Anyone Got the new Mamiya 645 D yet?

[zoomin]

I noticed that these babies are being advertised as available at Calumet. I would be interested in comparisons to the Canon 1DsMII/III.

thanks,
zoomin

[Mr. Pickles]

Our own JAF Doorhof doesn't use this exact model I believe, but he uses one that is close. Look for his amazing posts (typically in Fashion/Models) to see how the images look. Not acual size I know, but still incredible.

He wrote a good review here:

Handsdown review ZD back with 645AF/DII

[fotogeorge]

What happened to the Mamiya ZD? If I had the money, I would rather have the Mamiya ZD, than the Mamiya645AFD and the ZD back. I believe the Mamiya ZD weighed less. The link that I had to Mamiya for the Mamiya ZD specs is no longer active. It must be IN VAPORWARE history. I wonder if Mamiya had trouble with the camera.

[HuBBaTheMan]

Dunno about trouble with the camera but mamiya and phase one is apparently going to release a new joint-venture camera in beginning of next year. (press release on phase one's webpage)

And i prefere the 645 AFD + ZD back since you can switch to other backs. Film if needed, or different brand digital backs.

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

Always go for the back + camera.
You can use film if you want and upgrade your back if needed.
With the DSLR solution I always feel like upgrading the whole package which is always a waste for some part

[SecondFocus]

I am using the ZD right now for another week for evaluation. I just spent today shooting two magazine features with it but won't be downloading the cards until tomorrow.

Some test shooting I did with it earlier on the week shows it to have superb color rendition, very sharp etc.

One of the "give-ups" on it is the small LCD. However it is very visible outdoors in bright sunlight and certainly is useful enough to check composition. It does have highlight and shadow warnings but I have not used it yet. You can also zoom in and move around your frame to check focus.

It is very easy to use and the button and menu system in very intuitive, at least for me.

I will certainly be posting results on my blog SecondFocus and click on blog; and will post some more info here as I go.

[SecondFocus]

I just posted my views on my shooting with the Mamiya 645ZD on my
Blog. This is just my experience of using it on some actual
assignments and not some tech review or comparison that would be well
beyond my interests to do. So I hope it helps.

Just go to my website at SecondFocus and click on Blog.

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

good to hear they solved the problems.