The Pentax arrived somewhat late to the exclusive club of medium format digital cameras. Initially, there were Mamiya/Phase, Hasselblad, and the much undervalued Hy6. The Leica S2 came later. Today, both Leica and Hasselblad have their own set of dedicated lenses and Phase One appears to add a new line of Schneider lenses and perhaps even replace their existing line. Newcomers to the Pentax medium format digital world have been concerned about the lack of a "new" digital lens line, sometimes overlooking what is available already.
During film days, the Pentax 645nii was one of my favorite medium format cameras, and I had a huge stable of lenses. Highlights of the range included the A and FA 35mm, the 75mm, the 120mm macro A and FA, and 150mm FA, and the two APO Tele lenses 300mm and 400mm. In the telephoto range, there were also the 600mm A and the P67 800mm F6.3 via adapter. In addition, there was an excellent set of zoom lenses, notably the 33-55mm, the 45-85mm, the 80-160mm, and the 150-300mm. I didn't have the 45-85mm, but I kept all the others. In addition, there were countless adaptations, including the P67 lenses from Pentax' big brother, the Pentacon Six lenses, and the very fine Exakta 66 lenses, all of which were easily adaptable. These expanded the range with a 45mm shift, a 500mm APO Arsat, and the 1000mm Carl Zeiss Jena mirror lens. Macro lenses and soft focus lenses were adaptable as well. The P645 system appeared to have no limits.
I spent years following photographic equipment news listening to announcements and subsequent retractions/cancellations to see whether Pentax would come through. For me, when the P645D finally appeared, there was not only a great large format sensor digital camera, but also a new home for all my lenses and adaptations. I was delighted to see the relatively modest price (compared to the others), the integrated 39MP back, and the user friendly engineering. All of the lenses mentioned above turned out to be excellent performers on the P645D as well. While a savior for my lens collection, the P645D offers advantages also to those who are willing to experiment and add new lenses to their range that aren't listed in the catalogue.
One of the magnificent ways to take advantage of the Pentax P645D adaptability is the realm of soft focus lenses. Last weekend the spring in Illinois was unseasonably warm and the magnolia trees started blossoming. These blossoms are lovely subjects for soft focus lenses. Last weekend I took out seven of them for a test to compare and explore their different imaging characteristics. There are others in my cabinet, most notably the Imagons and Pentax' own 120mm P67 lens. Here I have focused on the seven mentioned below. The Cooke 945 is shown at f/4.5 and f/5.6 and the Graf Variable both in resting position and in fully extended position. Otherwise I'd just let the images speak for themselves. Here is the list of all the lenses employed.
Emil Busch A.G. Rathenow Petzval 100mm F4
Dr. Staeble Portrait-Objektiv Tachyplast 15cm F3.2
Meniscus 180mm F3.5
Hermagis (Paris) Eidoscope No. 4 190mm F5
Cooke Portrait PS945 9“ F4.5
Graf Variable Anastigmat 8.5”–9.5” F3.8-4.5
Darlot Opticien Paris 10” F5
Together, this compilation may provide new insights into the enormous possibilities of the P645D beyond the small range of newly developed digital lenses that are available today.
