Pentax 645 to Fuji medium format adapter?

[gurtch]

Hello all: I now use Sony A7R II and I have a Pentax 645D in near mint condition ( I am an 81 year old amateur). Last December I had open heart surgery, and my 645D is sitting here unused, although I love medium format. I am considering selling my 645D, which weighs 3.42 pounds. The new Fuji mirrorless weighs 1.7 pounds, and I think I might use it more often. I have a bunch of lovely, near mint Pentax 645 lenses, all except one which are manual focus. I might add I have the hard to find split image ground glass screen, ideal for MF lenses. My question (finally): has anyone used 645 lenses on your Fuji via an adapter? How did it work out....is manual focus possible? Last month I had a stroke in my left eye, which left me partially blind in that eye; yes, I am left eye dominant. So, I will need to use my non dominant eye to focus manually. How is manual focusing with that camera, especially using adapted lenses? Thanks in advance.....really want to get back to MF.
Dave in NJ
MODERN PICTORIALS

 

[Shashin]

Dave, I might suggest selling all of your Pentax gear and getting a Fuji camera with the Fuji 32-65 zoom lens. A much more compact system and lighter. The Pentax lenses are great, but I have always found system lenses work better than adapted cousins.

 

[gurtch]

Dave, I might suggest selling all of your Pentax gear and getting a Fuji camera with the Fuji 32-65 zoom lens. A much more compact system and lighter. The Pentax lenses are great, but I have always found system lenses work better than adapted cousins.

Thank you. Good idea, but Pentax 645 MF lenses do not bring anything on the used market. I have MF 35, 75, 120 Macro, 200, and 300 A* with proper 1.4X adapter. Also a 645 55mm with adapter, and AF 45-85mm. But I do agree, native lenses are desirable for sure
F
Dave

 

[D&A]

Thank you. Good idea, but Pentax 645 MF lenses do not bring anything on the used market. I have MF 35, 75, 120 Macro, 200, and 300 A* with proper 1.4X adapter. Also a 645 55mm with adapter, and AF 45-85mm. But I do agree, native lenses are desirable for sure
F
Dave

Dave, from what I hear (and info gathered), the use of one of the high end Fotodiox Adaptors successfully allows use of Pentax 645 lenses with aperture rings on the Fuji 50 GFX cameras. Do keep us posted if you decide to go this route. Thanks!

Dave (D&A)

 

[fotophil]

I do use manual Pentax 645 lenses on my Fuji GFX with both Kipon and Fotodiox Adapters. Manual focus on medium format cameras isn't a lot of fun in poor light. Although the GFX has adequate live video system it isn't optimized for manual focus and it is necessary to play with the peak focus adjustments. Given your eye sight condition I would visit your local Fuji Dealer and try manually focusing the Fuji Lenses. If that is good consider purchasing the Fotodiox Adapter or $150 or so) and visit the dealer again to use your own lenses. If still promising consider renting the Fuji camera for a week and do a lot of shooting. I am afraid that you may be disappointed with the manual lens setup. The 32-64 Fuji Zoom is wonderful and Fuji has just announced 2 more zoom lenses but the lenses are sort of heavy. For something completely different and a lot lighter, easier to handle and more fun to use, consider the Sony A7R2 (cheaper than A7R3). You need to purchase a Pentax 645 lens to Sony E adapter to be able to use your old Pentax Glass. Also a good choice of AF Sony lenses. Travel light to enjoy life and photography! Good Luck

 

[gurtch]

Thanks all. Fotophil: I do own and use a Sony A7R II with auto focus lenses and the manual focus Voigtlander 12mm. I have not attempted to use the Voigtlander lens since my eye problem. Before the mishap, I was able to manually focus that lens, because as soon as you turn the focus ring, the image is enlarged in the view finder. That plus the extreme depth of field made focusing almost impossible to miss. I especially appreciate your advice and comments regarding manual focus with the Fuji. I live on a barrier island off the coast of NJ, and there are no photo dealers anywhere near close. I buy everything from large dealers via on line orders.....BUT THANK YOU regarding renting a body when they are available. That makes a ton of sense, and I had not thought of that.
Again, thanks all.
Dave

 

[fotophil]

With the Sony A7R2 set-up you are in pretty good shape for traveling light and having fun. In truth most of the Pentax 645MF lenses are O:K , on fact some like the 35mm, 120mm macro, 300mmf/4 and 600mmf/4 are very good. Maybe the 120mm would be useful on the Sony since macro photography usually involves manual focus.
I assume that your interest in the Fuji is high resolution. As you aware, Fuji has just released the R camera version of their 50 MP Mirrorless camera at a much lower price than the GFX along with some great AF lens packages. Just food for thought. I imagine you could arrange for a Fuji Rental via the internet. Good luck

 

[MGrayson]

I loved the Pentax 645 120 Macro on the A7II. I now have the Contax and Leica 120 Macros, but I think the Pentax may have been the best for FF use. Wonderful mechanics and optics!

—Matt