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Fun with the 645D

D&A

Well-known member
It appears to me to be an interaction of the shadows along with the texture of the concrete surface and nothing more.
Hi Charles,

I'm not sure we are refering to the same thing. I'm not refering to the dark sort of rectangle in the lower left corner, but the lighter blue colored jagged edge seen near that dark rectangle. That jagged edge looks like some sort of digital artifact, but I could be mistaken. Just simply an observation. Thanks!

Dave (D&A)
 
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Ed Hurst

Well-known member
Some shots of Sydney Harbour. The pano is a multi-shot stitch using 645D and the new 55mm f2.8 lens released with the camera. The tighter shot was taken with 645D and the 6x7 300mm f4 EDIF lens and an adaptor.
 

D&A

Well-known member
Ed, Nice! The Sydney Harbour Skyline is always so attractive and the timing of the shot combined with the end of day lighting of the sky is lovely!

...because it's different, my favorite of the two is the first image of the close-up of the bridge as sort of an abstract of repetitive detail and reminds me of the childhood "Erector Set" . How was the side and edge definition (sharpness) with the new 55 f2.8 and at what f-stop did you use? Thanks!

Dave (D&A)
 
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tsjanik

Well-known member
Tom

In terms of IQ there is no comparison between the K-5 and the S2 (and I suspect the 645)................

Woody
Thanks Woody; that's the answer I expected, unfortunately.

Love the tight shot of the bridge Ed! :thumbup:
It's a fun camera isn't it?
 

D&A

Well-known member
Tom, as you mentioned, I think most everyone agrees the 645D is a fun camera (for those who that have tried it), yet is capable of serious work when required.

Dave (D&A)
 

KurtKamka

Subscriber Member
Keep posting the shots from the 645D. It's great to be able to see how the resulting images and colors of each of these MF systems differ. Each system certainly has a particular look to it. To my eyes, it seems like the colors from the 645D look similar to those from Hasselblad ... bright and cheery. Personally, I would have investigated the 645D more before I purchased my S2 if not for the lack of lenses with strong performance at wide-open apertures. For those who like to shoot stopped down and are willing to spend some time identifying and acquiring excellent lenses, it's a system to look into for its value considerations.

Patience, might be key for those with and/or looking into the system. Developing a body/back and slowly filling in the lens line seems to be the way that each of these manufacturers is approaching the market. Phase has done a great job with this with updates to their lens line-up and I'm feeling good about the four current lenses now available with the S2 (remember the S2 has been on the market for a couple of years now).
 

D&A

Well-known member
Keep posting the shots from the 645D. It's great to be able to see how the resulting images and colors of each of these MF systems differ. Each system certainly has a particular look to it. To my eyes, it seems like the colors from the 645D look similar to those from Hasselblad ... bright and cheery. Personally, I would have investigated the 645D more before I purchased my S2 if not for the lack of lenses with strong performance at wide-open apertures. For those who like to shoot stopped down and are willing to spend some time identifying and acquiring excellent lenses, it's a system to look into for its value considerations.

Patience, might be key for those with and/or looking into the system. Developing a body/back and slowly filling in the lens line seems to be the way that each of these manufacturers is approaching the market. Phase has done a great job with this with updates to their lens line-up and I'm feeling good about the four current lenses now available with the S2 (remember the S2 has been on the market for a couple of years now).
Kurt, your assesment regarding the 645D is quite accurate from my experience. Although current Pentax lenses don't have quite the peformance characteristics of the S2 lenses, especially wide open...if one is willing to go through testing multiple samples of a given lens to find "good ones", certain (although not all) focal lengths are quite usable near their widest aperture or at the least, a stop down. Those comparing theses two systems must keep in mind though that many similar focal lengths between the two system initially start with their widest apertures a stop apart... ie: the Pentax lenses a bit slower. Therefore, even if all other things were equal in terms of optical performance (which they are not) and a pair of respective lenses from both manufacturers could be shot wide open...the Pentax lenses are a stop behind and so the resulting image, OOF areas, bokeh will be different of course. In addition, edge/side detail in some of the Pentax lenses will also not be quite as good until well stopped down.

With all that said, I am finding the 645D array of lenses quite capable, have many desirable image characteristics, some are quite exceptional, and compared to other MFD systems, on the whole, reasonably affordable and moderately easy to find.

For those that haven't seen Kurt's and many other Leica S2 users posted images, I'd urge you to have a look in the "S Is For Show Us Your S2 Shots " forum here on Getdpi (under the Leica heading)......where some really remarkable shots can be seen taken with the S2 system.

Dave (D&A)
 

gurtch

Well-known member
Dave,

I like all the various elements going on in this image and the sky stands out by using your ND filter. The one thing though that caught my eye is in the area of the corner on the "lower left". I realize there are alternating areas of sun splashed wet pavement with shadow areas cast by the wood piers standing up...yet in the lower left corner, that jagged bluish edge looks like some sort of digital artifact. Any idea what caused it or am I not seeing this correctly?

Dave (D&A)
Hi D&A Dave. Thanks for your comments. I really do not know what the blueish area is. I am posting two more shots. First one is entire scene, but slightly different viewpoint. That area is still there. 2nd shot is of a blown up detail of the area in question. I will check all the files closely taken that day to see if it is in any others.
Dave
 
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tsjanik

Well-known member
For those that haven't seen Kurt's and many other Leica S2 users posted images, I'd urge you to have a look in the "S Is For Show Us Your S2 Shots " forum here on Getdpi (under the Leica heading)......where some really remarkable shots can be seen taken with the S2 system.

Dave (D&A)
Thanks for the tip Dave, some great images there.

Kurt, I saw you first post there, a long-hair German shepherd dog. Love they way they look. Great dogs, my parents had one who played goalie in street hockey with neighborhood kids. He really knew his position and it was hilarious to watch.

I've done few tests at 1600 ISO with the 645D. I hadn't tried that yet, assuming it would be pointless; however, it is surprisingly good. A lot of chroma noise in the blacks, but better than missing a shot. Handheld, 400mm and a very tough situation with the bright background and the bird's black face in the shadows.
 
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D&A

Well-known member
Hi D&A Dave. Thanks for your comments. I really do not know what the blueish area is. I am posting two more shots. First one is entire scene, but slightly different viewpoint. That area is still there. 2nd shot is of a blown up detail of the area in question. I will check all the files closely taken that day to see if it is in any others.
Dave
Hi Dave,

That jagged blue color area is not in your subsequent shots, so it might have been a one time thing and maybe not even a digital artifact. Hard to say. Every once in a while, with most digital cameras, strange things might be seen in areas of "bright light going into deep shodow" transition areas. Other than that I wouldn't worry. I like the first shot of the boat best, from that vantage point.

Dave (D&A)
 

D&A

Well-known member
Thanks for the tip Dave, some great images there.

Kurt, I saw you first post there, a long-hair German shepherd dog. Love they way they look. Great dogs, my parents had one who played goalie in street hockey with neighborhood kids. He really knew his position and it was hilarious to watch.

I've done few tests at 1600 ISO with the 645D. I hadn't tried that yet, assuming it would be pointless; however, it is surprising good. A lot of chroma noise in the blacks, but better than the missing a shot Handheld, 400mm and a very tough situation with the bright background and the bird's black face in the shadows.
Hi Tom,

I really haven't worked with ISO 1600 on the 645D, so nice to hear it's quite usable. It's hard to get a hand held shot of a small bird with a 400mm lens, so if your shot was handheld, detail did hold up fairly well. I assume the right hand shot posted is a crop of the original shot on the left hand side, except you "white balanced" it?

The FA 400 lens, like most of the 300mm 645 lenses is exceedingly sharp. I was surprised that it held it's own against the FA 300 f4 lens. Lovely looking bird!

Dave (D&A)
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
Thanks for your comments guys!

Dave - I am generally very happy with the resolution and sharpness of the new 55 f2.8 lens released with the 645D, though on occasion it strikes me as only 'good' rather than 'outstanding' (which is disappointing). However, I have the impression that this lack is due to autofocus accuracy and perhaps resolution across the frame rather than absolute maximum performance; I haven't done enough controlled testing to be sure. By the way, I also have a Pentax 6x7 55mm f4 lens against which I could do comparative testing but have not done so yet. People speak very highly of the peformance of this lens compared to the nw 55mm f2.8 lens, so that could be interesting (though of course I would lose the AF).

The tighter shot used the Pentax 6x7 300mm F4 EDIF at f11 (shutter speed of 10 seconds, ISO 400). The panoramic used the new 55 f2.8 lens at f13 (various diffeent shutter speeds for the different stitched frames; ISO 200).

tsjanik - Yes, I have great fun with the camera. Very fun to use. I love the screen - this must be one of the camera's greatest unsung virtues. Very clear - really allows good evaluation of sharpness. The only gripe I have is the speed at which it writes files to the cards (though I have perhaps been too used to Canon speeds in these matters). Totally worth it though - the quality knocks the socks off anything I have achieved before, by some margin (including my 5Dii and my 6x7 results).
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
I can confirm the comments above - that, if used stopped down, the glass available for the 645D is very good indeed. Once you get away from the widest apertures, which suits my style anyway most of the time, I doubt very much that you will ever see better results from any system, at least with the best of the lenses. Some of the options available of course are less sparkling; it's a case of researching which are the best lenses you can find. I have been especially impressed by the Pentax 6x7 75mm f2.8AL lens and the 6x7 300mm f4 EDIF, which are simply incredible optics. They are outstanding close to wide open.
 

tsjanik

Well-known member
Hi Tom,

... I assume the right hand shot posted is a crop of the original shot on the left hand side, except you "white balanced" it?...

Dave (D&A)
Correct Dave. The whole image is as it came from the camera; the crop had some processing.

Ed: Interesting to hear your comments on the 67 75mm f/2.8. I have a copy of that lens but I have been so impressed with the 645 75mm FA I haven't used the 67 lens. I'll have to try it. Related is the performance of the 67 90mm f/2.8, which I have found very sharp at 2.8. The only problem is achieving focus where it's desired

The write speed is a problem. If you turn off the lens correction and chromatic corrections, the write speed approximately doubles (down to 7-8 sec from 15 for me).
 

D&A

Well-known member
Thanks for your comments guys!

Dave - I am generally very happy with the resolution and sharpness of the new 55 f2.8 lens released with the 645D, though on occasion it strikes me as only 'good' rather than 'outstanding' (which is disappointing). However, I have the impression that this lack is due to autofocus accuracy and perhaps resolution across the frame rather than absolute maximum performance; I haven't done enough controlled testing to be sure. By the way, I also have a Pentax 6x7 55mm f4 lens against which I could do comparative testing but have not done so yet. People speak very highly of the peformance of this lens compared to the nw 55mm f2.8 lens, so that could be interesting (though of course I would lose the AF).

The tighter shot used the Pentax 6x7 300mm F4 EDIF at f11 (shutter speed of 10 seconds, ISO 400). The panoramic used the new 55 f2.8 lens at f13 (various diffeent shutter speeds for the different stitched frames; ISO 200).

tsjanik - Yes, I have great fun with the camera. Very fun to use. I love the screen - this must be one of the camera's greatest unsung virtues. Very clear - really allows good evaluation of sharpness. The only gripe I have is the speed at which it writes files to the cards (though I have perhaps been too used to Canon speeds in these matters). Totally worth it though - the quality knocks the socks off anything I have achieved before, by some margin (including my 5Dii and my 6x7 results).
Ed, your observations regarding the performance of the new Pentax WR 55 f2.8 lens mirrors mine. I am in the process of writing up a summary of all the Pentax FA af lenses I've used & tested so far, and all samples of the WR 55 f2.8 I've tested performed basically the same....namely that is's a good to very good lens but not spectacular. The sides/edges are actually decent at close to mid distances if stopped down, but as subject distances get longer, the edge/side/corner performance deteriorates. The lens besides being "WR" also is usable in some situations at f2.8 but of course it benefits from stopping down.

As you, Tom and many others have noticed, the write speeds to a memory card is quite slow in the 645D, even with the fastest possible cards and with all in-camera settings that may slow writing "tuned off". It appears it's the limits of the internal processor and this was done as a cost cutting measure, in order to keep the camera well within a certain price point. It's the relatively small price we all have to pay for having the 645D made available at a lower price that it may have been, if they had decided to incorporate a faster processor...which in turn might have required upgrading of other components to a higher price point too.

Dave (D&A)
 
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tsjanik

Well-known member
This is for all of us who have gone through the cold, wet, cloudy and generally depressing spring in the Great Lakes and northeast. I posted a shot of a purple beech taken two weeks ago - last year's leaves hanging on to a dead-looking branch on a wet, dreary day. Here's a focus stack of two shots taken of the same tree today. 67 300mm ED at f/4. What a difference two weeks can make. NB: The white "halo" is not from stacking or sharpening; the leaves have very fine hairs at the edges.
 
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kuau

Workshop Member
Not to inspired, but a few from Dead Horse Point by Moab
35mm A at F13 and 45-85mm FA 45mm at F13

Steven



 

D&A

Well-known member
This is for all of us who have gone through the cold, wet, cloudy and generally depressing spring in the Great Lakes and northeast. I posted a shot of a purple beech taken two weeks ago - last year's leaves hanging on to a dead-looking branch on a wet, dreary day. Here's a focus stack of two shots taken of the same tree today. 67 300mm ED at f/4. What a difference two weeks can make. NB: The white "halo" is not from stacking or sharpening; the leaves have very fine hairs at the edges.
Tom,

I've noticed your lovely images often alternate between the dramatic (the lake shots at sunset) and the serene. Of course both are often elements of successful nature and landscape photography. Interesting and I like the delicate nature of the leaves and coloring.

One question though. I noticed that you employed focus stacking yet if I'm correct you shot wide open at f4? If you objective was to get a little more depth of field, whey did you not stop down some more....or was it to keep the shutter speed as high as possible to prevent leave movement? Thanks!

Dave (D&A)
 

D&A

Well-known member
Not to inspired, but a few from Dead Horse Point by Moab
35mm A at F13 and 45-85mm FA 45mm at F13

Steven



Steve,

Believe me they are inspiring and fantastic shots! Looks like the "A" 35mm 645 lens is working out. Can't of course tell from web sized images, but it appears sharpness extends out to the sides and edges in the pic taken with the 35mm? (knowing this has been an issue primarily with Pentax's 35mm 645 lenses.)

Dave (D&A)
 
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