Mamiya ZD road test. Wow

[Guy Mancuso]

Okay found the shots of Jack at ISO 200 with the 80mm wide open at2.8 handheld

 

[Guy Mancuso]

There is a little noise and not sure how i processed ( most likely straight from the box) this but I know it was LR which LR on my M8' is noisier than c1. No matter this can be cleaned up easily but these are lost test files

 

[BJNY]

How is the area around Jack's right bicep/armpit for noise?

 

[Andy Biggs]

Guy, I have shot with other brands of backs, and I have to say that the other backs only get better than the ZD. Yes, I purchased a ZD yesterday and I will be happy with it, but you can only get better from here. I only wish that Mamiya had a 39mp version for us, because the bang for the buck for the ZD is off the charts.

My recommendation to all other digital back manufacturers: replicate what Mamiya has done with the removable filter!!!

 

[TRSmith]

Thank you Guy, for allowing me to peek into your process and learning experience with MF. It's fairly unique to be able to watch a pro "dial it in" and provide this kind of dialog.

I spent a little time over on the LL MF forum last night, looking at the samples in a "Post your MF photos" thread. Pretty amazing stuff and lots of examples provided by Pros and advanced amateurs around the world shooting outside, inside, and in the studio. But Guy's descriptions here help me understand the differences between formats on a level I can understand, with samples that underscore his own discoveries.

At the rate this stuff is advancing, by the time I get ready to consider a change in format there'll be a 4x5 sensor that will work in a view camera in a similar fashion to the old Polaroid backs. Then it will have come full-circle for me and I'll be in digital nirvana! (OK, wishful thinking here, but you gotta have a dream right?)

Thanks Guy!
Tim

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Billy don't have the file but there is some noise there not really bad though and I would call acceptable. I will shoot some in San JUan for sure and see how they look against the Phase.

Andy you absolutely right there are better backs no question I know that but what i like about this for the money is it certainly gets you over the 35mm limit of file. There is no doubt about that. The nice thing is also just as cheap. So I really call this a great entry into MF build the mamiya part of itwith nice lenses which are pretty darn good than make your move up the ladder. In my mind and keeping my cost down under 14k in the used or demo area is the Phase 25 plus , Aptus 65 or 75 although i would like the S in there and Sinar but I need to figure out which one and atthat price point I am little worried there is little there. I could be wrong though. I also ned to look at the P 30 plus . i know the higher ISO are good but worried about the DR and specular highlights how it works out. But i am pretty happy about the ZD and what it seems to be doing right. i agree the removable IR filter is certainly a nice feature

 

[Andy Biggs]

I think I remember seeing somewhere in a newsletter from a Phase One dealer that a refurbished P45 was around $16k. I am not sure which dealer had it, and it was at least 6 months ago. But if one is willing to go back 1 generation with the same imaging chip as the P45+, that is a huge savings to jump into a better chip. I am sure you could find similar offerings from Leaf, Sinar and the like.

I passed on a Hasselblad H2D a few months ago. Actually, I screwed up and missed the final bidding. An H2D 39mp kit that included the 35mm, 80mm and 50-110mm went for $17,500. I am still kicking myself. The down side is that the H2D has a digital back that cannot be used on any other camera, including a view camera. It didn't have a sync port on the side.

My plan is to shoot with the AFDII/ZD for a few months, learn what I need to learn, and decide whether to buy an additional back that will yield larger files for my landscape shots.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Thanks Tim and you are exactly right all i am really doing in all this shooting is just getting dialed in. I do this with every new camera , take the time and figure it out. I think this process and actually posting it for others is very helpful. Hell i may sell it tomorrow but at least you get the feel of this format and see what you can squeeze out of it. As i keep shooting it i also keep thinking where i can use it in certain situations and also when it is not a good idea to use it. First it is loud with the mirror obviously not a great quiet place rig. High ISO stuff is a no no . So i really think it helps just getting out there and getting a feel for it and getting your brain tuned to it also. This is how you learn in my book , we can talk a lot and that is good but get out there and get it going is better.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I think I remember seeing somewhere in a newsletter from a Phase One dealer that a refurbished P45 was around $16k. I am not sure which dealer had it, and it was at least 6 months ago. But if one is willing to go back 1 generation with the same imaging chip as the P45+, that is a huge savings to jump into a better chip. I am sure you could find similar offerings from Leaf, Sinar and the like.

I passed on a Hasselblad H2D a few months ago. Actually, I screwed up and missed the final bidding. An H2D 39mp kit that included the 35mm, 80mm and 50-110mm went for $17,500. I am still kicking myself. The down side is that the H2D has a digital back that cannot be used on any other camera, including a view camera. It didn't have a sync port on the side.

My plan is to shoot with the AFDII/ZD for a few months, learn what I need to learn, and decide whether to buy an additional back that will yield larger files for my landscape shots.

Andy from what I have gathered there is not much of a difference in the P45 and P45 plus except some speed and that is minimal so a used P45 is something to look at also. The Plus seems to be better for the P30 and P25 from what i am gathering so far and maybe Lance or others can shed more light on those differences. The Aptus side of the house i keep getting told to find a S version from friends. I already passed on 2 non S Aptus backs for a great price too. If this thing can give me some speed and ISO 400 i can press it into more jobs.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Just playing around with one of these files look at stuff at 100 percent and the micro detail in them. First the full image again

 

[BJNY]

Gus,
Would you zoom in on the shadows behind the Buddha head?

 

[Guy Mancuso]

You bet . Looks pretty good on the noise level. Crop from 200 percent viewing

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Billy how is that looking to you from your MF experience

 

[BJNY]

Hard to say, Gus, since it's a JPG
but it looks a bit clumpy?

Also, I'm mostly a studio/strobe guy at 50ISO,
so maybe someone else should answer.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

It looks pretty good to me from my 30 inch display. A slight touch of noise but i would expect that given it is several stops darker. Plus I am at 200 percent or more so we need something closer up . Lets see if i can find one in the heavy shadows but a closer shot

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Let's try this one. i pulled down the recovery and upped up the fill here. Than did a crop at 100 percent.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Now the shadows were almost black so there is some real pull up in the fill

 

[thsinar]

Effectively difficult to tell here with this JPG: the noise in the shadows seems little, but what takes my attention is the greenish colour on the right side of the Buddah, as well as possibly some CA in the bottom of the crop, in the flowers.

There is also some moiré in the head details.

Thierry

Hard to say, Gus, since it's a JPG
but it looks a bit clumpy?

Also, I'm mostly a studio/strobe guy at 50ISO,
so maybe someone else should answer.

 

[Jack]

I have to go to 400% before I can see any shadow noise effects at ISO 100. Even then, I can only see it in medium-brightness and even-toned shadows. I do get occasional areas of color moire in brightly lit, high-frequency detail areas.

Have to agree with Andy too -- the other high end backs I've shot with only seem to get better. Not a bad situation at all. Now if I could just find an Aptus 75s for under $10K :ROTFL:

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Here Thierry . I do have some sharpening going on from C1