I have been actively searching for a Pentax 645 35mm FA (auto focus) lens. My purpose is to use it with a Zork Adaptor on my 5D for architecture and landscape and stitching panos. Do any of you have one in excellent or mint shape you would part with? Or any sources I have not discovered yet? Thanks in advance.

You might try http://harrysproshop.com/Pentax_645/pentax_645.html

OTOH, I'm a happy user of Mamiya 645 lenses on a Mirex T-S adapter, including the Mamiya-Sekor 645 C 35/3.5 N - it's really, really good.

jcolwell wrote:
You might try http://harrysproshop.com/Pentax_645/pentax_645.html

OTOH, I'm a happy user of Mamiya 645 lenses on a Mirex T-S adapter, including the Mamiya-Sekor 645 C 35/3.5 N - it's really, really good.

Thanks for that... I have looked there and they list one, but it is outdated listing. I might have to go with the Mamiya or Hasselblad 40. I dont know anything about the mirex... you like it? Any details?

Have you looked at alternatives like the Olympus 35mm shift or using a fixed lens + panohead and stitching software?

I highly recommend the Mamiya 645 80mm f2.8 N, if your going to go down the M645 route...Small, light, very well made, good contrast and very sharp even when wide open...I've heard good things about the 55mm f2.8 N too but dont bother with the 45mm f2.8 N as its a soft lens.
I have the tried the M645 35mm f3.5 fish-eye as well and on my crop sensor DSLR its perfectly rectalinear (ie: I did'nt see a single trace of distortion)...I only took a couple of test shots with it but they seemed quite good sharpness and contast wise.

I own a fair chunk of Mamiya 645 manual focus, medium format glass:

Mamiya-Sekor C 35/3.5 N
Mamiya-Sekor C 45/2.8 N
Mamiya-Sekor C 55/2.8 N
Mamiya-Sekor C 80/1.9
Mamiya-Sekor C 80/2.8 N
Mamiya-Sekor C 150/3.5 N
Mamiya-Sekor C 210/4 N
Mamiya A 300/2.8 APO
Mamiya-Sekor C 500/5.6 LD
Mamiya 2x Tele-Converter N

They're all sharp, including the 45/2.8. The 35/3.5 is rectilinear, not Fisheye. The Mamiya Fisheye is 24mm f/4, and it's quite expensive ($800 to $1200), but has an excellent reputation. The Hasselblad Distagon CF T* 50/4 is a bit sharper than the M645 45/2.8N and 55/2.8N wide open (which is f/4 vs. f/2.8), and they're all about the same (i.e. really good) at f/8. The Mamiyas are smaller and less expensive. The Mamiya 80/2.8N is slightly better than the Hasselblad Planar CF T* 80/2.8, both wide open and at f/8. The Pentacon 6 Biometar MC 80/2.8 and Flektogon 50/4 MC hold their own very well against the Mamiya and Hasselblad. Mamiya offers a comprehensive and affordable lineup, so that's where I went.

Mark Hubsand at http://www.16-9.net claims that the SMC Pentax-FA 645 35mm/3.5 is the best available, and I believe him, but the Mamiya 645 35/3.5 is plenty good enough for me (and I'm picky).

The Mirex T-S adapter is a good solution for me. It has +/- 15mm shift and 10 deg tilt. It's setup so you that when tilt is up or down (the typical landscape use), then shift is side to side, and you can't change this. I generally use tilt with normal and telephoto lenses and shift with wide to normal lenses, so the fixed shift vs. tilt axes really doesn't matter to me.

The adapter rotates 360 deg about the EOS mount, with click-stops every 15 deg, so you can use tilt or shift at just about any orientation. It's well made and solid, but some of the control levers/sliders are kind of small (because they have to be), so it takes a bit of effort to use it - not a problem for me. You can get it with a Hasselblad C or Mamiya 645 mount at the big end, and a M42 or EOS mount at the small end (only M42 for the Hassy mount). I think it's best to get the M645 big end, because you can use it with Hasselblad to M645 and Pentacon 6 to M645 adapters. Unfortunately, you can't get a Pentax 645 to M645 adapter, even thought their respective registers suggest it should be possible (70.9 vs. 63.3mm), because the P645 mount actually extends about 7mm into the Pentax camera, using up all of the available register. I've tried to graft a P645 body mount onto a M645 Extension Tube 1, and it just won't go.

Here's some links for Mamiya 645, Mirex and other MF gear:

Jafa Photography: http://www.jafaphotography.com/medium.html
John Lind: http://johnlind.tripod.com/mamiya/mamiyatext.html
Mamiya: http://www.mamiya.com/
Mamiya UK: http://www.mamiya.co.uk/
B&H list: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/FrameWork/charts/comp_mamiyamed_2.html
Mirex: http://mirex-adapter.de/tilt_shift_adapter.htm

P.S. the 300 APO is awesome. I don't use it on the Mirex.

shirozina wrote:
Have you looked at alternatives like the Olympus 35mm shift or using a fixed lens + panohead and stitching software?
I have done the fixed lens and pano head with stitching software and its okay, but lots of post production time as I use HDR with 3 varied exposures per shot. So, am looking for a way of avoiding all that post production work with a tilt shift. Canon 24 tilt shift did not work as it really is not a quality lens to the edges. Have not tried the Olympus 35 shift, but open to it if I can find one to try. Thanks for the input, all. I appreciate it.

jcolwell wrote:
I own a fair chunk of Mamiya 645 manual focus, medium format glass:

Mamiya-Sekor C 35/3.5 N
Mamiya-Sekor C 45/2.8 N
Mamiya-Sekor C 55/2.8 N
Mamiya-Sekor C 80/1.9
Mamiya-Sekor C 80/2.8 N
Mamiya-Sekor C 150/3.5 N
Mamiya-Sekor C 210/4 N
Mamiya A 300/2.8 APO
Mamiya-Sekor C 500/5.6 LD
Mamiya 2x Tele-Converter N

They're all sharp, including the 45/2.8. The 35/3.5 is rectilinear, not Fisheye. The Mamiya Fisheye is 24mm f/4, and it's quite expensive ($800 to $1200), but has an excellent reputation. The Hasselblad Distagon CF T* 50/4 is a bit sharper than the M645 45/2.8N and 55/2.8N wide open (which is f/4 vs. f/2.8), and they're all about the same (i.e. really good) at f/8. The Mamiyas are smaller and less expensive. The Mamiya 80/2.8N is slightly better than the Hasselblad Planar CF T* 80/2.8, both wide open and at f/8. The Pentacon 6 Biometar MC 80/2.8 and Flektogon 50/4 MC hold their own very well against the Mamiya and Hasselblad. Mamiya offers a comprehensive and affordable lineup, so that's where I went.

Mark Hubsand at http://www.16-9.net claims that the SMC Pentax-FA 645 35mm/3.5 is the best available, and I believe him, but the Mamiya 645 35/3.5 is plenty good enough for me (and I'm picky).

The Mirex T-S adapter is a good solution for me. It has +/- 15mm shift and 10 deg tilt. It's setup so you that when tilt is up or down (the typical landscape use), then shift is side to side, and you can't change this. I generally use tilt with normal and telephoto lenses and shift with wide to normal lenses, so the fixed shift vs. tilt axes really doesn't matter to me.

The adapter rotates 360 deg about the EOS mount, with click-stops every 15 deg, so you can use tilt or shift at just about any orientation. It's well made and solid, but some of the control levers/sliders are kind of small (because they have to be), so it takes a bit of effort to use it - not a problem for me. You can get it with a Hasselblad C or Mamiya 645 mount at the big end, and a M42 or EOS mount at the small end (only M42 for the Hassy mount). I think it's best to get the M645 big end, because you can use it with Hasselblad to M645 and Pentacon 6 to M645 adapters. Unfortunately, you can't get a Pentax 645 to M645 adapter, even thought their respective registers suggest it should be possible (70.9 vs. 63.3mm), because the P645 mount actually extends about 7mm into the Pentax camera, using up all of the available register. I've tried to graft a P645 body mount onto a M645 Extension Tube 1, and it just won't go.

Here's some links for Mamiya 645, Mirex and other MF gear:

Jafa Photography: http://www.jafaphotography.com/medium.html
John Lind: http://johnlind.tripod.com/mamiya/mamiyatext.html
Mamiya: http://www.mamiya.com/
Mamiya UK: http://www.mamiya.co.uk/
B&H list: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/FrameWork/charts/comp_mamiyamed_2.html
Mirex: http://mirex-adapter.de/tilt_shift_adapter.htm

P.S. the 300 APO is awesome. I don't use it on the Mirex.
wow, thanks for all that info. I appreciate it.

I have been using the Pentax 35mm (645) lens on a Zoerk Pan/Shift adapter. I compared a MF Mamiya lens to it on my 1DsII and there was no comparison outside of the center areas. The Pentax was sharp and the Mamiya was not. I have just moved to MF digital and went with the Mamiya system. I was not at all pleased to find out there was no such thing as a Pentax 645 lens to Mamiya body adapter. Most all the pan shots on my website were taken with this combo (and some other pentax lenses). I have sold several 90" prints from three shot stitches.

smhoer wrote:
I have been using the Pentax 35mm (645) lens on a Zoerk Pan/Shift adapter. I compared a MF Mamiya lens to it on my 1DsII and there was no comparison outside of the center areas. The Pentax was sharp and the Mamiya was not. I have just moved to MF digital and went with the Mamiya system. I was not at all pleased to find out there was no such thing as a Pentax 645 lens to Mamiya body adapter. Most all the pan shots on my website were taken with this combo (and some other pentax lenses). I have sold several 90" prints from three shot stitches.
X2

I finally found my holy grail of lenses for Zork shift use, the 35mm Pentax 645 FA (auto focus) lens. It cost me $950 but for me is worth it. I can shift 20mm each direction and pixels are clean from center to edge. And pano shots drop right into place in photoshop auto pano mode, so quick, clean and very very sharp. Yeah! Good luck finding this lens, though as they are very very rare.

Welcome to the high-res Zork club! This combination is amazing for the work you do, Enjoy!

artguy55 wrote:
smhoer wrote:
I have been using the Pentax 35mm (645) lens on a Zoerk Pan/Shift adapter. I compared a MF Mamiya lens to it on my 1DsII and there was no comparison outside of the center areas. The Pentax was sharp and the Mamiya was not. I have just moved to MF digital and went with the Mamiya system. I was not at all pleased to find out there was no such thing as a Pentax 645 lens to Mamiya body adapter. Most all the pan shots on my website were taken with this combo (and some other pentax lenses). I have sold several 90" prints from three shot stitches.
X2

I finally found my holy grail of lenses for Zork shift use, the 35mm Pentax 645 FA (auto focus) lens. It cost me $950 but for me is worth it. I can shift 20mm each direction and pixels are clean from center to edge. And pano shots drop right into place in photoshop auto pano mode, so quick, clean and very very sharp. Yeah! Good luck finding this lens, though as they are very very rare.


Well done! They never were in plentiful supply. I got mine new for about $800 and (as you may know) found it to be far better than anything of its type. I don't know who is shooting with them so loyally, given the effective death of Pentax 645, but they're not being sold in a hurry. To me, the FA 35 is the Zeiss 21mm of the MF world.

hubsand wrote:
artguy55 wrote:
smhoer wrote:
I have been using the Pentax 35mm (645) lens on a Zoerk Pan/Shift adapter. I compared a MF Mamiya lens to it on my 1DsII and there was no comparison outside of the center areas. The Pentax was sharp and the Mamiya was not. I have just moved to MF digital and went with the Mamiya system. I was not at all pleased to find out there was no such thing as a Pentax 645 lens to Mamiya body adapter. Most all the pan shots on my website were taken with this combo (and some other pentax lenses). I have sold several 90" prints from three shot stitches.
X2

I finally found my holy grail of lenses for Zork shift use, the 35mm Pentax 645 FA (auto focus) lens. It cost me $950 but for me is worth it. I can shift 20mm each direction and pixels are clean from center to edge. And pano shots drop right into place in photoshop auto pano mode, so quick, clean and very very sharp. Yeah! Good luck finding this lens, though as they are very very rare.


Well done! They never were in plentiful supply. I got mine new for about $800 and (as you may know) found it to be far better than anything of its type. I don't know who is shooting with them so loyally, given the effective death of Pentax 645, but they're not being sold in a hurry. To me, the FA 35 is the Zeiss 21mm of the MF world.

Pentax shooters tend to hang on to stuff long past its apparent death. If tehy didn't they wouldn't be Pentax shooters, it's pretty much a requirement when using gear from a company that tends to wander off into irrelevancy at least once a decade.

Most of the 645 shooters on the PDML are keeping their gear in solid use.

I have one on the B&S - http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/711106

Sharpest 35mm FOV I have used.

Hope I'm not hijacking this thread but all info is of interest.

I think may have just struck lucky and got hold of a zerok psa with pentax 35FA also...so there is the odd one out there! ( I did try one out a year ago or so but let go of it).

I won't get hold of it for a few weeks, just in time for some important interior jobs, but it's also coming with a hasselblad cf (and possibly Mamiya also) adaptor so I'm looking into my options in the 45 and longer (80-120) options.

Any opinions on the differences in IQ, distortion, etc between the FA and older manual focus pentax 45mm's?
If it does come with the M adaptor is the M 645 45mm better than the pentax variant? (I want the extra focal width so am not looking at 50/55mm lenses)

And then in the longer focal length, macro not necessary, do I go with the pentax 75 (FA or A), the hasselblad 80mm's, Hasselblad 100's, etc, etc...lots of choices there!

marcwilson wrote:
Hope I'm not hijacking this thread but all info is of interest.

I think may have just struck lucky and got hold of a zerok psa with pentax 35FA also...so there is the odd one out there! ( I did try one out a year ago or so but let go of it).

I won't get hold of it for a few weeks, just in time for some important interior jobs, but it's also coming with a hasselblad cf (and possibly Mamiya also) adaptor so I'm looking into my options in the 45 and longer (80-120) options.

Any opinions on the differences in IQ, distortion, etc between the FA and older manual focus pentax 45mm's?
If it does come with the M adaptor is the M 645 45mm better than the pentax variant? (I want the extra focal width so am not looking at 50/55mm lenses)

And then in the longer focal length, macro not necessary, do I go with the pentax 75 (FA or A), the hasselblad 80mm's, Hasselblad 100's, etc, etc...lots of choices there!



No hijack at all. After I bought the 35mm 645 Pentax FA, I studied and bought the 45mm A, 55mmA, 75mm FA, 120mm macro A, 150mm FA, and 200mm A. From my reading, and from my experience, each of these lenses shows extremely high quality optics and construction. The ONLY one I think is mandatory in FA (autofocus) version is the 35. Another plus, is that the manual focus are usually far less money than the FA. I really like the 75mm focal length and it does really well as a macro with either tubes and or bellows. All these options are usually available at KEH.

The Zorkmeister (zork adaptor) really works well with all of these lenses, even the long ones. Of course, I have always marched to the beat of a different drummer, having shot extensively with 8x10 deardorf which I lovingly restored to its 1945 glory, with a reducing 4x5 back for telephoto and an 8 inch Dagor and a 12 inch red dot artar repro lens. Talk about resolution! Digital resolution is a joke compared to large format. Contact prints are sharp sharp sharp.

Yes agreed...my fine art work is still shot on 54...currently shooting some stuff on Type 55...lovely!

Anyway, the pentax zoerk deal fell through (due in the main to money at this end..ther's always some other bit of gear to buy...in this case lighting) so that, mixed with my improved need for tilt, means I'm going the mirex mamiya route...so if anyone has a lovely N version of the 35mm...let me know. (I can always get a zork+35FA set up at a later date)

JC, I know you have tried a few of the Mamiya lenses. Now as well as the 35 I'll be getting, over time, the 55 and 80 macro. I'll also be looking at either a 120 or 150mm also...anything special to choose between them?

Cheers.

Is there anyone who shoot with pentax 55mm and 75mm on canon like 5DII (with zork adapter) ? Which is the best solution for focal like 55 mm 80 mm and 150 mm with a zork adapter ? Pentax, Mamiya, Haselblad or another ?

Thanks

phpi888 wrote:
Is there anyone who shoot with pentax 55mm and 75mm on canon like 5DII (with zork adapter) ? Which is the best solution for focal like 55 mm 80 mm and 150 mm with a zork adapter ? Pentax, Mamiya, Haselblad or another ?

Thanks
I shoot with zork and fotodiox (non shift) adaptors on my 5D mark ll with all the Pentax 645 lenses. I am VERY happy with that kit. My favorite of course is the 35, which is stellar. I also love the 45, 55, 75, 120macro 135, 150. Not so much the 200, but all others are really good and really cheap if you can find them.

Having said that, Hasselblad would work really well at those focal lengths, as well as Mamiya. I chose Pentax due to the availablility of really cheap lenses with great quality. My favorite lens maker however, remains hasselblad, as zeiss as they say is nice.

Zork has been very good for me. Very happy with it.

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