Pentax 645 an unusual monkey?

Mr Bump

Mr Bump

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Probably one for @pentaxpete but this camera nevera seems to have a following.

anyone used one.
 
i never owned a Pentax 645 but a Lady member of Brentwood Photographic Club had the use of her deceased Husband's one -- almost un-used and for many years I was on to her to let me check it out as she left the Club for several years then came back but she never got round to it until one day two years ago I was in her house photographing her for a local newspaper about her book on Horse Racing she had written and she finally brought it out for me to see -- it came in original box, instructions and mint lens but NO BODY COVER -- I had a look and it was not working -- I persuaded her to let me take it home . WELL -- you should have seen the state of the BATTERY HOLDER -- all plastic but all CORRODED and it took a long time before I could get it out ( in pieces-- due to the acids from batteries ! ) -- Also the Lithium 'Memory' battery was dead and it says it is a professional replacement -- I gave it back cleaned up as I could -- what a SHAME !!!
 
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They were quite popular for weddings in the USA I believe, especially considering that that the 2nd and 3rd generation models (645N + 645NII) came complete with autofocus and were essentially like a slightly bigger Pentax 35mm SLR.

If I remember the wildlife photographer Andy Rouse used to use one as they did the job better than using 35mm for static/slow moving animals.
 
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they seem to be quite advanced for there time with a big bright viewfinder.
 
I've a 645N. Lovely camera - bright viewfinder and a decent range of lenses for it. The autofocus on the 75mm is also good - pretty quick and decisive. The N and NII also prints exposure info outside the frame. I can definitely recommend them.
 
Cuchulainn said:
I've a 645N. Lovely camera - bright viewfinder and a decent range of lenses for it. The autofocus on the 75mm is also good - pretty quick and decisive. The N and NII also prints exposure info outside the frame. I can definitely recommend them.
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Thanks the 645N looks a cracking camera and very SLR based
 
Have looked at these myself...not that I need any more cameras mind: I'm trying to get rid of them if anything!

They do look interesting.
 
If you do pick up a cheap body, stick up a wanted ad for lenses and message me to let me know it exists - I've a 75mm lens for the system I'd be happy to sell (in the correct manner for the forums!)
 
Cuchulainn said:
If you do pick up a cheap body, stick up a wanted ad for lenses and message me to let me know it exists - I've a 75mm lens for the system I'd be happy to sell (in the correct manner for the forums!)
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thanks mate I will do there are not many about to be honest.
 
If anyone spots one out there drop me a line
cheers

:)
 
Mr Bump said:
they seem to be quite advanced for there time with a big bright viewfinder.
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I thought that you wanted a big, bright viewfinder? As I understand it, the Pentax is nice and bright as prism finders go, but they simply cannot compete with the brightness and magnification of waist level finders.

For instance, a standard prism finder on a Bronica SQ series camera has .75x magnification with a standard lens, whereas the waist level finder goes up to 3.6x with the magnifier and the standard lens! WLFs are the place to be.

I have grave difficulty going back to prism finders on any camera now that I'm so used to the big images seen through WLFs.

Anyway, if you must have a Pentax 645N, here is the best deal I've seen going:

http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/Used/Pentax-645N-+-75mm_86055.html
 
Wow thanks @skysh4rk thats worth serious consideraion.

Im not fixed on anything at the moment. I am exploring 645 format in an SLR style which will work well with my current style with my Nikon FM2 and FE2 I have the RB67 for when time is plentifull and love that to bits but my current FUJI GS645 I just find not fitting my style of shooting . The Pentax 645N seems to fit in my remit quite closely. Food for thought and thank you.
 
That's a good price from lce. One thing to notice is that it's the leaf shutter lens (which is also the lens I have for sale, so I've direct experience with it). This is manual focus and will not work in full auto exposure or shutter speed priority modes as you've to set aperture in advance. Optically it's identical to the full auto version, though with one fewer aperture blade. It does let you sync flash to 1/500 with the leaf shutter or can be used in a more normal mode. Lovely sharp lens with nice rendering, I swapped mine when I got a good deal for an auto one and wanted to be able to hand the camera to my wife in auto mode.
 
Cuchulainn said:
That's a good price from lce. One thing to notice is that it's the leaf shutter lens (which is also the lens I have for sale, so I've direct experience with it). This is manual focus and will not work in full auto exposure or shutter speed priority modes as you've to set aperture in advance. Optically it's identical to the full auto version, though with one fewer aperture blade. It does let you sync flash to 1/500 with the leaf shutter or can be used in a more normal mode. Lovely sharp lens with nice rendering, I swapped mine when I got a good deal for an auto one and wanted to be able to hand the camera to my wife in auto mode.
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wow thanks for the heads up how do you tell the auto versions of the lenses ?
 
Only the 75mm and 135mm have leaf shutter lenses. They'll have LS on their front nameplate. The auto exposure versions are designated A and the autofocus models FA. For the 75mm lenses, I've used all 3 and would happily use any one of them when it's me behind the camera. Nothing to do with quirks - I just know that reading the meter in the viewfinder (to know if shutter speed is too low - the camera works in aperture priority with all versions of the lens) and focussing manually is beyond most of my relatives!
 
@Cuchulainn

Brilliant thanks for the info I would like to get a lens thats fully compatible with all the functions if I do go down the route of the 645N, plans for the short term are will look at moving the GS645 Wide on and consolidating the funds to see how much I can allow as I think this will not be a cheap purchase, may even need to get one from Japan.
 
Cuchulainn said:
That's a good price from lce. One thing to notice is that it's the leaf shutter lens (which is also the lens I have for sale, so I've direct experience with it). This is manual focus and will not work in full auto exposure or shutter speed priority modes as you've to set aperture in advance. Optically it's identical to the full auto version, though with one fewer aperture blade. It does let you sync flash to 1/500 with the leaf shutter or can be used in a more normal mode. Lovely sharp lens with nice rendering, I swapped mine when I got a good deal for an auto one and wanted to be able to hand the camera to my wife in auto mode.
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I spotted this one too, after seeing the one in Ffordes, hehe.

Well over the last couple of days my interest in this camera intensified, as it tends to do when you get that itch...:eek: Read lots of complimentary reviews on the 645N, which never helps either....

Anyway I decided to give LCE a ring to find out a bit more about that camera. Sounded decent, one or two cosmetic issues (bit of a knock on the prism, and some rubber coming away) but nothing too worrying. Was a bit undecided TBH, given that the lens isn't the autofocus one, so was prepared to walk away. However he then said they'd had one of the 80-160mm zoom lenses in today and were going to package it up with the 645N and sell it as a package, for the same price! Let's just say the deal was sealed...

The zoom is the A version, so again manual focus only, but seemed too good a deal to pass up on. All winging its way to me in tomorrow's post (only charged £5 for postage too).

Will let you all know how I get on. Given that it's on 14 day approval, and has a 6 month guarantee too, I'm feeling pretty good about this! :D

Now need to decide what else I'm going to have to sell to balance the books....

EDIT: Just had a look on Ffordes and they sell the 80-160 A lenses for around £250-£300. Have I just got a massive bargain?
 
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TheGreatSoprendo said:
I spotted this one too, after seeing the one in Ffordes, hehe.

Well over the last couple of days my interest in this camera intensified, as it tends to do when you get that itch...:eek: Read lots of complimentary reviews on the 645N, which never helps either....

Anyway I decided to give LCE a ring to find out a bit more about that camera. Sounded decent, one or two cosmetic issues (bit of a knock on the prism, and some rubber coming away) but nothing too worrying. Was a bit undecided TBH, given that the lens isn't the autofocus one, so was prepared to walk away. However he then said they'd had one of the 80-160mm zoom lenses in today and were going to package it up with the 645N and sell it as a package, for the same price! Let's just say the deal was sealed...

The zoom is the A version, so again manual focus only, but seemed too good a deal to pass up on. All winging its way to me in tomorrow's post (only charged £5 for postage too).

Will let you all know how I get on. Given that it's on 14 day approval, and has a 6 month guarantee too, I'm feeling pretty good about this! :D

Now need to decide what else I'm going to have to sell to balance the books....

EDIT: Just had a look on Ffordes and they sell the 80-160 A lenses for around £250-£300. Have I just got a massive bargain?
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Wow.
 
Congrats! And remember, in Pentax's tradition of backwards compatibility, the lenses will work on the new CMOS chip 645D! Only need to win the lottery first!
 
Well done that does sound like a cracking deal, I am also going to look at this model in the comng weeks, I might buy a body from Japan and then look for an FA lens as combos do not come up often,.
 
Cheers folks. I dare say I'll have a few questions for you Brian once I get hold of it!

Out of interest, the same branch of LCE also has a package of Pentax 645 (not N) plus three lenses for £500:

http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/Used/Pentax-645-+-75mm-+-45mm-+-150mm_88125.html

Given what they said yesterday, I'm guessing that the zoom lens I'm getting came in with this lot.

Another LCE branch has the 45mm A lens for just £99:

http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/Used/Pentax-45mm-f2.8-for-645_85753.html

though I've read that's not one of the better lenses in the range.

Incidentally Brian, which lenses would you recommend for this system? Would probably want a simple three lens set (not sure if I'll keep the zoom, depends how bulky and unwieldy it is). Seems the AF lenses are very expensive, and the MF lenses are quite the opposite.
 
Soprendo I am also very interested in where this thread goes and your experience with the Kit.
For me I think the 45mm FA lens is where my focus is on at this time.

Any thoughts on that Brian?
 
Excellent link I think I changed my mind on the 45mm FA maybe the 75mm FA :)
 
Brian will answer better than me but I think they'll work in manual/AP/SP and full programme mode... just won't autofocus. Or have I got that wrong?
 
Hi all,

been a busy day.

The A lenses will all work in all modes, just not autofocus.

I've got the 45mm A, the 75mm FA and the 150mm A and find it a good combination. The 45mm A is supposedly better than the FA version though I've no direct experience. I've also had the 55mm A which was fantastic - very sharp across the frame, but I swapped it for the 45mm for a slightly wider field of view.

If I was to get one more lens, I'd get a version of the 120mm macro -it's supposed to be excellent.

One thing to note is that for tight head shots, both the 5mm and 150mm lenses focus slightly too far away for an uncropped shot, so looking out for a set of extension tubes is a good idea.If you're not doing macro, then just the shortest tube is great for either of these lenses (pentax labels them as a, b and c in order of length. Tube A is the ok one)
 
I saw those extension tubes and was tempted, but thought I should get hold of the camera first before spending more. I did however pick up a 120 film insert they had for £29 which seemed like a good price compared to elsewhere. Assuming I get on with the camera I think my next purchase would be a wide lens, but one step at a time!
 
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