Luminous Landscape Reviews the 645Z

[pinholecam]

Michael Reichmann of the Luminous Landscape, one of the largest photography website dedicated to fine art landscapes/photography, reviews the Pentax 645Z.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/a_pentax_645z_diary.shtml

A careful,conscious review after a few months of use.
Not some enthusiastic "unboxing" " I'm the first to review it " type review.


The highest recognition a reviewer can give.
He buys one.

 

[easyFinger]

seems like a "bargain"! 645 FA lenses on an up trend?

 

[otc]

seems like a "bargain"! 645 FA lenses on an up trend?

Yes that is true. I gotten fa 75 for about 300 plus thru fengwei. The optical qualify is good enough. The new 90 f2.8 cost more than 5K sing. The 90 mm is slightly better compare to the 75 and the price difference is up to individual, but for me, I am not paying.

The new da 28-45 zoom is about 5K or more sing dollars. You can have fa 45-85 and its quality is superb too and that cost about 600 sing, ebay.. You can have quite a large variation of old lenses at affordable prices.

And to JK, LL Michael said, 645Z is for serious photographers:bsmilie: No play play ,huh:bsmilie:

For me, this camera is not auto fire. My mode often M-mode, one shot at a time and flash needs recharging as well.

The high iso usage is great, makes this differentiate from CCD, I guess.

Like to see more people acquiring this beauty.


marcus

 

[pinholecam]

seems like a "bargain"! 645 FA lenses on an up trend?

645 lenses??
I used to frequent KEH to check out their medium format stuff.
They always had a full range of used 645 lenses on sale.
But just a few months ago with the launch of 645Z, I went back to look at those lenses....
All gone save for just 2 lenses....

 

[SyncGuy]

645 lenses??
I used to frequent KEH to check out their medium format stuff.
They always had a full range of used 645 lenses on sale.
But just a few months ago with the launch of 645Z, I went back to look at those lenses....
All gone save for just 2 lenses....

Standard procedure... Buy to resell.. LoL!

Used prices are gonna be worse as Pentax launches newer models of 645 lenses and charges in the thousands, as they serve as a "comparison" for these resellers.

One reason why Pentax need to kill off the current mounts in APSC or 645. Hehe!

 

[detritus]

Standard procedure... Buy to resell.. LoL!

Used prices are gonna be worse as Pentax launches newer models of 645 lenses and charges in the thousands, as they serve as a "comparison" for these resellers.

One reason why Pentax need to kill off the current mounts in APSC or 645. Hehe!

i don't think its so straightforward and Michael Reichmann's review does provide some insights on this - the supply of good quality old lenses is not unlimited and unless u're buying from reputable japanese sellers that have very good "old new stock" or "mint" condition 645 FA lenses, there are risks.

we saw the same situation with the F 1.7x TC... at one time, there was a ebayer selling "new old stock" and prices went higher as stocks got lower until you can't get it anymore. same with the A50mm F1.2...

with discontinued "legendary" lenses, the sky's the limits and it does get pretty irrational sometimes. but for lenses that are being re-released, beyond a certain point, consumers will start to ask themselves why they should buy 2nd hand when the new one is not that much more expensive and has warranty.

if they want to change mount, i certainly don't mind - make it mirrorless. i'll buy a mirrorless medium format camera with a good lens roadmap.

 

[SyncGuy]

i don't think its so straightforward and Michael Reichmann's review does provide some insights on this - the supply of good quality old lenses is not unlimited and unless u're buying from reputable japanese sellers that have very good "old new stock" or "mint" condition 645 FA lenses, there are risks.

we saw the same situation with the F 1.7x TC... at one time, there was a ebayer selling "new old stock" and prices went higher as stocks got lower until you can't get it anymore. same with the A50mm F1.2...

with discontinued "legendary" lenses, the sky's the limits and it does get pretty irrational sometimes. but for lenses that are being re-released, beyond a certain point, consumers will start to ask themselves why they should buy 2nd hand when the new one is not that much more expensive and has warranty.

if they want to change mount, i certainly don't mind - make it mirrorless. i'll buy a mirrorless medium format camera with a good lens roadmap.

Yea... I agree with you but I guess I came to that conclusion if Pentax were to really "fight" with the big boys.

Simply put, they'll lose potential income for up to a year worldwide or until the used market prices stabilizes and people start to realize it la..

And that one year alone, we could be looking at a really huge sum of money from an international corporate viewpoint. This could be one of the contributing factors of Pentax always lagging behind; wasted potential revenue that could be put to greater use. :/

They don't have to worry too much about current users abandoning them because at the end of the day, we all know that Pentax ergonomics and most importantly, idiot-proof UI that beats everything else out there, right?

Go on, use other brand and you'll see what I mean.. Especially the UI and menu diving.. LoL!