Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Medium Format / Film / Digital Backs – and Large Sensor Photography => Topic started by: msoomro on February 23, 2016, 10:16:45 pm
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I have been a Nikon FF shooter since i started photographing about 5 years ago. D700 -> D3X -> D800 and now D810. My main genre is landscapes and I prefer going wide and sometime ultrawide so most used lens is 14-24 and 16-35. Next most used is between 65 - 100mm focal range. Here is my portfolio http:/irfansoomro.com
I am fighting a serious urge to get into Medium Format specifically Pentax 645z and 28-45mm AW Lens. I have few questions hoping to get answered.
In maintream use, do folks mainly use 645z for Studio / Portrait / Wedding purposes or equally for landscapes?
Q1. For Landscapes what do I get with 645Z that a D810 can not accomplish?
Q2. Is there a resolution advantage going from D810 to 645z,
a. given that even with D8190 i can stack and stick to get very high res files.
b. D810 files also give excellent shadow recovery and high ISO.
Q3. Lack of UW lenses in Pentax lineup. The widest currently available is 19.8mm (35mm equivalent) or I am missing something
Thanks
msoomro
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I have been a Nikon FF shooter since i started photographing about 5 years ago. D700 -> D3X -> D800 and now D810. My main genre is landscapes and I prefer going wide and sometime ultrawide so most used lens is 14-24 and 16-35. Next most used is between 65 - 100mm focal range. Here is my portfolio http:/irfansoomro.com
I am fighting a serious urge to get into Medium Format specifically Pentax 645z and 28-45mm AW Lens. I have few questions hoping to get answered.
In maintream use, do folks mainly use 645z for Studio / Portrait / Wedding purposes or equally for landscapes?
Q1. For Landscapes what do I get with 645Z that a D810 can not accomplish?
A bit more Resolution and DR
Q2. Is there a resolution advantage going from D810 to 645z,
a. given that even with D8190 i can stack and stick to get very high res files.
b. D810 files also give excellent shadow recovery and high ISO.
DR difference is maybe 1/2 stop
Resolution difference depends on the lens / setting / Technique.
Q3. Lack of UW lenses in Pentax lineup. The widest currently available is 19.8mm (35mm equivalent) or I am missing something
That is correct. Also de flange focal distance of the Pentax 645 mount is huge. Mostly lenses for larger formats (6x6 and up) can be adapted so basically no extreme wide angles are available or possible.
Thanks
msoomro
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Thanks Ken
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I'd add in better weather seals, larger photosites on the chip, 50mp resolution and the 4:3 ratio. Plus the second tripod mount allows for turning 90 much cleaner. Plus the articulating screen for low/overhead shooting.
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All this and I would also say that if you compare the Pentax 645Z 4:3 ratio against Nikon using the 5:4 setting you actually end up with a Nikon 26MP vs Pentax 51.4MP
If you need more MP or want to go wider you can do the same as you would with any DSLR and shoot a couple of overlapping frames and use your editing app to stitch
I think there is a lot more to it than just MP and I would suggest for such a relatively large outlay hiring for a couple of days as I did
Some comments here may be of interest
http://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=108107.msg892928#msg892928
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Or, if you like more panoramic views you end up with 42mp on the Pentax vs 36 on the Nikon. ;)
Cheers,
Bernard
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as much as i love my 645z setup, if you are into ultra wide stuff - this isn't the system for you.
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Anybody knows what happened with the Pentax 25mm? In Germany it is not listed anymore. discontinued?
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The 25mm was discontinued, and there are 2 different versions regarding coverage. There is no real WA in medium format until you get into technical cameras. Stitching with the 645z is amazingly easy and I do it all the time in Lightroom - a nodal setup will make it better.
Rent one and give it a try - the files are much better than the 35mm stuff, and will cause you to look at the Nikon differently.
-Joe
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I'll second that.
Love my 645z, but I still carry the Canon and 17/24TSE's for the wide stuff.
as much as i love my 645z setup, if you are into ultra wide stuff - this isn't the system for you.
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Hi,
My impression, without reading the thread, is that there are circumstances where the larger format is beneficial.
On the other side, the difference between 36 MP and 50 MP is not that great. In best of cases you get a 17% improvement.
I wouldn't rule out Nikon coming up with 42-54 MP within a year…
A large sensor is a good thing but a large sensor does not make for a great system.
Best regards
Erik
I have been a Nikon FF shooter since i started photographing about 5 years ago. D700 -> D3X -> D800 and now D810. My main genre is landscapes and I prefer going wide and sometime ultrawide so most used lens is 14-24 and 16-35. Next most used is between 65 - 100mm focal range. Here is my portfolio http:/irfansoomro.com
I am fighting a serious urge to get into Medium Format specifically Pentax 645z and 28-45mm AW Lens. I have few questions hoping to get answered.
In maintream use, do folks mainly use 645z for Studio / Portrait / Wedding purposes or equally for landscapes?
Q1. For Landscapes what do I get with 645Z that a D810 can not accomplish?
Q2. Is there a resolution advantage going from D810 to 645z,
a. given that even with D8190 i can stack and stick to get very high res files.
b. D810 files also give excellent shadow recovery and high ISO.
Q3. Lack of UW lenses in Pentax lineup. The widest currently available is 19.8mm (35mm equivalent) or I am missing something
Thanks
msoomro
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Hello, there is a new 35mm released last year I have read . I am not a Pentax shooter but if this is a new lens I guess it will fit to the 645z?!?? No?!?
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I wouldn't rule out Nikon coming up with 42-54 MP within a year…
By Photokina I would expect Nikon and Sony to have 60+ mp offerings and Pentax will be at 100mp. Probably all at 16 bits.
Cheers,
Bernard
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Hello, there is a new 35mm released last year I have read . I am not a Pentax shooter but if this is a new lens I guess it will fit to the 645z?!?? No?!?
Yes, of course. The new 35mm is also compatible with larger sensors such as the new 100mp CMOS by Sony.
Cheers,
Bernard
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Hi Bernard,
16 bits is a possibility. The new IQ3-100MP seems to have more than 14 EV DR, so it needs > 14 bits.
I guess Sony is a bit burned about all complaints on raw compression so I guess they will go for 16 bits with linear coding.
I wouldn't bet on 60+ MP, but I wouldn't mind being wrong.
Best regards
Erik
By Photokina I would expect Nikon and Sony to have 60+ mp offerings and Pentax will be at 100mp. Probably all at 16 bits.
Cheers,
Bernard
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I wouldn't bet on 60+ MP, but I wouldn't mind being wrong.
Why would they align themselves with Canon at 50mp when they clearly have the technology to go higher?
Sony clearly decided to keep the a7rII at 42mp to keep room for their pro-spec A9. Double memory slot and weather sealing won't be enough to justify the 5,000 US$ price tag, they will go for significant differentiation. 72mp may be a better bet than 60 in fact.
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Nikon Sony and 60 mpix? Why? There current lenses have problems with 36mpix. This don't make sense. If I see the new 24-70mm. It is worse than the older one in some situations. More mpix is not the solution on 35mm cameras. They have not the optics..
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Why would they align themselves with Canon at 50mp when they clearly have the technology to go higher?
Sony clearly decided to keep the a7rII at 42mp to keep room for their pro-spec A9. Double memory slot and weather sealing won't be enough to justify the 5,000 US$ price tag, they will go for significant differentiation. 72mp may be a better bet than 60 in fact.
The flagship cams need to be good at a lot of things.
Expected in the near future for Sony's flagship:
- Improved action-tracking focus, especially with Canon lenses
- Handheld sensor shift multishot
- Handheld sensor-shift focus stacking
- Hi-rez frame-by-frame video for still extraction
- High bit depth Raw video output
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Personally I wouldn't bother. They're too close in spec. I used a Phase One P45 for years, then changed to a D800 and although I noticed a difference (medium format being better) the ease of use/less weight of the Nikon made photography a nicer experience. I now use a Sony A7R so that I can use my Canon T/S wide lenses. Wait for the next Sony or Nikon! :D
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Hi,
Same here. I have also used a P45+, but it was not my main camera. With the A7rII I feel the advantage goes to Sony and I have a lot of options, with both Canon lenses and some T&S capability with all my old MFD lenses. That said, the Hasselblad/P45+ combo is fun to shoot.
Best regards
Erik
Personally I wouldn't bother. They're too close in spec. I used a Phase One P45 for years, then changed to a D800 and although I noticed a difference (medium format being better) the ease of use/less weight of the Nikon made photography a nicer experience. I now use a Sony A7R so that I can use my Canon T/S wide lenses. Wait for the next Sony or Nikon! :D
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Gear in hand verses what may come. The 33x44 51mp Sony chip in the 645z is amazing, will do great things, and is available today, even used. Waiting for some mystical camera to show up, and if your lenses will perform as needed is a mixed bag at best.
If you can swing it, go with the Z, either after renting or finding a flip-able used one. It'll either work for you or not. I happen to find it a lot of fun, more so than the high-MP 35mm gear.
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Hi,
I am not even sure about that flagship thing. It may come or it may not.
Sony, and Minolta before that was never consistent about having a professional line of equipment and they don't have the lenses or the organisation to support it.
Best regards
Erik
The flagship cams need to be good at a lot of things.
Expected in the near future for Sony's flagship:
- Improved action-tracking focus, especially with Canon lenses
- Handheld sensor shift multishot
- Handheld sensor-shift focus stacking
- Hi-rez frame-by-frame video for still extraction
- High bit depth Raw video output
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The Z is a nice camera. I had one briefly during this massive testing phase I went through.
It has a nice bulk to it. It's funny, people complain about size, I am the exact opposite.
I had a few go with a friends A7RII and while the files were nice I hated the size and feel.
Something nice about the bulk!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Gear in hand verses what may come. The 33x44 51mp Sony chip in the 645z is amazing, will do great things, and is available today, even used. Waiting for some mystical camera to show up, and if your lenses will perform as needed is a mixed bag at best.
If you can swing it, go with the Z, either after renting or finding a flip-able used one. It'll either work for you or not. I happen to find it a lot of fun, more so than the high-MP 35mm gear.
Nobody here has ever complained about the Z, except maybe about tethering. That alone is interesting.
Edmund
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Aloha,
I have found the Pentax 645Z to be an absolutely wonderful camera to shoot with.
The Zoom might be a pretty nice lens to put on the front, I've used it briefly and it seems to preform really well, although i stubbornly stick to primes. I do feel surprised with the results of some shots with the older 45-85mm so I might rethink this; great color and contrast.
At any rate I don't think there is much debate that if you are thinking of moving into MF that the Z is an exceedingly compelling choice.
I'd stand by my thinking that you won't be disappointed with your investment.
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Nobody here has ever complained about the Z, except maybe about tethering. That alone is interesting.
Edmund
Unfortunately I got a lemon / bad copy. The mirror mechanism broke 21 days into ownership. I was offered a new body or a refund. I took the refund. Looking back, I'm not sure what I would do if I could make that decision again.
I think it's a great landscape rig where MF and time is ok. "When you need" AF it became an issue with the limited lens selections and decent price tags.
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