645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

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Archive 2010 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

Yakim Peled
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p.1 #1 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-medium-format-645-6x7-645d/112084-645d-review-2nd-impressions-longer-play.html

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Sep 02, 2010 at 11:35 AM

alundeb
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p.1 #2 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

The sizes of the "full image" and "100% crop" don't match 40 MP. It looks like the "100% crop" is more like 67% crop.

Somebody registered on the forum care to ask?

Sep 02, 2010 at 12:02 PM

Yakim Peled
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p.1 #3 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

I don't know about that but it looks very good to me.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Sep 04, 2010 at 10:38 PM

Krosavcheg
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p.1 #4 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

Had a chance to play with it before the release.
I really like bracketing options available.
The AF was dead on - I chose poorly lit black lens with uniform pattern on purpose. No hunting whatsoever!!

Sep 06, 2010 at 06:35 AM

Anon Moss
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p.1 #5 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

Luminous Landscape has also just posted a 15 minute interview slash semi review of the 645D.
Cheers,
Scott

Sep 06, 2010 at 06:53 AM

waybourn
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p.1 #6 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

I just got my new 645D direct from Japan and it meets all the expectations I had, plus more. I couldn't wait for it to hit the US market and have used it continuously since it arrived a couple of days ago. I have been a dedicated 5D and 5DII shooter with various L-series lenses for my portrait work, so making the switch to Pentax was a big leap of faith. So far, I've been very impressed with the stunning quality of the large RAW files. Canon and Nikon will have a hard time matching it. I also had no problems sucking images into CS5 and ACR using a Macbook Pro either. I have not tested it with Lightroom yet, but Bridge works just fine. Once I made the decision to get a 645D, I asked around regarding a reputable dealer in Japan to assist me. I couldn't have been more lucky (and pleased) to find Dirk Rösler of Japan Exposures (www.japanexposures.com). His help was invaluable through every step of the process and he provided excellent customer service answering question after question. I won't hesitate to use him again when Pentax releases more lenses built specifically for the 645D.

Sep 07, 2010 at 10:22 PM

surfotog
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p.1 #7 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

waybourn,

Please let us know what lenses you're using. I'm interested in how the leagacy glass performs on such a high rez sensor. I'm waiting for someone to test the big Pentax 67 M* telephoto's.

Sep 07, 2010 at 10:54 PM

waybourn
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p.1 #8 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

I bought the smc PENTAX-D FA 645 55mmF2.8 AL[IF] SDM AW that's made for the 645D, plus the 67 adapter; since then I've tried two 67 lenses, the 200mm f/4 and the 105mm f2.4 Takum EX. So far the results are excellent, but I have not had a chance to compare same/shots to the 5Ds, nor shoot just JPGs. The images processed thus far required very little effort in CS5. The color clarity of the 200 was amazing, seemingly richer than real life (if that's possible).

At first, the 645D seemed a little slow processing the images to the disc, but then I realized I was asking it to process 40mb to one SDHC card and a large JPG to the other card so I just backed off and used only RAW. I have not tried any of the in-camera processing yet.

Sep 08, 2010 at 01:12 AM

waybourn
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p.1 #9 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

These are some of the first images from the 645D, processed RAW>TIFF>JPGS using CS5 with very little effort. Images were taken late afternoon in the shade, using the new 55mm lens. (Because no one was around for the holiday weekend, my three German shepherds were conscripted as models.)

2012 © waybourn

Edited on Sep 08, 2010 at 10:01 AM · View previous versions

Sep 08, 2010 at 01:27 AM

surfotog
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p.1 #10 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

If you find yourself in Hawaii, look me up. We can meet on the north shore and try my stable of 67 M* long lenses on the 645D. I'll supply the tripod and spring for burgers at Kua Aina.

Sep 08, 2010 at 01:58 AM

tsjanik
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p.1 #11 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

I've been waiting for the 645D for about five years-like everyone else. Glad to hear your praise for the camera. Love the shots, in particular the 2nd, of the long-hair. As a former companion of several German shepherds, I’d have to guess that the first is the most curious and the second is the most intelligent; the third is old enough that he just wonders when all this fuss will stop so he can take a nap.

Sep 08, 2010 at 02:23 AM

waybourn
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p.1 #12 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

Wow, you do you know your GSDs. The first one is the youngest (one year) and most curious; the middle one (five years) runs the household with an iron paw. The third one (eight) is also a longcoat, but shaved for the summer and cares only about his next meal. He really has a beautiful coat, but it weighs him down in the summer so this year we decided to let him cool off. The first two are therapy dogs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, visiting the wounded warriors, their families and staff. They all came from different breeders and are related only by genetics; the youngest is the grandson of Vegas du Haut Mansard, the German Sieger for 2008 and 2009; his father finished 18th. Below is a post of the middle one taken with my 5DII.

Sep 08, 2010 at 09:58 AM

waybourn
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p.1 #13 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

First image taken with a 5D; second one taken with the new 645D.

2012 © waybourn

Sep 08, 2010 at 11:25 AM

Yakim Peled
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p.1 #14 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

waybourn wrote:
(Because no one was around for the holiday weekend, my three German shepherds were conscripted as models.)

One of the things I really like about dogs is that they are 100% dependable. Humans just can't match that.

Happy shooting,
Yakim.

Sep 08, 2010 at 11:41 AM

tsjanik
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p.1 #15 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

waybourn wrote:
l The first two are therapy dogs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, visiting the wounded warriors, their families and staff.
I’m very happy to hear that - wonderful for the soldiers and the dogs. Dogs can bring a joy to people that is remarkable and dogs, German shepherds in particular, seem happiest when they have a task and purpose (like people).
I love both of the two additional shots you posted. I can imagine the dog in the 2nd shot (who just spilled the pot) thinking “ so that’s what’s in there”.
Yakim Peled wrote:
One of the things I really like about dogs is that they are 100% dependable. Humans just can't match that.

So true. Dogs are expressive in face and body and they don’t know how to lie. And they are always glad to see you.

Back to the 645D. Honestly I can’t see any difference between the 5D and 645D shots on the internet, but if you have any further impressions I’d love to hear them.

Sep 09, 2010 at 01:47 AM

waybourn
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p.1 #16 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

Canon 5DII (left) and Pentax 645D (right) Comparison.

Ok, what I did isn't all that scientific, but I set up both cameras with as similar lens (85mm on the 5D and 55mm on the 645D), same tripod, same distance, same format (RAW) same lighting (available), same exposure, etc., wherever possible.

At first glance, the 5DII image on the left appears to hold its own with the 645D, but only until you increase the size does the difference become so apparent. As it should, obviously the strength of the 645D pixels far surpass those in the 5DII. Is it worth $5000, I can't say. If you are going to print large images, then the 645D is a no brainer.

There are other areas where the 645D really outscored the 5DII, again just as it should. The one surprise was on the back of the camera. I presume both cameras use jpgs for review copies, and the review images in the 645D were "right on" re the actual color of the statue whereas I had to guess at the color in the 5DII, as it was not reflective of the actual color. That probably saved me some time, as I trusted the 645D's reading more quickly than the 5DII and took half as many shots.

You have to decide for yourself. I love my 5DII and won't be selling it, but I have to say shooting with the 645D is a dream. After this test, I position the 645D for a quickie self-portrait and you can see how it performed.

2012 © waybourn

Sep 10, 2010 at 01:41 AM

waybourn
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p.1 #17 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

Oops, the comparison image was too big to load, so here it is reduced. Email me if you want a larger copy for your own review.

Left - Canon 5DII
Right - Pentax 645Dphf

2012 © waybourn

Sep 10, 2010 at 01:46 AM

Anon Moss
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p.1 #18 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

I'm another not seeing any meaningful IQ differences on the net with relatively tiny JPEGS.
My 5D2 pictures suffer when I dilute them for the web. Even more dilution is taking place with the 645D files. The only way people can make meaningful comparisons or really appreciate the differences is to fire up some nice big prints. The differences then will be apparent. What that difference is worth to a given individual is their call.

Sep 10, 2010 at 06:18 AM

hauxon
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p.1 #19 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

Congrats on your new camera. I must admit I'm a bit jealous!

I'd be interested in seeing a side to side comparison where we have deep shadows and bright highlights. It will be interesting to see how the 645D files respond to pushing the shadows up (for example with "fill light" slider in Lightroom).

How about long exposures? Pentax seems to have Landscape photographers in mind when designing the camera, MLU button, weather sealing, leveller, dust protection, ultra-wilde lens coming out etc. First is it able to do exposures more than 30 seconds? For star trails 20 minutes is the minimum. Noise behaviour in these circumstances are important. When pushing up underexposed images with 5D2 you may run into banding problems. I'd like to see some 645D files tortured in similiar manner.

Sep 10, 2010 at 09:17 AM

Xavier Rival
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p.1 #20 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

Interesting to see these new 645 results.
One question though: you mention the lenses you used are 85mm for the 5D and 55mm on the 645, but I assume that this result in a massive field of view difference, so you probably had to crop a lot on the 645 or set up a lot closer, no ? (as the 645 is the camera with the larger sensor, it should require more FL to get the same framing in the same conditions).

Sep 11, 2010 at 07:21 AM

Graham Mitchell
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p.1 #21 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

I had a look at the lens lineup for the 645, and there seems to be a huge gap in the primes from 75 to 150mm. Am I missing something? Apart from that, the system is quite promising and I'm happy for Pentax that they finally managed to get the camera out there.

Sep 11, 2010 at 07:57 AM

waybourn
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p.1 #22 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

The focal length was the same, the 645D image is larger, so I cropped both images at 4 x 6 for comparison.

Sep 11, 2010 at 09:52 AM

waybourn
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p.1 #23 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

I don't know how long this Pentax site has been up, but I just found a ton of information for the 645D in ENGLISH that I didn't know about: http://www.pentax.jp/english/imaging/digital/medium/645d/feature_3.html. Previous sites were all in Japanese.

RE lenses, I found this: "Usable Lens: PENTAX 645AF2, 645AF, and 645A mount lenses

"The lensmount is called the 645 AF2 bayonet mount, which will accept 645AF2 (the new 55mm), 645AF (all older autofocus lenses for the 645N and 645NII), and 645A (wayback manual-focus) lenses. Pentax 645 mount lenses are all compatible. These are the 645 A, 645 FA, and 645 DA lenses. The A lenses are manual focus, but the FA and DA are auto focus."

Using the 67-to-645 adapter, the 67 lenses can be used as well. I have an old 67 105mm and 200mm and both worked just fine on the 645D.

Sep 11, 2010 at 09:59 AM

Mr.Lindy
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p.1 #24 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

What are your plans if your 645D needs a repair ?

I see you are in USA, 645D is only sold and serviced in Japan

Also, a quick look at B&H shows no 645 lenses for sale new thesedays.

Do you buy your new 645 lenses from Japan also ?

Congrats on the new tool, be careful on the shutter clicks, its only rated at 50,000 right?

waybourn wrote:
I just got my new 645D direct from Japan and it meets all the expectations I had, plus more. I couldn't wait for it to hit the US market and have used it continuously since it arrived a couple of days ago. I have been a dedicated 5D and 5DII shooter with various L-series lenses for my portrait work, so making the switch to Pentax was a big leap of faith. So far, I've been very impressed with the stunning quality of the large RAW files. Canon and Nikon will have a hard time matching it. I also had no problems sucking images into CS5 and ACR using a Macbook Pro either. I have not tested it with Lightroom yet, but Bridge works just fine. Once I made the decision to get a 645D, I asked around regarding a reputable dealer in Japan to assist me. I couldn't have been more lucky (and pleased) to find Dirk Rösler of Japan Exposures (www.japanexposures.com). His help was invaluable through every step of the process and he provided excellent customer service answering question after question. I won't hesitate to use him again when Pentax releases more lenses built specifically for the 645D.

Sep 11, 2010 at 11:32 AM

Tariq Gibran
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p.1 #25 · 645D Review - 2nd Impressions and a longer play

Graham Mitchell wrote:
I had a look at the lens lineup for the 645, and there seems to be a huge gap in the primes from 75 to 150mm. Am I missing something? Apart from that, the system is quite promising and I'm happy for Pentax that they finally managed to get the camera out there.

There is a 120mm Macro and a 135mm leaf shutter. You also have a 55-110 and 80-160mm zoom.

Sep 11, 2010 at 11:57 AM


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