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Go Back To A 645 AFD

ianjenn

New member
hey guys I have been wanting to get back onto a MF type system. Problem is the higher paying jobs are few and far between the last few years. So I have a bunch of wedding images I need to scan. I can buy a Nikon 9000 for less than paying a commercial outfit to scan all our negatives.

So my next thought was I can buy a good condition 645 AFD for about $900 with the 80mm F2.8. I can use my Ids II as my meter and get the lights all set up. Then shoot with the AFD.

Question is will the Elinchrome Ranger RX AS Speed work fine with the AFD back? I am 99% certain it will.....
 

Pics2

New member
Yes, it will. I used plain Chinese triggers with plain Chinese lights, so I guess it can work with any lights and triggers. It works like any DSLR type camera.
 

ianjenn

New member
Yes, it will. I used plain Chinese triggers with plain Chinese lights, so I guess it can work with any lights and triggers. It works like any DSLR type camera.
Okay cool that may be the way to go. Although there is a P45+ in London selling for $8500 right now on EBAY!!!:facesmack:

THANKS
 

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
Okay cool that may be the way to go. Although there is a P45+ in London selling for $8500 right now on EBAY!!!:facesmack:

THANKS
I think the P45+ would not be the ideal choice for most wedding photographers. This is one of the ways you can get in trouble by just trying to find "deals" on eBay. You could get a pretty good price on a product which is not a good match for your needs.

Speaking as someone that shoots weddings with medium format backs there are several backs in the same price range which would, in my opinion, make more sense. P30+ and P40+ would be faster, provide better mid-and-high ISO, and the P40+ would give better skintones (in my opinion). A pre-owned P40+ or P30+ would run $5k-$11k depending on condition, warranty, accessories.

Just for fun, here are some recent medium format wedding shots I've done:


 

Pics2

New member
Ianjenn, I didn't understand you want this setup for weddings. Doug is right, P45+ not the best choice there. But, I have to add that AFD body is not the best choice for weddings neither. It's slow on AF and it locks up sometimes with newer backs (at least with IQ backs). It's really good for still life studio work, but I wouldn't use it on weddings. DF body is much faster and more reliable.
 

ianjenn

New member
Ianjenn, I didn't understand you want this setup for weddings. Doug is right, P45+ not the best choice there. But, I have to add that AFD body is not the best choice for weddings neither. It's slow on AF and it locks up sometimes with newer backs (at least with IQ backs). It's really good for still life studio work, but I wouldn't use it on weddings. DF body is much faster and more reliable.
I shoot studio for a living. The wedding images were from my wedding. Sorry I do not typically shoot weddings. I actually was thinking of using the FILM camera for portrait and landscape images. Something like the AFD below would match well to a Nikon 9000.

I sold my 645 AF like 3 years back and miss it some...

Mamiya 645 afd Medium Format 4957672060503 | eBay
 

kdphotography

Well-known member
The issue with the 645AFD is that the body is dated, but still usable. And really, it wasn't all to that long ago (<10 years) that I used to shoot entire weddings with a 645AFD and Kodak Portra. It was very easy to dial in Portra for nice dense negatives. Slow but acceptable AF performance. No machine gunning like what you see today. I used a Phase P30 with a 645AFD and it paired very nicely for portraits and landscapes.

Later generation bodies offered minor improvements. The Phase DF was a major improvement in both build and performance.

ken

p.s. If you do opt for the 645AFD, use only Energizer Lithium AA batteries.
 

carl-b

New member
ken

p.s. If you do opt for the 645AFD, use only Energizer Lithium AA batteries.
Ken is that due to the power issue with mirror lock up etc?
I have the afd ii and experienced lock ups at various times with rechargeable's.

Yet now i use eneloops that problem has gone, i haven't had one lock up since starting to use them last december. :)
 

kdphotography

Well-known member
Hi Carl,

The Energizer Lithium AAs solve a couple of problems. Since its release about ten years ago, the Mamiya AF/AFD series and each successive generation (until the latest DF) suffered from power drain on the AA batteries in the body. On early iterations, this wasn't a real big deal as when you had a "half battery icon" showing, you knew you had enough juice to finish a roll of 220 film. Competing cameras were also battery hogs. Later generations on the AF/AFD continued with the battery suck, and this became more of an issue with digital backs in use, and that damned "battery icon" (even on the DF) is woefully inaccurate and lacking by today's digital standards.

The Energizer Lithium AAs hold up really really well to the battery drain---yeah, go ahead and leave that battery tray in the body. They just keep going. Other advantages are they perform better under harsh temperatures and are much lighter.

Lock-up and MFDBs. I don't know how much recent firmware upgrades/updates have solved the camera lock-up/MFDB lock up issue---but I am convinced it was a "power issue." Half battery icon showing? Too late. Rechargeables just don't give enough consistent power and I would not use any rechargeables (except the new Lithium ion battery pack :thumbup:) The Energizer Lithium AAs really helped to resolve this issue imho. The best solution is the new Phase or EJJI rechargeable Lithium Battery packs (for latest generation bodies). Not even close. But be aware that the battery charger is not interchangeable between the EJJI branded packs and the latest Phase battery packs. The EJJI/Phase pack has an incredible reserve of power---I wish the MFDBs had this type of power!!

No new EJJI or Phase battery pack? Then the Energizer Lithium AAs (and an extra battery insert with Energizer Lithium AAs in your bag) is the best alternative.

ken
 
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