# Shooting with a Mamiya 645 AFD



## Sw1tchFX (Apr 24, 2011)

I'm sure there's many people who have shot the 6x4.5 format, i've been shooting with my F100 a ton lately (and been enjoying the process more than digital 0_0), and i'm curious about shooting medium format. 

Recently i've only shot Medium Format digital on a Hasselblad, but I don't like the ergonomics, or square format (for film) that Hasselblad's have. Which brings me to the 645 format. 

I played around with a Mamiya 645 AFD about a year ago and thought it was a neat machine. You can find them for real cheap too with film backs and lenses too. 

My question for the seasoned film shooters here, is there a significant difference in tonality and grain, going from 35mm to 645? i've heard there is, and that there isn't.

I'm thinking on either purchasing a Nikon F6 or Mamiya 645AF in the next year or so. i love the potability of the small format cameras and my new Nikon G primes look amazing on 35mm, but the grain is just massive and the tonality often gets a little lost in the grain. Most of my photos go online, but when i do print, my average print size is 12x18-16x24


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## djacobox372 (Apr 25, 2011)

I have a 645 tl pro, and I can attest to a significant improvement in resolution and smoothness of gradients. I only shoot small format film when I want that film look at the sacrifice of resolution (compared to my dslr) but with the 645 I am not sacrificing resolution--it's higher res then any small format dslr.

60x45mm is much larger then 36x24mm the same as the difference between a 12 and 38 megapixels.

Personally I'd recommend the manual focus mamiyas, as the lenses are a lot cheaper


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## Sw1tchFX (May 2, 2011)

Thanks for the reply, i've been really busy this week and forgot about this!

The thing about the manual focus mamiyas that made me look into the AF bodies is the ergonomics, and my lousy eyesight. I can't stand the ergonomics (or lack of) with the RZ-type bodies, and often i have a difficult time MF'ing lenses on my SLR's.


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## Professional (May 6, 2011)

I don't have any 6x4.5 film camera, all are starting from 6x6 format, the only 6x4.5 i have is my digital MF.


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## tirediron (May 6, 2011)

There isn't actualy any difference in the film itself; Velvia is velvia, FP5 is FP5, there's a perceived difference because of how much larger the negative is.  An 11x14 or 16x20 will look many times better because of that large negative.  As far as auto-focus, I agree, get the MF lenses; they're cheaper and much better made, and AF on a medium format body is NOT what you're used to on a modern DSLR.  The viewfinders are large and bright; unless your eyesight is really poor, manual focusing shouldn't be too difficult.  

Lastly, I would not waste money on an F6; you can buy an F5, a stronger, better-made, truly professional body for ~$4-600.  The F6 is NOT a pro body; it's an expensive film body for amateurs with deep pockets.  I wouldn't trade my F5 for anything (and, in a tough situation, if I swing it at someone, they go down!).


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## djacobox372 (May 6, 2011)

Sw1tchFX said:


> Thanks for the reply, i've been really busy this week and forgot about this!
> 
> The thing about the manual focus mamiyas that made me look into the AF bodies is the ergonomics, and my lousy eyesight. I can't stand the ergonomics (or lack of) with the RZ-type bodies, and often i have a difficult time MF'ing lenses on my SLR's.


 
The ergonomics of a mamiya 645 pro tl are just about identical to their af offerings.  If you have extra deep pockets go for the af, otherwise I highly recommend the manual focus offerings.


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## Mike_E (May 6, 2011)

Keep looking until you find a 645 with a split screen.  The F6 isn't going to be that much better than your F100.


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## Sw1tchFX (May 7, 2011)

tirediron said:


> There isn't actualy any difference in the film itself; Velvia is velvia, FP5 is FP5, there's a perceived difference because of how much larger the negative is.  An 11x14 or 16x20 will look many times better because of that large negative.  As far as auto-focus, I agree, get the MF lenses; they're cheaper and much better made, and AF on a medium format body is NOT what you're used to on a modern DSLR.  The viewfinders are large and bright; unless your eyesight is really poor, manual focusing shouldn't be too difficult.


I'll take a look at the manual focus offerings, I have a friend with a hasselblad that i can borrow for a good while and run some rolls through it. It's just that the viewfinder in my F100 is busted up and the D700's finder sucks compared to the film cameras.




djacobox372 said:


> The ergonomics of a mamiya 645 pro tl are just about identical to their af offerings.  If you have extra deep pockets go for the af, otherwise I highly recommend the manual focus offerings.


There was a TL at Pro Photo here, but it didn't have a grip on it.



tirediron said:


> Lastly, I would not waste money on an F6; you can buy an F5, a stronger, better-made, truly professional body for ~$4-600.  The F6 is NOT a pro body; it's an expensive film body for amateurs with deep pockets.  I wouldn't trade my F5 for anything (and, in a tough situation, if I swing it at someone, they go down!).





Mike_E said:


> Keep looking until you find a 645 with a split screen.  The F6 isn't going to be that much better than your F100.



Both of your logic is sound, and practical. Yes the F5 is faster, Yes the F100 is just about as good. But the reason i want an F6 is because it was the camera that i told myself 6 years ago when i first saw one in person, "when i become a professional, i'm going to shoot with one of those". It has very little to do with what it can do over an F5 or F100, instead it has more to do with it being my "dream camera".


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## Peanuts (May 7, 2011)

I have had my Mamiya M645 1000s for a few months now and absolutely adore it. The quality of the iamges are far above that of 35mm (in regards to grain) and the depth of field is absolutely delicious. Just adjust the diopter for your eyesight and you are good to go


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