Mamiya 645 AFD II + ZD Back

[ericgibaud]

Hi, I am new here. A couple of months ago I swopped some lighting material for a Mamiya 645 AFD II with a ZD back (the single buffer one) with a 80mm 2.8 and 210mm 4.0

I did testing and comparing with other cameras such as 5D MKII, D800, OMD

Mamiya 645 AFD II with ZD back 21mp | Material | photographyvideoblog.com

And I was very surprised that a 10 year old gear was still able to give some fighting to recent dslr

So my question is.... knowing that this gear is becoming obsolete by minute, and I really love the feel of taking photography with it....

1- Keep it as is
2- Sell the ZD Back and get a better back, I do not want to ruin myself, is the Aptus II 22Mb such a difference
3- To finance the price difference I would sell a Hasselblad 500c with 50 and 150mm grip, several backs etc..... maybe I am too optimistic.
4- Sell everything so I avoid price drop and come back in a couple of years time to get more money and go for someting really better.

I would use it mainly for portrait, so even if I kept what I have, I may swap the 210mm for a 150mm as the 210mm is really long for my taste.

 

[ericgibaud]

ah ok, did not see where it had gone, as it says waiting for moderator.

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

If it was me, I'd keep the back and buy lenses. Then, when I had the lenses I needed and I felt I'd outgrown the back (which might be never), I'd consider another back.

 

[ericgibaud]

If it was me, I'd keep the back and buy lenses. Then, when I had the lenses I needed and I felt I'd outgrown the back (which might be never), I'd consider another back.

Thank you, I think this is a good option as lenses for this set are quite affordable.

 

[djonesii]

Loved IQ and very small crop, hated operational ergonomics

Dave

 

[MaxKißler]

Whatever you do, keep the 210mm. In my opinion it's a much better lens than the Mamiya AF 150mm f/3,5 (I'm not talking about the newer 150mm f/2,8). The 210mm has internal focussing and is much sharper wide open. The 150 f/3,5 is a tad soft wide open and extends while focussing (and focussing goes very slow). If you ask me, the field of view difference between these two lenses is not huge either. You should only part from the 210mm if you really can't work with it imo.

 

[ericgibaud]

Whatever you do, keep the 210mm. In my opinion it's a much better lens than the Mamiya AF 150mm f/3,5 (I'm not talking about the newer 150mm f/2,8). The 210mm has internal focussing and is much sharper wide open. The 150 f/3,5 is a tad soft wide open and extends while focussing (and focussing goes very slow). If you ask me, the field of view difference between these two lenses is not huge either. You should only part from the 210mm if you really can't work with it imo.

Ok thank you, I'll take this into account. My problem is the minimum 2 meter distance for focusing.... this keeps me outdoor only for most work. But given the prices of these lenses, I may buy something shorter and keep the 210. What lense would you recommend for portrait and fashion. With my 5D MKII I use 85mm

 

[weinlamm]

To your ZD vs. Aptus-II-problem:

It the same sensor - but some time between. So the electronic should be a little bit better.

If you shoot at bad weather/indoor or very often with longer exposure - than a change could bring you something. In nearly every other situation for me it wouldn't be worth the money.

And for general I would agree with "prefer to buy lenses".
I only own a ZD as ZD-camera - but I think this will stay here for a long, long time.