The Pentax 645D: Initial Impressions

[@ucheakinbi9231]

finally a proper youtube video on 645d, i have one which i rarely use

[@ColtonMatocha]

Yeah I noticed there was next to nothing recent on this camera.

[@BillyBlazeTheKeenest]

Can't wait to see more Pentax 645D content. It looks like a great camera.

[@ColtonMatocha]

Thank you! It's been a joy to use so far! Looking forward to doing a photo walk with it sometime soon

[@BillyBlazeTheKeenest]

@@ColtonMatochaI have a Nikon Z9 myself. I love my camera, but I'm always curious about classical CCD sensor based cameras as well.

[@luzr6613]

Gordon Laing - Camera Labs - did a review of this camera when it came out (still on YT and you've probably seen it). The big point that he labored was the issue with the in-camera processing. And that was way back whenever. I decided that, for me, it wouldn't be a problem at all. Much of my shooting is going out with a tripod, setting-up, waiting for the light or whatever. I always have a second body with me anyway and i'll often wander off and shoot whatever comes to hand with that. So, i'd be more than happy for the 645 to just sit and wait and then take its sweet time. Macro wouldn't be a problem either - portraits 50/50, maybe... shooting the Pyramids? The biggest challenge for you will likely be not eating the subject while the Pentax does it thing. Have a good one, Amigo!

[@ColtonMatocha]

I agree. I could see this being a major problem for some folks/styles of shooting, but for my purpose it's only a slight annoyance. 12 seconds is significantly faster than waiting to get my 120 film developed. I like to look on the positives hahaha. But you are right. It does mean more time for my will power to weaken and my mouth to become loaded with the very candy I am trying to photograph! This will be my greatest test.

[@luzr6613]

@@ColtonMatocha Identifying the Challenge is the first step to overcoming it. So, congratulations, but personally i reckon you got no show. In fact, with the quality of the images you'll be getting, i can imagine you'll be like my chickens and come over and peck at the picture on the front of a packet of potato chips - you'll be licking the screen.

[@ColtonMatocha]

@@luzr6613 yes. When you see an image and can taste it in your minds eye! Gallery showings will be difficult if I'm like Pavlov's Dogs!

[@luzr6613]

@@ColtonMatocha Yes - in your 'minds eye'. You're a photographer, man, not in Insinkerator.

[@fabianh8925]

Would be great to see some more videos about the camera. Thanks for this one.

[@ColtonMatocha]

I have a few others I've already made on my channel, and I plan to make quite a few more! Thanks for watching this one!

[@emmanuelpampuri]

Thank You for this very interesting video ... I had the same idea to go back to CCD ... Did you made test about dynamic range ? is it possible to share a few raw files ?

[@ColtonMatocha]

I'm glad you liked it! I haven't done a specific dynamic range test, but I have found the dynamic range to be sufficient for what I do. Seems generally on par for me with regards to other modern cameras I've used. I don't have a good way to share Raw files but I bet you could find some online! Maybe dpreview or the pentax forums! Thanks for watching!

[@erikbirgerson9893]

I went from gfx 50s to 645d. I had them both for a while but ended up keeping the Pentax. High resolution Kodak-ccd is hard to beat when it comes to IQ. It is much slower as you describe but the colours and skin tones are more pleasant I think.

[@ColtonMatocha]

That's super interesting! I've been curious of the difference being that was another option I considered. For any of it's pains, the 645D produces a great image!

[@janforsman7439]

Thank you for this nice review! But why do you regard the 645Z as the "older" brother? It replaced the 645D which to me means that it is younger ...

[@ColtonMatocha]

You know I think I just misspoke there. I was thinking older as in the more advanced (specs wise) one of the two but I can see how that makes no sense 😂

[@christopherbgriffith]

Have you checked the firmware version? I just picked one up in the last week from MPB and it still had the original 1.00 on it. 1.33 is the last one they released and added support for higher-speed cards and some other improvements. The first thing I did was update it. Shooting RAW, it only seems to take a couple of seconds until it's ready to display the image. Acceptable enough for me. It was a problem with the Pentax Q system on launch as well, later improved by firmware.

[@ColtonMatocha]

Yeah I'm on firmware 1.33 as well. Takes about 10-12 seconds to save a RAW, more if in burst/filling up the buffer. What speed card do you use?

[@christopherbgriffith]

I'm using a Lexar Pro SDHC UHS-1 Class 10 card. One update: I realized I was shooting the PEF format instead of DNG, and I corrected that because I use CaptureOne. It seems to take an extra second - PEF is probably a slightly more efficient container.

[@ericsimon1630]

Thinking of switching from my 645n to the 645d. That 12-second time to display beats the week it takes to display my images.

[@ColtonMatocha]

You're not lying! 😂

[@draskogagula2073]

That color science you saying is thNks to CCD sensor type and format of sensor(medium format) And size of 45 mp ,, This is brutal .,

[@Alfredolunafoto1]

Wonderful camera. Congrats man!

[@ColtonMatocha]

Thank you! I've been enjoying it thus far!

[@killpop8255]

Currently considering a few options. I find myself sometimes with extended tripod legs at awkward angles = not so solid with available light. Because of this I'm interested in inherent mechanical vibrations and stabilisation. What does the 645D (and Z if you know) have to limit vibrations say long mirror lock up to shoot delay, maybe shoot without shutter & mirror movement, and does dynamic range suffer if that's available? Are we getting to a time that the electronics on these will be starting to materially fail?

[@ColtonMatocha]

The 645D does have a mirror lockup feature and both a port for a wired remote, or a sensor in the front and back for wireless trigger. There is also a feature called Shake Reduction, however I'm not sure what exactly that does since this camera does not have in body image stabilization. I will say that hand held at 1/125 using the 120mm lens I have been able to regularly get sharp images corner to corner. I don't think this camera yet suffers from age, however, I believe the shutter mechanism is only rated to 50k clicks. I think the 645Z is rated to 150k. I also have several cameras from 2004 & 2006 which do not exhibit age issues. On the other hand I have a camera from 2008 which died of a sensor malfunction.

[@killpop8255]

@@ColtonMatocha Thanks for the reply. Shake Reduction is intriguing , definately something to look into. Did not know about the low shutter rate, but thanks for the information. So there isn't a pure electronic shutter where there is no mechanical movement? 👍

[@FrankRiemenschneiderFotografie]

Nice to have a new Pentax MF companion here!👋

[@ColtonMatocha]

Happy to join! Tips and tricks welcome!

[@mmatiasautio]

Do you think the images look different from those with other high-resolution cameras? And if so, in what way? I was just thinking, back in the day the only way to go above 16 megapixels or so was medium format, but it's not the case anymore (at least since Canon 5DS in 2015).

[@ColtonMatocha]

One area that this camera does express an advantage would be in the "medium format" look. The depth of field and 3D pop that come from a larger sensor. But i will say that in terms of sharpness and resolution there are modern cameras like the gfx line or the A7R 4&5 that beat this camera.

[@marklion315]

CCD sensor doesnt affect whether or not a camera can have video

[@ColtonMatocha]

My bad, I was thinking more in terms of live view and live video out via HDMI rather than the ability to record video as a limitation of this specific camera

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

You called the 645Z the 'older brother',... it's the newer model. And the 645's HDMI is practically useless, like most Pentax's, hook up an external recorder and you get odd signals out of it.

[@ColtonMatocha]

@@PiDsPagePrototypes yeah that was a misspeak on my part. In my brain I was thinking "older brother" as the successor but that makes no sense 🤣. You're correct, the 645D is the older brother and the Z is the newer model. Also yes the HDMI is virtually useless 😭

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

@@ColtonMatocha If only they'd done a 4K HDMI Output firmware update,....

[@chenhangyi]

What tripod do use with Pentax 645d?

[@ColtonMatocha]

It's nothing too special. A Benro TAD18A base with a Benro BH00 ball head.

[@yordanlamouche]

Can we have more picture from it?

[@ColtonMatocha]

Absolutely. I will be making some more videos on this camera and I'll be sure to include more images as I make them. If you'd like to see more images now, that were not included in the video, you can check out my instagram account!

[@SummersSnaps]

12 seconds sounds like WAY too long a time for completing the RAW shot. I'd be having a look at your cards, if using newer ones I have heard older cameras have a harder time. Try using naff older cards. When I had my 645D I was waiting about 3-4seconds max for the RAW shot to complete (single shot), if I turn Instant Review then it would appear about 3-4secs after the shot, every time. 12 seconds is way too long, it was never that extreme for me. Yeh, seeing your 10 or so secs for Instant Review, that is 3x slower than my experience, I shot RAW to one card Jpg to the other, basic older Sandisk cards, no issue, 3-4secs max wait time every time. 3-4 secs is still infuriatingly slow however, especially for portraiture sessions.

[@ColtonMatocha]

Hmmm I'll have to try out one of those other cards, but my CF cards aren't super new to my knowledge. I remember reading a DP Review article that called out the 12+ second time, but if there is a chance to speed it up I'm all for it! 🤣

[@SummersSnaps]

@@ColtonMatocha Wish I still had mine to demonstrate for you. I can only confirm unequivocally that mine did not take nearly that long as you demonstrated here. My experience echos @christopherbgriffith, it should be 3-4 seconds maximum. Check some of the Digital Filter effects also, if you have something odd ticked here that is making the camera actually apply a post processing effect to the Jpg then I think that might be the hold up. I can't recall all the stuff available, I only know some items can cause an additional delay. I'd be checking Clarity, Skin tones, Noise Reduction, stuff like that (the 645D might not have some of those options, I can't remember, I do shoot other Pentax cameras so I don't know what date they added some of these features/filters). Turn everything off that looks like it could add post processing time and then try again.

[@coloradocj243]

I'd pick up a viewfinder eyecup. I'm not sure how it works with glasses, but it is excellent for shooting outdoors.

[@ColtonMatocha]

I'll have to check that out! I used the camera outdoors for a little street photography even though that's not what this camera was designed for. It worked fairly well!