Pentax 645d vs 5Dmk2

 

<p>Miles (wow, you posted your review 5 separate times on photo.net!),</p>

<p>Your information regarding the Hasselblad H3D in cold temperatures is very inaccurate. I regularly shoot in well below freezing temps with the H3D (and the H2 prior) without any failure. In fact, I did my ice fishermen series on frozen lakes and rivers exclusively with the H3DII39.</p>

<p>I have plenty of other snow/ice photographs, obviously made in very inclement weather conditions. I have used the H2 in temps around -18F, sadly, I failed to function, not the H camera. I have worked with the H in temps as high as 114F, no issues.</p>

<p>The 32 degree temp rating from Hasselblad is the Kodak sensor temp rating specified by Kodak.</p>

<p>Please correct your otherwise good review and thank you for posting it. Be well.</p>

<p>Kind regards,</p>

<p>Derek Jecxz<br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.facebook.com/derek.jecxz.photographer" target="_blank">http://</a><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.jecxz.com/" target="_blank">www.jecxz.com</a><br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.facebook.com/derek.jecxz.photographer" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/derek.jecxz.photographer</a></p>

 

<p>5D owners that sprout the merits of a smaller camera/sensor over the Pentax would be quick to point out, I'm sure, the advantages their 5D has over a 7D with a 'DX' sized sensor. Why didn't you save the money and buy the smaller 'crop' sensor? Of course the Pentax is going to produce better images in the right situation, just not every situation.</p>

<p>let me clairfy what problem i had withmy H3D-39 not the newer H3D2-39, which is a totally diifent back then the original 39 was. sure it used the same sensor, but the colling system, etc was changed, ie no internal fan.<br>

My H3d39 back would no turn on in 17 degree weather. When i contacted haselblad support they told me that system was only rated to'work at 32 degrees. i cant comment on the H3D2 system, i know the H4D system though still rated at freezing does work in cold weather i saw it myself in Yosemite this winter in cold weather.<br>

so i stand by my statement that miles made, that was my experience with my H3d.<br>

Steven</p>

<p>I've not shot the Pentax 645D and I'm actually surprised there are so many comments about it here since (technically) it hasn't even hit the U.S. market as of yet and has to be imported from Japan if you want to buy one! However, given the tests done in Japan and by a few lucky pros here in the U.S., what I'm hearing is there is a new player in the digital camera world and the price and 40mp sized Kodak sensor are going to set a new bar for Canon, Nikon and Leica to jump over.</p>

<p>I do have some experience however in the 35mm digital vs. MF Digital realm as I previously owned a Hasselblad H2 with a 30mp Phase One back and I sold that and now shoot a Canon 5DII. While the extreme weight of the fully loaded H2 (right at 10 lbs.) and pricy lenses made me lean towards Canon, what made me switch was (1) the cost of equipment, (2) ease of repairs with Canon (not so with Hasselblad) and (3) the overall image quality for non-poster sized prints. Canon makes a great camera HOWEVER... two fatal errors will separate the novice (5DII owner) from the semi-pro/pro (H2 owner) and the first is shutter speed! With only a 30 second max shutter speed, the 5dII is extremely limited in the landscape world. The H2 has a 18 HOUR max exposure time on manual shutter mode. Though most would never need an 18 hour exposure, I frequently shoot up to 2 minute exposures at night and in this arena, Canon cannot play! Second, when reaching 30 seconds, in low-light or twilight scenes, the (Canon) CMOS reveals it's one true limitation: BANDING. I would say MOST shooters will like the Canon and find no advantage in owning the heavier, older rival. Only a select few shooters that want to shoot extreme sunsets and go for gallery prints will discover there is a big, BIG difference in these cameras when you begin to test the boundaries of physics. After all, Hasselblad was the camera that recorded the lunar landing on the moon!</p>

<p>Most applications: Canon... just read the MTF charts to make sure you know the lenses you are getting are right for what you shoot.<br>

Gallery sized prints or posters: As they said in Jaws..."you're going to need a bigger boat".</p>

<p>Joe, you're a little late to the party. The 645D has been officially in the US for months with four brick and mortar stores, including B&H, Adorama, Ace and Sammys, handling the camera through official US Pentax distribution. The camera is also available from the Pentax USA online store. Pentax USA also has organized a professional owners 'club', similar to Canon Professional Services, although certainly not as well developed at this point.</p>

<p>I now own a 645d, having sold all my Canon gear, and have not regretted the change for one moment, being fortunate in having a large collection of Pentax 645 lenses from 645n film days. The 645D is clearly superior in IQ to the 5Dmk2 that I owned, particularly in shadow detail and freedom from noise in shadow areas. For those situations where I needed speed, ultra low ISO noise, etc., I backed up the 645D with a Pentax K-5.</p>

<p>One point to correct, the 5Dmk2 can be used for long time exposures with an intervalometer. I've done 2-3 minute night sky shots with a 5Dmk2 many times. But as noted, the noise banding is pretty awful and that is one thing that is totally missing in both the 645D and the K-5 (which uses SONYs new sensor also used in the Nikon 5100 and 7000).</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I do 10 minute exposures with the 1Ds MkIII with no banding, strange that the 5D MkII is so bad. I also use a cable release/timer for any shutter duration.</p>

<p>Charles, so nice to hear from someone that has worked on both platforms. I took a big risk stepping down the from H2 with a dual-back system (film and digital) but felt it was the right decision at the time. My H2 with 30mp Phase One back never showed banding in long exposures; noise sure but the banding... even Photoshop cannot correct that defect! I've heard of people taking Pentax FA lenses and using an adapter for crossover on the 5Dii. I've never tried it but hear it has had some positive results such as sharper edge-to-edge IQ. My only concern there would be focusing at infinity, which I do rather frequently. Have you ever tried this?</p>

<p>Joe, I frequently did use my P645 lenses with my 5D2, with an adapter. Several of them were exceptional such as the P645 35mm, 55mm and 75mm. On the other hand, the Canon 70-200 F4L that I owned was a fantastic lens in terms of sharpness at any focal length. As others have found, certain of the Pentax 645 lenses designed for film cameras, can be very good with the 645D while others are simply average, at best. But there is no question that several of the P645 primes work very well with the 5D2, offering excellent edge to edge/corner sharpness, contrast, freedom from CA artifacts, and physical size and weight that are comparable to Canon counterparts.<br>

All that said, F2.8/3.5 are as fast as the Pentax primes provide whereas F1.4/1.8 options are available with Canon equivalents but for landscape work where manual focusing and speed of use aren't issues, they are great. The downside now is that while the Pentax lenses were bargains on the used market two years ago, the release of the 645D has caused used prices of these legacy lenses to skyrocket.<br>

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