Opinions Needed: Nikon D810 or Pentax 645Z

[JeRuFo]

Nope. My point is on DoF control - bokehliciousness (read: degree of background blur).

Given the same light and composition and technique from the same photographer, the easiest way to distinguish from an iPhone picture is to create bokeh. A kit lens does not have fast aperture so is not suitable for the job. Pentax also lacks fast lenses (and the sensor size is not big enough to compensate the slower lenses compared against 35mm format) so is not good for DoF control either. Actually no digital medium format is suitable for this job. Yes, Hasselblad 300/2.8 may do a good job if someone can manage to adapt it via Alpa FPS to an IQ3 100MP but that is still no match against a Sigma 200-500/2.8. You'll need the Zeiss 1700/4 to beat 35mm format but how many can afford one...

No, you were explicitly talking about the amount of background blur, caused by depth of field, not bokeh. You even said you couldn't comment on beautiful look or ugly look. Bokeh is the quality of the blur, not the amount. A Leica- SL 24-90 zoom for instance is much smoother than almost all the cheaper primes from Canon in that focal length, although DOF is larger in most cases, and to most people that would constitute good bokeh. What you seem to be looking for is maximum blur, ie an almost solid background with as few features as possible irrespective of how the lens renders the subject. The downside to that approach is that although you generally get pleasing images, you often lose all context in your image, which is very important to most wedding photographers and for family shooters as well.

 

[voidshatter]

No, you were explicitly talking about the amount of background blur, caused by depth of field, not bokeh. You even said you couldn't comment on beautiful look or ugly look. Bokeh is the quality of the blur, not the amount. A Leica- SL 24-90 zoom for instance is much smoother than almost all the cheaper primes from Canon in that focal length, although DOF is larger in most cases, and to most people that would constitute good bokeh. What you seem to be looking for is maximum blur, ie an almost solid background with as few features as possible irrespective of how the lens renders the subject. The downside to that approach is that although you generally get pleasing images, you often lose all context in your image, which is very important to most wedding photographers and for family shooters as well.

I do agree with you that there are factors affecting the quality of bokeh, like onion circles, fringing on discs etc. Ideally we want smooth transitions everywhere. However I still prefer to have a lens with stronger degree of blur. That is why I love the 200mm f/2.0 lens so much.

 

[2WK]

I have the 645z and it is a great camera. I love it. It's easy to use, tuff and reliable. But it is huge! It is also somewhat awkward to carry around. Not necessarily by that hand grip, which is comfortable. But on a strap using the factory lugs the camera kind of hangs on an angle against your body and it gets annoying after a while. I guess what I'm saying is either keep the d810 around for that type of scenario...or sell it and get something smaller and more opposite than the 645z. I have my eye on a Ricoh GR....keep it in the family

I recently acquired my new system and only have the 55, 120 macro (manual focus) and the 150 2.8 The 150 is great for portraits, but does have some CA wide open...so be aware of that. The 120 is actually also great for portraits...maybe a tad too sharp but it has a very neutral/transparent look to the files that is quite nice. It is easy to manually focus with live view. That focus peaking is fantastic on this camera.

I hope that helps. I would say go for it, there are good deals on them right now. I got mine through popflash photo and saved quite a bit compared to the big stores.