A new member and a Pentax 645D question

[dougpeterson]

Looks like a great portrait camera to me from what i have seen so far.
I don't really get the concept of tethering for portrait work though, are you sure you guys don't mean fashion work?
I have shoot portraits every day, in studio and on location and can think of nothing worse than tethering.
How did you guys get by with film?

Tethering for fast/easy portraits on location - not usually. Though if you could easily/reliably tether to a iPad I would probably do so pretty often.
Tethering for fast/easy portraits in studio - absolutely. I tried to give a very detailed description of some of the reasons.

I "got by" just fine with film, including portraits with 4x5 and 8x10 film and manual medium format cameras. I got by doing my own processing and printing. But if it was possible during those days to have a 30" Polaroid print magically appear a couple feet away 2-seconds after every shot I would have done it every time.

I could have "got by" shooting to card for the University of Miami Beauty Pagent Headshots example I went into depth on above but the time it took to complete the job would have been significantly higher - especially if I wanted to give each girl the option to pick her favorite image. I was done literally 10 minutes after the last girl walked out the door, which is just about when I would have STARTED importing/naming/sorting/editing/checking/adjusting/processing/uploading my images.

I guess my question is have you given it a try long enough to get comfortable with it and/or gone to a shoot/lecture/workshop where it was done by someone who has?

Doug Peterson (e-mail Me)
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[Aaron]

I guess my question is have you given it a try long enough to get comfortable with it and/or gone to a shoot/lecture/workshop where it was done by someone who has?

Doug Peterson (e-mail Me)
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Hi Doug,
Yes, I did read your beauty pageant tethered shooting example but as i was suggesting, i see as more a fashion/beauty shoot rather than a portrait session.
Portraiture covers a lot of areas of course.
My typical portrait sessions are followed up by a 'viewing' session where the sitter picks their favourite images using ProSelect. Now i understand that if i was working tethered i could do this on the fly, but that would not help me maximise profit on a session.
Being tethered and asking for feedback on a typical session would also kill the momentum, for my working style anyhow.
To upsell and increase potential sales, i need the time to post-process a number of the best captures and present them in their best light.
I don't have an art director looking over my shoulder wondering where the 30inch displays are, I am hired directly by the client who has to trust that i know what i am doing.

Don't get me wrong, if i am doing a product shoot i tether, but that's mainly so i can nail focus. I am questioning the advantage of tethering specifically for portraiture.

Finally, i don't think i am alone in not tethering for portraiture. I am part of a network of pro portrait photographers, some members are pretty high up the food chain in the uk and i just don't see tethering on portrait sessions. Again, Portraits not Fashion shoots.

If tethering increased my profit margin, i would hook it up real fast

 

[fotografz]

Tethering for fast/easy portraits on location - not usually. Though if you could easily/reliably tether to a iPad I would probably do so pretty often.
Tethering for fast/easy portraits in studio - absolutely. I tried to give a very detailed description of some of the reasons.

I "got by" just fine with film, including portraits with 4x5 and 8x10 film and manual medium format cameras. I got by doing my own processing and printing. But if it was possible during those days to have a 30" Polaroid print magically appear a couple feet away 2-seconds after every shot I would have done it every time.

I could have "got by" shooting to card for the University of Miami Beauty Pagent Headshots example I went into depth on above but the time it took to complete the job would have been significantly higher - especially if I wanted to give each girl the option to pick her favorite image. I was done literally 10 minutes after the last girl walked out the door, which is just about when I would have STARTED importing/naming/sorting/editing/checking/adjusting/processing/uploading my images.

I guess my question is have you given it a try long enough to get comfortable with it and/or gone to a shoot/lecture/workshop where it was done by someone who has?

Doug Peterson (e-mail Me)
__________________
Head of Technical Services, Capture Integration
Phase One, Leaf, Cambo, Canon, Apple, Profoto, Eizo & More
National: 877.217.9870 *| *Cell: 740.707.2183
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Doug, I think there is no "right" way here. Just options ... which is what I think you are advocating.

I always shoot tethered in a controlled studio environment using dual 30" screens ... one with the browser, and the other with the last shot displayed. Mostly this is commercial work ... and when the subject is people, tethered shooting provides feedback for the Hair and Make-up/Wardrobe people ... and with a client art director on set, tethered gets you to a final shot much faster.

Private portrait work can be interrupted by the subject wanting to see what they look like, especially non-professional models. It's just human nature. So, I have my studio set up so I can look at what has been captured right from the camera, but the subject can't. This allows a series of shots without the subject rubber-necking the monitors. Periodic breaks in the shooting to review the images does help get to shots that the client will buy faster than not doing it.

However, it takes great discipline on the part of the photographer to not "chimp the monitors" and break the connection with the subject ... and in my experience both as Photographer and an Art Director, that is a pretty rare ability.

I have never used a tethered set-up for private outdoor portrait photography ... mobility to "find the light" is the priority ... and would be literally impossible to shoot tethered for wedding portrait work.

So, you choose your options and pays your money ... which in the case of this camera, sets a much lower financial entry point into MFD.

-Marc

BTW, I think there are some simple features on this camera that the "big" players would benefit from studying and adding to their future cameras in order to capture more market segments than they currently appeal to.

Dual redundant capture to a CF and SD card is invaluable to wedding/event shooters, location portrait work, and even for those trekking off to a remote location for private photography.

11 point AF with wide frame sensor points looks promising (remains to be seen).

A claimed 800 shots on the battery sounds pretty good also (also remains to be seen).

Wireless TTL sync using Pentax flashes.

Tripod mounts bottom and side is pretty cool IMO. Finally, a place to put a radio sender when using on-camera TTL fill, while shooting mobile using off-camera strobes.

Frankly, if I were to step over to a Focal Plane set-up as a supplement to my H system for the work I do, and if the IQ is up to snuff once it's out in the market, I'd look at this Pentax before Phase One/Mamiya

-Marc

 

[Aaron]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY6GdxDyP1w

Eye-Fi demo (in Japanese) but an interesting alternative to tethering.
Since the 645D has two sd card slots, it opens up otions for using one as a dedicated Eye-Fi slot.

For previewing it should be quite fast if you set up the camera to shoot raw dng to card one while smaller jpgs are sent to the eye-fi card in slot two.

The advantages of tethering without the tether?

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Just watch the back during the burst as the previews come up on the back seems very slow

 

[fotografz]

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to slow.

-Marc

 

[Aaron]

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to slow.

-Marc

Yes, but being slow is part of the fun of medium format digital right?

But to be serious, you don't really know what your looking at here, unless your Japanese is up to scratch. Are they the full dng files being transmitted or just jpeg previews? If its just jpegs then it is slow.

EyeFi (what ever that means) works and will only get faster.

 

[fotografz]

Yes, but being slow is part of the fun of medium format digital right?

But to be serious, you don't really know what your looking at here, unless your Japanese is up to scratch. Are they the full dng files being transmitted or just jpeg previews? If its just jpegs then it is slow.

EyeFi (what ever that means) works and will only get faster.

Not fun when working with models by the hour and a whole crew standing there, or shooting kids, or with an Art Director or client on set.

If these were RAW it is Slooooooow, if Jpgs, it is really sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

Otherwise, it's pretty neat and may show what the future may bring someday.

-Marc

 

[Aaron]

Not fun when working with models by the hour and a whole crew standing there, or shooting kids, or with an Art Director or client on set.

If these were RAW it is Slooooooow, if Jpgs, it is really sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

Otherwise, it's pretty neat and may show what the future may bring someday.

-Marc

Yep, just watched it again, your right. Its slow.

 

[tjv]

I believe he says the first lot are JPGs. The last demo is of DNGs. You can see him wondering at one point if it's going to work, he's so bored! Better than nothing if you can't afford the big boys I guess.

 

[aldo]

I wonder if there's a way to work with the eye-fi Jpegs and the iPad... that would be something I would love to have for on location work. The Pentax 645D has 5 jpeg image sizes, so the transfer speed could improve a lot.

 

[bensonga]

I'm not sure if there is already a link to this, but here goes for those who are interested:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-medium-format-645-6x7-645d/105478-pentax-645d-images.html

The full res image of Jessica, the red haired model, looks pretty good to me.

I'd be interested to hear comments on his image from those who have alot of experience with this type of studio portrait photography.

Gary

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I'm tempted to say the Pentax is the modern day ZD in look but I need to see a lot more images and some raws to be really clear about it.

 

[bensonga]

I'm tempted to say the Pentax is the modern day ZD in look but I need to see a lot more images and some raws to be really clear about it.

Hi Guy. Although I've seen pics of the Mamiya ZD, I don't know what sort of look the ZD images had.

I hadn't thought about it, but there is a remarkable similarity between the ZD and 645D designs. I'm curious as to why the ZD never seemed to catch on.

Gary

 

[tjv]

I downloaded the file and for a JPG straight out of the camera it seems impressive to me. Especially considering the cost of the camera itself compared to the other high res competition. I'm looking forward to more forum members getting their hands on the Pentax so we can really see how if performs out in the field. Someone should take one on one of Guy and Jack's workshops to test against the Phase and 'Blad systems.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Love to have one on a workshop. It would be a great chance for some comparisons.