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A couple of steam railway pictures shot using the 645D

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
Thought you might like to see some more 645D pix, this time taken 'in anger' rather than for camera evaluation.

Both shot using my Pentax 6x7 75mm f2.8 AL lens and the adaptor. ISO 200. Shot, I think, using 1/500 @ f8. Handheld.

Ed
 
S

Shelby Lewis

Guest
Holy Cow... at least at web size, these files are MUCH better than anything else I've seen from the 645D. And a good photographer's eye helps a lot too. Great shots, Ed... especially like the first one.

Cheers! Shelby
 

surfotog

New member
Great shots Ed, keep 'em coming. If I end up shelling out 10K for a 645D, I'm holding you personally responsible! When are you heading out to Hawaii? My M* 800/6.7 is waiting.
 

Analog6

New member
Nice to see some of your wonderful rail shots on here, I am familiar with them as a rail buff (formerly with ARHS (ACT)). Keep 'em coming!
 
Ed those are gorgeous!
Possible to get a 100% crop?

At the moment, it looks like I'll place a order for a 645D soon! Of course I'll wait for the Photokina...
 

gogopix

Subscriber
Ed,

The feeling of depth again is amazing, and of course you famed for that. But still...

as a Leica Zeiss bigot, I must say that I have always liked the look of the PENTAX lenses, and I think this is going to make P users VERY happy.

all the best

Victor
 
Ed, the photos look fantastic. I too would like to see some crops of the photos above. How is the shooting experience (e.g., ergonomics, viewfinder brightness, etc.) with the 645D?

Mark
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
Thank you all for your very kind comments - much appreciated! It feels good finally to have taken some serious pictures with this new piece of kit.

As requested, here are 100% crops from each of the two frames above. Please remember that these are crops from the processed files (so include sharpening). FYI - because I was in a hurry, these files were processed from the DNGs using ACR. I believe the PEF files, processed in Pentax's software, might have looked better still.
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
Ergonomics are pretty good - these pictures were taken hand held, and I didn't find it too difficult (fast-ish shutter speed required anyway to freeze the movement of the train). The balance obviously varies depending on which lens is attached. The viewfinder is bright and clear, though you do have to look into it fairly straight on (you lose the image if you move away from that a little - but no more so that I consider reasonable). The biggest challenge I had was holding it still in a high wind! Another case for that tripod I am saving up for!
 

tjv

Active member
I'd love to see some samples shot under less than favorable light for noise appraisal purposes. Thanks for posting these!
 

wolf65

New member
To be honest, the crops appear a bit blurry(to me). Just me?
as far as i saw it all the older images were not sharp in the upper right corner.
but we have'nt seen a single image so far that really allows to judge this camera.
i think we got to be patient until someone comes along with a real test.
 

sflxn

New member
Ed, how fast was the AF on the Pentax? How far apart are the AF points? Are they scrunched up close to the center or spread across the frame? Also, hows the balance of the camera? front heavy, back heavy, or well balanced?
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
I totally agree that we can't really judge sharpness critically from these shots (or the ones I posted last week) since they were not taken in a controlled way using a tripod. In fact I am amazed they are as sharp as they are, since they were shot handheld in a very strong, gusty wind of a moving, distant subject. I very much doubt, under such conditions, that any camera could have produced anything sharper. Wish I had had a tripod at the time. The other lesson this has taught me is that shooting a moving train at such speeds, which I am accustomed to being able to do between 1/250 and 1/500, requires faster shutter speeds if I want them to be sharp at 100% purely because 100% represents a much 'closer look' than I am used to and fractional motion blur is going to be evident. The trouble is, so is lack of depth of field on the scene and noise! So the juggling of shutter speed (to stop the train), aperture (for DoF) and ISO (for low noise) is a tough call here, even in good light. It always was challenging, but getting critically good results on a 40MP camera is even tougher than I had expected. I was used to it being an issue on 6x7, but the grain hid a multitude of sins...

As for AF, the only such lens I have is the 55mm f2.8. On that lens, it's fast! All my other lenses are manual focus 6x7 lenses. The focus points I can't tell you about right now since I use the centre point only and recompose. With this sort of subject, there is no problem with this technique since they are a long way from the sensor. I can't consult the manual to tell you either since I only have it in Japanese! However, I will have a fiddle about some time soon and let you know.
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
On the subject of balance, I find it very good indeed (though of course this varies depending on the lens used).
 

sflxn

New member
I can't wait till they finish supplying Japan! Hopefully, the US is next in line -- probably not. We seem to always be last in line for new electronics from Japan these days. I'm predicting US release will get announce next year with availability in the US this time next year. Aside from image quality and new lens lineup, this camera looks like a potential landmark camera for both the MF and 35mm DSLR markets. Will be interesting to see a comparison of IQ from both this camera and the H4D-40 since they both supposedly have sensors derived from the new Kodak sensor. Atleast that's the speculation.
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
Yes indeed. If anyone is based in Melbourne or Sydney with an H4D-40, I'd be happy to meet up to arrange some side-by-side tests...
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
Cool - well if you fancy the idea (and what we discussed before), shall we meet over a beer when you're back?
 
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