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Hasselblad to Pentax 645D

Stan Lawrence

Stan Lawrence

New member
Been using the H4D-40 (35-90 and 150) for a little over a year, here's the pros and cons. Pros-Files are great, lenses are very sharp, leaf shutter. Cons-Weight, focus speed. I had a chance to try the Pentax 645D and was very impressed with the weight and focus speed. I can live without the leaf shutter, I just need a file with enough resolution to go to a 40 or 50 in print. The question is, have any of you compared the two, used them both, have any input on image quality? The Pentax lenses I'd use would likely be the new 90 and 55. As to work, I do family portraits exclusively, on the beach and in the studio, thanks.
 
M

mmbma

Active member
Why not consider moving to Leica S2? Even it is older than P645d it is still very competitive. A used S2+75mm in great condition could be had for less than the cost of the P645D+ lenses
 
Hulyss Bowman

Hulyss Bowman

Active member
mmbma said:
Why not consider moving to Leica S2? Even it is older than P645d it is still very competitive. A used S2+75mm in great condition could be had for less than the cost of the P645D+ lenses
Click to expand...
:eek: I don't think so ;)

PS: I would had : "Hell !! No !!"
 
S

Stan ROX

Member
Stan Lawrence said:
Been using the H4D-40 (35-90 and 150) for a little over a year, here's the pros and cons. Pros-Files are great, lenses are very sharp, leaf shutter. Cons-Weight, focus speed. I had a chance to try the Pentax 645D and was very impressed with the weight and focus speed. I can live without the leaf shutter, I just need a file with enough resolution to go to a 40 or 50 in print. The question is, have any of you compared the two, used them both, have any input on image quality? The Pentax lenses I'd use would likely be the new 90 and 55. As to work, I do family portraits exclusively, on the beach and in the studio, thanks.
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I had the 645d in rent for 10 days total. Great picture quality, but I would not think switching just for size and weight.

Why do you own a zoom and want to buy fiexed lenes for the Penax? Get yourself the 80mm. In my opinion, thw most versatile lens in the whole lineup.

You'll loose all the whizz - TrueFocus, DAC, etc etc. Read my thread about the question "Hasselblad to Leica S?" In this forum - te same is true for your qeustion, afaik.

Cheers

S.
 
T

tsjanik

Well-known member
Shashin

Shashin

Well-known member
I can't give you any feedback on Hasselblad lenses vs. Pentax lenses as I have not shot MFD Hasselblad. The 55mm is my favorite lens on the 645D. It is a great normal. The 90mm is new and there is not a lot out there about it. The 120 Macro, both AF and MF, is considered to be one of the sharpest lenses around, regardless of manufacturer or format.

I have shot mostly medium-format and large-format in my career. I find nothing wanting in my Pentax optics.

BTW, you can get a Haselblad V adapter for the 645D, but stop-down metering. I adapter a 67 Pentax lens to the 645D, but preferred the native Pentax 645 lenses because of control and exposure--an adapted lens can only use center-weighted metering.

I have made 50" print from my 645D and they are very, very nice.
 
T

tsjanik

Well-known member
First review of the Pentax 90mm I've seen is in all places PCMag; in any event they like it:

"I used Imatest to check lens sharpness when paired with the 645D. Even at f/2.8, the lens keeps up with the camera's 40-megapixel image sensor. It records 3,276 lines per picture height at the maximum aperture, nearly double the 1,800 lines we use to qualify an image as acceptably sharp. Stopping down doesn't improve performance—it stays about the same until f/16, where diffraction starts to detract from the quality of images. There is virtually no distortion, as is expected of a macro lens."

Pentax HD D FA 645 Macro 90mm F2.8 ED AW SR Review & Rating | PCMag.com
 
D

D&A

Well-known member
Stan,

Just don'r rely on the 90mm and 55mm becuase they are new and released at the time of after the 645D was released. So many great pentax 645 lenses to use with the 645D and at a fraction of those lenses cots...such as the 120 f4 macro Shashin and others mentioned. I had a chance to briefly test the new 90mm (but not enough to post a statement about its performance in my comprehensive 645 lens tests I posted here on getdpi some time ago). The new 90 is extremely impressive but possibly to sharp for gentle portrait work and only 1:2 for macro. Lovely bokeh and superb microcontrast and colors. The 120 f4 macro si superb, especially for 1:1 macro and the olderer 150mm f2.8 has a gentle drawing for portarit use..and both together could be had for approx 1/4 the price of the 90mm alone.

Dave (D&A)
 
Stan Lawrence

Stan Lawrence

New member
Stan ROX said:
I had the 645d in rent for 10 days total. Great picture quality, but I would not think switching just for size and weight.

Why do you own a zoom and want to buy fiexed lenes for the Penax? Get yourself the 80mm. In my opinion, thw most versatile lens in the whole lineup.

You'll loose all the whizz - TrueFocus, DAC, etc etc. Read my thread about the question "Hasselblad to Leica S?" In this forum - te same is true for your qeustion, afaik.

Cheers

S.
Click to expand...
Stan, I did read your thread, interesting info. I was staying with the newer Pentax lenses, (not a big fan of used gear for work) which for my work is the 55 and 90. I use a zoom now to allow cropping with the zoom, rather than moving. With the Pentax, I'd have to be a little more precise with setup. If the file quality is the same, the weight and focus points would be worthwhile.
 
F

fotografz

Well-known member
Whew, that's an expensive swap you are considering Stan. Even though the Pentax is at an attractive price point, what you lose by selling the H4D/40 has to have an over-all impact I would think.

It seems you are not making a true comparison ... comparisons to the Pentax 55 and 90 should be the HC-50-II and HC-100/2.2 in lieu of what you are now using ... that zoom is indeed heavy and slower focusing due to the size of the glass that it's moving and dimmer max aperture. Selling the expensive zoom and 150 should pay for the 50-II and 100.

I can tell you that the new HC- 50-II is unbeatable, and the 100/2.2 is unmatched for selective focus work. Now there is a Close-Up adapter that's been optimized for the 50-II that opens up all sorts of new creative opportunities. These two HC lenses are my mainstay people optics. Both these lenses focus much faster than the zoom, and even faster than the 150.

As to over-all weight, the H body is 2 lbs more ... but I'd be sure to compare collective weight including comparable lenses ... after all, you won't be carrying the body alone ;)

Be sure to compare viewfinder brightness using comparable lenses ... some S2 users thought their viewfinder to be brighter than the H camera's ... I have both cameras and put the same Hasselblad 100mm lens on both bodies and the H viewfinder is not only visibly brighter, it is more neutral.

I do a fair amount of outdoor portraits, and even wedding formals with the H, and I simply couldn't live without leaf shutter lenses, even just using fill flash ... it provides better control of the backgrounds and skies. 1/125th is just to slow of a sync speed for me on a beach or bright location. However, that may not be as important to you.

I've also found that the H camera can be usable at much lower hand-held shutter speeds than any focal plane shutter MFD camera, including the highly dampened Leica S2. The combination of leaf shutter and setting the mirror delay option on the H camera really makes a huge difference in available light.

To each their own.

Good luck which ever way you go. :thumbup:

-Marc
 
Shashin

Shashin

Well-known member
Marc, since you never used a Pentax 645D, a couple of points. It is significantly lighter than an H--I have used an H and they are really heavy. The viewfinder between the H and 645D is night and day--the 645D is much larger and brighter and has better information. The Pentax shutter is well dampened--there is more to MFDSLRs than that Mamiya camera. That is not saying the H isn't a great camera, but those are reasons to change.

The economics is rather a red herring.
 
Godfrey

Godfrey

Well-known member
If the Pentax 645D inherits the same mirror/shutter damping system as my old Pentax 645 had, I don't think shutter-induced camera vibration is of any important significance. Although the P645 was not particularly quiet in operation, it was eerily vibrationless and allowed me to make very sharp, hand-held photos at 1/15 second even with the 120mm macro lens.

(The manual focus version of the 35mm lens was my favorite lens on the P645, followed by the 120 Macro.)
 
T

tsjanik

Well-known member
Godfrey said:
If the Pentax 645D inherits the same mirror/shutter damping system as my old Pentax 645 had, I don't think shutter-induced camera vibration is of any important significance. Although the P645 was not particularly quiet in operation, it was eerily vibrationless and allowed me to make very sharp, hand-held photos at 1/15 second even with the 120mm macro lens.

(The manual focus version of the 35mm lens was my favorite lens on the P645, followed by the 120 Macro.)
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Godfrey, you just listed two of the best lenses for the 645D. The shutter of the 645D is a siren's song; the 645 a banshee scream (really that was the motor drive's fault).
 
Guy Mancuso

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Stan Lawrence said:
Been using the H4D-40 (35-90 and 150) for a little over a year, here's the pros and cons. Pros-Files are great, lenses are very sharp, leaf shutter. Cons-Weight, focus speed. I had a chance to try the Pentax 645D and was very impressed with the weight and focus speed. I can live without the leaf shutter, I just need a file with enough resolution to go to a 40 or 50 in print. The question is, have any of you compared the two, used them both, have any input on image quality? The Pentax lenses I'd use would likely be the new 90 and 55. As to work, I do family portraits exclusively, on the beach and in the studio, thanks.
Click to expand...
The one thing you mentioned here is sync speed and leaf lenses. You realize the Pentax is only 1/125 of a second and given beach shots in full sun you would not want a higher sync speed for flash fill in. This alone at 1/125 would stop me in my tracks. At least something like a Nikon is 1/250 which is even hard sometimes for fill flash that one stop difference could be a real issue. I had this on my Phase bodies before getting my leaf shuttered lenses and it was tough to deal with sometimes. Of course I have really nasty bright sun here so immediately living in he desert I have a issue with fill flash.

I can see why you may want to switch to the Pentax though and not to take away from that but not sure I would give up a Hassy for it and take a pretty big loss. But for me the 1/125 th flash sync is a problem and not sure I would trade down for the Pentax. That's me though. You also take away any future tech cam ability. Personally I buy systems for abilities beyond immediate needs since I'm always faced with gigs that might be beyond what I am used to shooting. Than there is backup and service and repair which is always a big consideration. Like the S2 the Pentax has no natural backup body except another one. All things to just sit down with and do a Pro and Con list and see what makes the most sense in the end. To me weight is what it is and don't care with my primary system what that may be, im getting paid to bust my ***. LOL
Secondary and backup I do care but primary is the workhorse so yes lighter would be nice but you don't want to give up other things either. Obviously not easy calls and suggest renting the Pentax and put it to work and test it out.
 
Stan Lawrence

Stan Lawrence

New member
Guy Mancuso said:
The one thing you mentioned here is sync speed and leaf lenses. You realize the Pentax is only 1/125 of a second and given beach shots in full sun you would not want a higher sync speed for flash fill in. This alone at 1/125 would stop me in my tracks. At least something like a Nikon is 1/250 which is even hard sometimes for fill flash that one stop difference could be a real issue. I had this on my Phase bodies before getting my leaf shuttered lenses and it was tough to deal with sometimes. Of course I have really nasty bright sun here so immediately living in he desert I have a issue with fill flash.

I can see why you may want to switch to the Pentax though and not to take away from that but not sure I would give up a Hassy for it and take a pretty big loss. But for me the 1/125 th flash sync is a problem and not sure I would trade down for the Pentax. That's me though. You also take away any future tech cam ability. Personally I buy systems for abilities beyond immediate needs since I'm always faced with gigs that might be beyond what I am used to shooting. Than there is backup and service and repair which is always a big consideration. Like the S2 the Pentax has no natural backup body except another one. All things to just sit down with and do a Pro and Con list and see what makes the most sense in the end. To me weight is what it is and don't care with my primary system what that may be, im getting paid to bust my ***. LOL
Secondary and backup I do care but primary is the workhorse so yes lighter would be nice but you don't want to give up other things either. Obviously not easy calls and suggest renting the Pentax and put it to work and test it out.
Click to expand...
My work is a little more predictable.... I'm on the beach an hour before sunset, so flash is rare. The backup/repair issue is a big one, although the H4D has been pretty dependable. I'm leaning toward getting the Pentax, and keeping the H4D until I'm sure it will do the job. I'll lose on the sale, although I'll likely pay for the Pentax and have cash left over....
 
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