for your needs better phase one..also you can use studio camera.
anyway i think if you program lightroom can be flexible with auto import, also you can use auto exporting in photoshop for stacked images. but maybe you use other software to stack.
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Pentax 645Z - oh boy!
- Thread starter jagsiva
- Start date
for your needs better phase one..also you can use studio camera.
anyway i think if you program lightroom can be flexible with auto import, also you can use auto exporting in photoshop for stacked images. but maybe you use other software to stack.
Guy Mancuso
Administrator, Instructor
I use Helicon Focus for focus stacking works really nice and its lightning fast
also is the classic situation where a brand think to be unbeatable and end up in bankrupt.
ricoh is a giant, has big money, and pentax is a photo brand who makes photo gear for professional in the 70 80 90. it had a period of shadow and now is recovering. the 645d or z is a three years project so far and he's getting better and better.
to produce LS lenses or a digital back for view camera is something they can do in a breeze if they want. but in my opinion their photo philosophy now is in creating an outdoor brand recognized for weather sealing ruggedness and great value. they do the same with their cropped camera.
personally considering that they produced great Ls manual lenses, i don't understand why they cannot do again now, but this is a thing that makes me crazy of pentax, always a step miss to make the perfect system. the same with cropped cameras.
yes. but with lightroom you can easily export photos as advanced object in photoshop and with a click had images stacked. i don't know if the results can keep up with helicon results, never tried. but in my opioni lightroom is very flexible. personally i tried capture one and is probably the worst software i have ever tried. but maybe i never studied it deeply.
for me the biggest ? at the moment is if the cmos can deliver the same IQ, the same image "character" i want to call it, of the ccd of 645d. so far the samples i have seen even from phase one and gassy show that the cmos sony sensor deliver the same IQ of a nikon d800 with more resolution. i'm not saying is bad, just for me has not the clarity and wow factor i see from my 645d files.
Guy, same here, I use Helicon Focus, it's really fast, rarely has issues. I tried Photoshop's version and it wasn't as good or flexible. It might have changed.
I guess as with everything, you have a workflow and spending time figuring out another one is a little annoying, especially if after you research, you find out your original one was best. Time is money, and in jewelry photography, we work with high volumes, so it needs to be rock solid - I've been using C1 for many years… could be just me though.
Everybody has a preferred software - Jon11 you say you hated C1, while many of us love it. Guess it depends on what we get used to and like. Some people love Nikon DSLRs, some love Canon…. to each his own I guess
For automation, I need to manually type in the product SKU for each series of stack shots, then batch export them by the name SKU_ABC-01, 02, 03…. then in Helicon, I stack them and save as SKU_ABC.
Anyways, can't wait to see and hear more about this camera.
__________________
Luxury Product Photography and Video
www.epicmind.com
I guess as with everything, you have a workflow and spending time figuring out another one is a little annoying, especially if after you research, you find out your original one was best. Time is money, and in jewelry photography, we work with high volumes, so it needs to be rock solid - I've been using C1 for many years… could be just me though.
Everybody has a preferred software - Jon11 you say you hated C1, while many of us love it. Guess it depends on what we get used to and like. Some people love Nikon DSLRs, some love Canon…. to each his own I guess
For automation, I need to manually type in the product SKU for each series of stack shots, then batch export them by the name SKU_ABC-01, 02, 03…. then in Helicon, I stack them and save as SKU_ABC.
Anyways, can't wait to see and hear more about this camera.
__________________
Luxury Product Photography and Video
www.epicmind.com
I know a bit or two about raw processing, as I develop software that does it. I would not say that C1 programmers have a great advantage by being friends with the IQ250 hardware designers. How CCD and CMOS sensors work is pretty generic.
That does not change the fact that C1 has very nice rendering, but they could do just as well with a different camera manufacturer, as long as they have a camera to play with and has the file format specification. Assuming the camera is good of course.
End result is still what matters, but if C1 has an edge over say Lightroom, it's because the programmers are great at raw processing and have focused their effort on their cameras, not that they have some special insight into the hardware.
It shall be interesting to see what processing options there will be for 645Z and what the results will be. I've played with the idea to make a converter that converts Hassy H50c and Pentax 645Z files into an IQ250 file, sensors are the same so it should work, then one could see how those files play out in C1. It would probably show once for all that those cameras are not really that different in terms of raw data they produce, at least for shorter shutter speeds.
That does not change the fact that C1 has very nice rendering, but they could do just as well with a different camera manufacturer, as long as they have a camera to play with and has the file format specification. Assuming the camera is good of course.
End result is still what matters, but if C1 has an edge over say Lightroom, it's because the programmers are great at raw processing and have focused their effort on their cameras, not that they have some special insight into the hardware.
It shall be interesting to see what processing options there will be for 645Z and what the results will be. I've played with the idea to make a converter that converts Hassy H50c and Pentax 645Z files into an IQ250 file, sensors are the same so it should work, then one could see how those files play out in C1. It would probably show once for all that those cameras are not really that different in terms of raw data they produce, at least for shorter shutter speeds.
Torger - I have started using C1 after using LR since the beginning. It certainly has more "bite" than LR, although I am sure LR results can be made almost similar, but the RAW converter seems better in C1.
Do they have a policy of not supporting PhaseOne competitors? They don't support Leica S, would love it if they did.
Implicitly (and the relevance for this thread), can they be expected to support the Pentax?
Do they have a policy of not supporting PhaseOne competitors? They don't support Leica S, would love it if they did.
Implicitly (and the relevance for this thread), can they be expected to support the Pentax?
Guy Mancuso
Administrator, Instructor
Rick you hit the nail on the head with just 6 words and what I see more than anything recently in MF is the general theme of all of us. What's this thing got under the hood and many will be looking squarely at it. I think that's great too
Exactly. That's how I feel. Pentax is only 3 LS af modern lenses away to corner the medium format market.
I was thinking last night that Sigma should get involved into the Z system ASAP.
Sigma, do you copy?
Eduardo
I was thinking last night that Sigma should get involved into the Z system ASAP.
Sigma, do you copy?
Eduardo
bensonga
Well-known member
I hadn't thought of that, but it would be a GREAT solution to the shortage of modern designed, more affordable AF lenses for the Pentax 645D system. Sigma is certainly making some outstanding lenses now. However, unless the volume of Pentax 645D/Z cameras sold really increases, I think this is unlikely.
This is a trivial matter, but I wish Pentax had kept the 645D designation and called this new camera the 645DII.
Gary
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Hahahaha! Same here. Everytime I see the Z, I think of Datsun, not Pentax.:facesmack:
That nifty car (240Z) is the greatest japanese product of all times.
Eduardo
That nifty car (240Z) is the greatest japanese product of all times.
Eduardo
This is a trivial matter, but I wish Pentax had kept the 645D designation and called this new camera the 645DII.
Gary
Maybe that's why they used a Z. Most able to afford the 645Z are old enough to remember the 240Z (weak cooling system however)
I can't wait to see upcoming comparisons between the Hassy, Phase, and Pentax. I have a feeling the Pentax with the older generation lenses will be competitive when shooting landscape but fall short for editorial, fashion, and portraits.
And no, I don't think C1 gives Phase an advantage. I get stunning quality using Aperture to process H4D-40 files.
I prefer my Canon files in Aperture over C1 too.
And no, I don't think C1 gives Phase an advantage. I get stunning quality using Aperture to process H4D-40 files.
I prefer my Canon files in Aperture over C1 too.
John Perkins
New member
I gave up Lightroom and switched to Capture One, true.
But I have processed the same file in Lightroom and Capture One as a comparison, and I can make the LR output almost identical to Capture One (with a lot of work, but some of which could be automated).
While I think Capture One is the better product, it is not something I would use as even a minor criteria point in picking a camera.
Jay Emm
Member
Good thought. I am hearing Sigma will be part of the new Leica mirrorless, an interesting time at Sigma right now...
bensonga
Well-known member
I thought I could resist the urge to upgrade my 645D to the 645Z, but now I'm not so sure. I never owned a 240Z, but I sure admired them....although I preferred the BMW 2002 tii.Maybe that's why they used a Z. Most able to afford the 645Z are old enough to remember the 240Z (weak cooling system however)
All things considered, it does seem that Pentax is following the Datsun motto for the 240Z...."Dare to be Different". Thankfully however, the shutter on the 645Z is much quieter than this particular 240Z.
Dare to Be Different in a Datsun 240Z | Petrolicious
Gary