Very nice set. I particularly like the images that have a pronouced fish-eye perspective.

Regards
Bjørn

Great set. Thanks for sharing!

Regards
Bjørn

Thanks Kris! I hope slide film will be around for many years to come. There is nothing that comes close to viewing a well exposed 6x7 Velvia 50 slide IMHO. Well, maybe a 5x4 slide is even more impressive, but I am not into large format photography (yet...).

Thanks everyone! Much appreciated.

I used the SMC 45mm f4 (latest version) for all these shots. Although it is not all that wide (about 21mm in 35mm terms), it gives a unique wide perspective, probably due to the 6x7 format. I do most of my 6x7 shooting with the 45mm f4 and the 105mm f2.4 (normal)lens.

I now see on my Mac screen that the shadow areas in the second image has taken a beating in the conversion from a 240mb tiff master to 1024x1024 jpeg. Well, it is sometimes difficult to get good conversions from scanned film to small jpegs

Regards
Bjørn

I have a long term project in learning how to shoot Velvia 50 on my Pentax 67ii camera. This is a very demanding film, the exposure has to be spot on. The dynamic range of the film is only about 5-6 stops, where as for instance Kodak Porta 400 has a dynamic range of 18-19 stops, a much more forgiving film. Quite a lot of my Velvia 50 captures have so far not been so successful. But amongst the last few rolls that I have had developed, there were luckily some images that were quite decent. For these images I set ASA to 40, so that the images would be easier to scan. Scanned on an Epson V750 scanner at 2400ppi.

1. Red Silver Birches



2. Sunset above Trondheimsfjord



3. Shadows on Facade (The Nidaros Cathedral)

 


Regards
Bjørn

I have a Pentax 67ii system, and I have been wondering how my 67 lenses would perform on a 645D or 645Z, with the 67 to 645 adapter. The Japan based British photographer Chris Willson has written briefly about his experiences with 67 lenses and the 645D. For anyone interested, here are links to three entries in his blog:

link

link

link

Regards
Bjørn

Here is an interesting comparison between the Pentax 645Z and the two other cameras that share the same Sony 50MP sensor (Hasselblad and PhaseOne):

link

The ISO upper range of the Pentax is quite extraordinary

Maybe I'll have to sell my car, and take the plunge...

Regards
Bjørn

I see your point. I myself have been following with great interest Ricoh/Pentax after the takeover from Hoya. The future of the top end Pentax 645D system has been quite uncertain, one has not known for sure whether Ricoh would continue developing Pentax digital medium format or not. Surprisingly for many people, I am sure, Ricoh show dedication for this product line. Another element that I find suprising is that Pentax have managed to utilize the latest and largest Sony sensor, and fit it into a very attractive camera body together with technology from the K-3, and selling it for about a third of the price of the competition (Hasselblad/PhaseOne). I am surprised and excited by the way Pentax is moving foreward, the company/brand seems to have a completely different momentum then before the Ricoh takeover.

Regards
Bjørn

Ronnie: The 645D and 645Z will probably remain unobtainable for me, I do not have that kind of cash to spend on camera equipment. But I am very excited that Pentax show a commitment towards medium format. In the "good old" film days, Pentax was a major player in this field. The Pentax film 645 and 67 systems were among the very best systems for professional (studio, model, landscape, etc) phototographers.

Digital medium format has, from what I have read, never caught on, and gained the position medium format had in the pre-digital era. This is probably due to the extremely high price level of PhaseOne and Hasselblad digital medium format backs and cameras. The image quality of these systems, on the other hand, are second to none. Tim Parkin has publised a comparison between various film and digital systems, showing how brilliant the top of the line PhaseOne digital backs are. Even drumscanned large format (5x4) is in many ways beat by the PhaseOne backs used in Parkins' comparison when it comes to resolution and image quality.

Pentax, with the 645D and 645Z, could possibly change the status of digital medium format, by being "affordable" and being priced similarly to the top FF Canikon models. I hope this turns out to be a winner for Pentax!

Regards
Bjørn

I agree. Maybe it makes more sense to compare the "old version" 645D with Nikon "fullframe". Here in Norway the Pentax 645D is now selling at a reduced price:

Pentax 645D: GBP 4.200
645 SMC-D FA 55MM/2.8: GBP 1.100

vs

Nikon D3x: GBP 4.200

Nikon D800E: GBP 2.350

Nikon 24-70mm f2.8: GBP 1.350


Probably will the new 645Z come down a bit in price after some time, making it an even better purchase. In any event, interesting times for Pentax.

Regards
Bjørn