Pentax 67 & 645 long lenses

[jeffgnass]

Greetings from the Greatland,

 

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I am considering purchasing either a Pentax 400mm/f4 EDIF (P67) or Pentax 600m/f5.6 EDIF (P645) lens for wildlife. I currently have both the P67 and P645 systems and I'm finding finding the P645 format more useful for wildlife.

 

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Does anyone out there have any experience with these lenses. The 400/f4 would work with either my P67 or P645 system, and considering the cost of these lenses, it might be the logical choice. I have used a number of the fast, long telephotos with my 35mm Nikon system, and the wide aperatures (f2.8, etc) are much easier to focus. That is a concern with the 600/f5.6. There are several good ISO 100 films out today so film speed would not be as big a concern for the 600/f5.6 lens.

 

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Any opinions or musings will be appreciated.

 

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TIA,

 

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Jeff Gnass

Juneau, Alaska

 

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gnass@alaska.net

[michael_k._gardner]

I've used the Pentax 400mm/f4 EDIF with the Pentax 67, and it performed superbly. I was using it for portraiture, not wildlife. It is (as you may know) fairly heavy, so a strong tripod/head combination would be a must. I only had this lens for one week (it was on loan from Pentax), but my results were very positive.

 

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Mike Gardner

[patrick_drennon]

I have owned a 600/f4 for about a year and have shot roughly 20 rolls of film with it in that time so my experience is limited. I purchased the lens for sports and can say it is well suited to that application in daylight shooting.

 

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It needs to be supported either on a STURDY monopod (Gitzo 1565 or heavier)or tripod. The lens/camera combination outway the heftiest of bowling balls and it is not blessed with finger holes so stability on a monopod is tenuous. I have read in this forum of suggestions for supporting this combination with two tripods but I haven't tried it and frankly don't have a clue as to how to do it. If shutter speeds drop below 1/250 mirror lockup is an absolute necessity.

 

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This lens could prove to be a pain in wildlife photography from a blind or supported on a bean-bag type of prop due to the method of focus. It has a rack and pinion type focussing mechanism as opposed to the more common helical mechanism.

 

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The lens is also large, Pentax dows supply a well built case for transport (it is only slightly smaller than the Pentax trunk case).

 

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Now that I have emphasized all of the things that I found negative about the lens let me now say that I was initially and am still blown away by the images that it can produce in the hands of a skilled and patient photographer. I say this because, frankly, when I first started using it I sucked. I had enough good early images to encourage me and through trial and error (I live in West Texas so there are not a large number of people to ask) I have improved my methods but I will still muff a shot that would have been a keeper with a bit more care on my part.

 

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I have the 45mm/f4, 105mm/f2.4, and 165mm/f4LS lenses in addition to this one and can say without hesitation it is the most unforgiving lens I have ever used, BUT, when you pull off a good shot with it I have never seen anything quite like it. It is contrasty and as sharp as any lens in the goup. When properly supported it is also very easy to focus (viewfinder images are quite bright). I am hooked on this lens and can heartily recomend it.

[patrick_drennon]

Sorry, must apologize for a lengthy response to a question that wasn't asked. I missed refernce to 645

[roger_urban3]

How do you clean this lens without eventually wearing off the lens coating?

 

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There are wildlife preserves near the ocean on both East and West coasts. That the front lens is very large, and there is no way to shield it from sand and salty mist at the beach.

 

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[by the way, I have seen sports photographers at the beach in Hawaii using a Pentax 67 with the 600mm lens shooting surfers, with plenty of mist in the air. The wild life they were shooting was on surfboards.]

[patrick_drennon]

Concerning the P67 600mm/f4, I live in the Desert of West Texas, we haven't seen rain much less ocean mist but the lens is threaded for a protective filter. The overall lens diameter is 170mm so the filter would have to be in excess of 150mm. I know it must be available but is listed in terms I do not understand in the size charts. If anyone out there knows the front thread size of a P67 600mm/f4 I would obviously like to know.

[steve_rasmussen]

I also have the 600 f/4 and did measure the front thread. It is 160mm. I have not bought a front filter for mine due to the expense and because I can rely on my bulb blower to remove virtually all the dust. I have cleaned the front element twice with Kodak liquid lens cleaner in the nine months that I've owned this lens. My experience with other P67 lenses is that they can be cleaned many times with no noticable wear to the multi coat. Steve