zoom lens.

Good luck!

Stan

[cjhoneycomb]

But MF is almost dead.

It shouldn't be. As a purist, i didn't want it to be... But it is. It can no longer compete and the end user can no longer notice a difference.

I speak from experience. A couple of years ago, i purchased a Mamiya 645AF and 65+ digital back. The industry standard for a time period. Still takes extraordinary negatives as far as I'm concerned. Lenses were cheap and the leaf shutter allowed me to do incredible things in the studio.

But my client couldn't tell a difference.
Worse yet, i was terrified to take the camera out for simple things like parades or riots because I was concerned with damaging it.

When i compared the photos to the Pentax K-1 i had at the time, my decision was simple. I sold the MF.

It broke my heart and for the next year i pained for larger and larger negatives. But when it was time to buy, I saw a $800 Sony A7rii and a $1,200 dollar Canon 5DS R and i knew then. MF would never make a comeback.

[Pål Jensen]

They seem to be selling. There are currently only 10 used ones on ebay. 12 of the 645D. Far fewer than last year. The 645z asking price is about half new price something that is pretty normal for used cameras.
Current new price at B+H is $4997.

[Owltown]

1) Target audience of market place: ebay isn't specialized in cameras, so you may not benefit from the funnel effect of selling through a specialized camera retailer who typical attract prospects in search of Pentax cameras/lenses
2) Price: as seller you compare the price to the price new, but buyers compare alternative offers. If there are alternative medium format cameras with equivalent specs (+ advantages) , and cheaper than yours, what's the likelihood of your offer being selected?


3) Well, in business, the book value of most electronic equipment is zero after about 5 pr 6 years, for other machinery it's up to 10 years. So, considering you are a business and a 645z is heavy machinery with 10 years depreciation case, selling 50% of the book value after 7 years, would register as making a profit reported in income statement.

What's interesting is that the 645z still sells new for $6500, while competitor solutions cost almost half that price.

Why not list your 645Z right here in our marketplace? You'll surely reach a well-educated market segment.

[VSTAR]

Even though Pentax is supposedly still selling the Z new I would be astonished if they actually sold any given how hard it is to sell a used one. I'm trying to sell my Z with 28-45 and 55 for well less than half the retail cost and haven't had the slightest interest on ebay. I'm wondering if it is even worth selling it if I have to practically give it away.


Sorry not really a question more of comment and wondering if anyone is engaging in the market for this camera at all now given the Fuji system and others. I knew when I bought it that resale could be a problem but still.... I had a great 7 years with though.

A few years ago I purchased a used 645D for a fairly reasonable price. But before that I tried purchasing a 645Z locally advertised. The owner would not take a reasonable offer and started following me on this site telling me I am being unreasonable in not accepting the advertised price! So I believe that pricing is probably important on selling the Z and also shutter count. This forum has been great for me selling Pentax used items and the buyers have been great. Not sure if you ever listed it on PF. Fuji MF…,from what I have read it looks like a great system…and then I added up what the body and say 3 lenses would cost compared to the Z. I’ll stay with the D until it dies.