BJP review: Leaf Aptus and Phase One 645 DF with Schneider Lenses

[Lawrie_Hope]

Hey,

Just thought people may be interested to see this review by Adam Woolfitt for the BJP.

"What do you get when you combine Phase One know-how and Mamiya camera design with Leaf’s latest digital backs and Schneider-Kreuznach lenses? Adam Woolfitt finds out when he tests the Phase One 645DF...."

http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/test/1726948/all

[John R Smith]

Thanks for that, Darius, very interesting. I didn't realise that the Phase One 645 prism was not removable. I have to say, that would put me right off the system from the outset. For me, one of the huge benefits of MF is the fact that you have interchageable viewfinders. On my 'Blad 500s I have the WLF, magnifying hood, 45 deg prism and 90 deg prism. Plus I can remove the finder and use an 8x loupe directly on the screen indoors. Funnily enough, the finder I use the least is the 90 deg prism. It is pretty useless for copy camera work, the majority of still life, portraiture and even landscape. When you think about it, the absolute worst place for a big heavy camera and lens is on a fully extended tripod, which is where a 90 deg prism forces you to be.

John

[ondebanks]

The non-removable prism goes back 11 years, to the original Mamiya 645AF. I too wish it were removable. If we make enough fuss, maybe it will be removable on the DF2?  Seriously, Phase One will have to offer something like that in order to salvage market share back from the Pentax 645D. Removable finders and backs were the main reason why the film Mamiya 645s remained competitive with the film Pentax 645s.

[Doug Peterson]

The RZ Pro IID (which is compatible with every back that would go on a DF) has a removable viewfinder (6x7) and a variety of alternative viewfinder/focusing mechanisms. That is your "big heavy camera" - the DF is not that big nor that heavy and works quite well hand held.

There's really a stunning variety of equipment you can use a Phase One / Leaf / Mamiya digital back on. For nearly every niche application and every desired shooting style you can move the back to a camera which excels at it.

That said I wouldn't mind if a future 645 body featured a removable viewfinder as long as it came at little or no sacrifice in reliability, ruggedness, durability, focus accuracy, or repair costs (has anyone here tried to get a removable viewfinder fixed?) and did overly increase the price of the system.

[ondebanks]

But the RZ can't mount our 645 lenses, so what's the point in talking about it? Even if I splash out money on a whole duplicate (that's bad enough) RZ system just to get a WLF, I still won't be able to shoot anything like my 80/1.9, 200/2.8, 35mm wideangle etc.

And re. "reliability, ruggedness, durability, focus accuracy, or repair costs", somehow this was not an issue for interchangeable finders on older Mamiyas, not to mention Rolleis, Hassys, Bronicas, Fujis, Contaxes, Pentaxes, Kowas...now that really is a red herring. If they need repairs, it's nearly always to do with shutters and film handling, not finders.

[ondebanks]

Just in case...I didn't mean to come across as rude just now, Doug. I can see that you are coming at this from the viewpoint of the back, being able to mount it on several cameras to get the desired camera configuration. I view the problem differently, being more concerned with what bodies I can mount my lenses on to get the desired configuration.  There is a lot less choice for solutions when you are lens-bound than back-bound. That was always a great advantage of view cameras - and still is! - swapping lenses between marques is usually trivial.

[paul_jones]

mamiya didn't make a 645 camera with a non-removeable finder all those years ago to add "weather proofing", or "reliablity", they made it like that as it was cheaper/easier to manufacture.
i think they made a big mistake, and thats one of the reasons they went under and needed to be saved. i hope phase can develop this camera into something desirable one day, as i think it still looks like it was designed by a 3d model student. sorry about being harsh, im just frustrated that no one can make a camera that can tick the most basic feature list. theres alway excuses.

there is nothing unreliable about removable prisms.  i dropped a prism in a stream once (an old 645pro), but i had to keep shooting- so i plonked on the waist finder and keep shooting (early days, i didnt have a spare camera). after the shoot i pulled the prism apart and used the stylists hairdryer to dry it, then used it working perfectly for the next 10 shoot days.
ive owned 10 different medium format cameras over the last 20 years, and never once had a viewfinder issue or heard of one. (although Digital backs have the odd connector issue).

i have two shoots coming up that has a large amount of compositing. how on earth are you suppose to composite something complicated without drawing on the focusing screen? i would say a 1/3 of all advertising has some kind of composite needed. this why i have to use my h1 instead of my canon. ive tried drawing on my canon screen, but its hardly practical. mamiyas would be the same. what has changed in photography over the years that has made a waist finder obsolete? every other med format camera has a removable finder (except pentax), nothing has really changed about photographers need for flexibility.

paul

p.s

on another note, i am very impressed by the new high sync speed LS lens. well done phase!

[Lawrie_Hope]

"I have two shoots coming up that has a large amount of compositing. how on earth are you suppose to composite something complicated without drawing on the focusing screen? i would say a 1/3 of all advertising has some kind of composite needed. this why i have to use my h1 instead of my canon. ive tried drawing on my canon screen, but its hardly practical. mamiyas would be the same. what has changed in photography over the years that has made a waist finder obsolete? every other med format camera has a removable finder (except pentax), nothing has really changed about photographers need for flexibility."

Hi Paul,

Have you tried using the 'Digital layout' option in both Leaf Capture and Capture One, you can change the scale, and opacity and is probably far more accurate than using overlays or drawing across focusing screens.

Good Luck!

[paul_jones]

"I have two shoots coming up that has a large amount of compositing. how on earth are you suppose to composite something complicated without drawing on the focusing screen? i would say a 1/3 of all advertising has some kind of composite needed. this why i have to use my h1 instead of my canon. ive tried drawing on my canon screen, but its hardly practical. mamiyas would be the same. what has changed in photography over the years that has made a waist finder obsolete? every other med format camera has a removable finder (except pentax), nothing has really changed about photographers need for flexibility."

Hi Paul,

Have you tried using the 'Digital layout' option in both Leaf Capture and Capture One, you can change the scale, and opacity and is probably far more accurate than using overlays or drawing across focusing screens.

Good Luck!

Thanks!

i find guessing the angle, then seeing after on the screen seems the wrong way to work. if you do a small detailed drawing on the focusing screen, you can move the camera real time until the angle "feels" right. this is a lot more efficient .
back in the days of massive RZ screens and 5x4s, this was even easier.

paul

[Lawrie_Hope]

Hi Paul,

FYI

http://www.leaf-photography.com/tipstricks_leafcapture.asp

Give it a whirl!

Kindest,

Darius