Digital back for 645 AFDII

[rajupatel]

I am new to the forum.
I was and still use Nikon digital. I have recently brought the Mamiya 645AFD II. I am considering purchasing a digital back between P30+ or Leaf Aptus 65. My prime use for 645 is going to be for architecture, landscape and potraits. Most use will be on field use. Not tethered. I am not going to blow up the image A4 size. Can anybody guide me which is the best option for the back?

Is there anyway I can use Nikon or Zeiss lense on the Mamiya? How? Adaptor??
Thanking you in anticipation.

[Clawery]

Originally Posted by rajupatel

I am new to the forum.
I was and still use Nikon digital. I have recently brought the Mamiya 645AFD II. I am considering purchasing a digital back between P30+ or Leaf Aptus 65. My prime use for 645 is going to be for architecture, landscape and potraits. Most use will be on field use. Not tethered. I am not going to blow up the image A4 size. Can anybody guide me which is the best option for the back?

Is there anyway I can use Nikon or Zeiss lense on the Mamiya? How? Adaptor??
Thanking you in anticipation.

I'm a bit biased because I'm a Phase One salesman, but I love the P30+. You can take a look at some test files on our web site if you like.

www.captureintegration.com

I don't know of a company that allows you to put the Nikon or Zeiss lenses directly on the 645 AFDII, but you can put them on a Truewide made by Kapture Group.

www.kapturegroup.com

Thank you,
Chris Lawery
Sales Manager
Capture Integration

[rajupatel]

thanks chris. i have checked out the Phase p30 and the P25. they are good. But expensive too. I have read that Mamiya has launched the ZD back for the 645 AFD which is a 22 Meg back. That is good enough.

Has anybody had the oppurtunity to try out the new ZD back. Appreciate a reply. Thank you,
Raju.

[Steve Hendrix]

Originally Posted by rajupatel

thanks chris. i have checked out the Phase p30 and the P25. they are good. But expensive too. I have read that Mamiya has launched the ZD back for the 645 AFD which is a 22 Meg back. That is good enough.

Has anybody had the oppurtunity to try out the new ZD back. Appreciate a reply. Thank you,
Raju.

Raju:

We have played with the ZD a bit. If you are shooting in a studio, on a very slow pace, and you want something with a little more oomph than Canon, it may be a consideration. It is a very slow performing product. It takes about 8 seconds for an image to show up on the LCD when shooting to card....each time. Think about that. YOu can get off about 8 - 10 shots in a row at good speed, but then you hit a nearly 2 minute buffer. The software is close to un-usable in comparison to Lightroom, etc. Did I mention it's slow?

Now, other than that, it does provide a value. You get image quality that is superior to Canon, utilizes the framing of medium format rather than the slender 35mm frame. You get to use medium format cameras with the advantages over 35mm they offer in terms of functionality. But high ISO (200 - 400) is not usable in my opinion.

At $7,000 for a ZD back that you would put on a MF camera and shooting at ISO 50/100 - as long as these limitations are acceptable - there is a value there. But at $10,000 for the ZD AFD camera itself, I think it's better to consider a demo or refurbished digital back like a Leaf Aptus, Hasselblad CF or Sinarback (sorry to contradict Chris, but there are other products to consider besides Phase One). Refurbished/demo units of these models can be found from the very low teens on up at 22MP.

Steve Hendrix
PPR
Professional Photo Resources
Dealer for Hasselblad, Leaf, Sinar (and yes, Mamiya) Digital Backs

[rajupatel]

thanks a lot Steve. much appreciate your suggestions. I live in India. MF following is limited to professionals only. new product availability is next to nil, except on order. refurbished products are not available at all. probably because the Phase and Leaf dealers want to push new products only. They also deter enthusiats like me from buying refurbished.

All said and done i shoot outdoors more than studio. More people and architecture than sports. I feel speed is not an issue. If i do want that then i use D2Xs. I want to use MF for better picture quality and image sharpness and also for low light details. I am two months away from making my decision. It is monsoon season here and it pours like hell.

Thanks anyway.
Raju

[Spencer.Boerup]

Last I remember, the Calumet salesmen I talked to said that Lightroom ships with the AFD II & ZD kit. Thats what Mamiya used to process the files.

I played with it, a nice setup, but it was a little slow.

[sjprg]

I went to a Mamiya ZD demo this morning. WOW! Canon's 1DS III better be good.
Demo was at Keeble and Shugert in Palo Alto CA.

Test image I shot at rear of store. Subject is an old pallet.
MMFC0384.jpg photo - Paul Gardner photos at pbase.com