[Lurch]

So, Pentax Aus has ex-demo 645d's with the 55 for $8.5K
I *had* set a budget of $5K for my next camera....
This, or a K5IIs and a few LTDs.....

Discuss.

[Ash]

I saw that offer too on the website and contemplated that myself. Thing is you'll need more than just the 55 to make the most out of it. It'll blow your budget out a couple times over just getting the right glass for the beast of a camera. The K-5 IIs on the other hand means you get more bang for buck and can devote the spare cash on high end glass you could use for future K-mount cameras. Even a FF one.

But seriously, it's all about what you intend to do with the images thereafter. The 645D is an awesome camera, and still very portable and hand hold-able. The DR and VF are something to behold, but it has slower shooting and processing speeds - something's gotta give. The K-5 IIs is responsive but the VF paltry in comparison. Once you get spoilt with such a VF as the 645D you'll probably not even settle for a FF camera anymore.

[Lurch]

It is tempting tho

[jimr-pdx]

I'd have to know for certain that prints would sell - if I knew it more than wished it, that investment would pay off! Well, that and a couple more lenses of course...

[interested_observer]

It also depends on what additional lenses and especially the focal lengths. If you are willing to go with manual focus A lenses, they tend to be pretty reasonable from what I have seen. AF lenses are more, however the new DFA lenses bring an entirely new meaning to the word cost. 25mm is the widest - and its new at $5,000. 35mm is the next widest and there are the MF A version that is reasonable at around $500. The AF FA version is something like $1,500.

So you can have a $10,000 investment in a blink of an eye.

[Brand X]

So you can have a $10,000 investment in a blink of an eye.

So a person could get by with the older manual lenses with the large format camera then? I mean, they are a little lower in cost used, and should be every bit as good optically, right?

Although I am a simple "point~n~shoot" type of photographer, I bet Racer would jump on the large format in a minute if he could figure out how to step up without a huge cash outlay. He is always trying to find ways to get the "bigger~better~faster" set up.

[Kerrowdown]

I think really it boils down to what are you using this camera for?

Is it semi or professional use i.e. studio and the like, where you can see a return on investment or is it a wonderful hobbyist piece of kit, that we're all gonna be dead jealous of?

Just a couple of thoughts to maybe help focus your decision.

[RonHendriks1966]

So I had a chance to play with the 645D for 15 days last year. It is a wonderfull camera:

http://www.pentaxian.nl/index.php/topic,24313.0.html



For this I had:

• 645D body
• D-FA 55mm/f2.8
• FA 45-85mm/f4.5
• FA 150mm/f2.8
• FA* 300mm/f4
• FA 75mm/f2.8
• FA 80-160mm/f4.5

So no wider angle lens, but that is not my thing anyway. There is a cheaper 300mm option. Basicly depending on what you do, you can do almost anything with a few lenses and some can be bought secondhand.

It's a wonderfull snapshotmachine!