All in all, if you don't really need autofocus, at least in my opinion, any close focus distance advantage isn't worth the difference in bucks. I tried sometime back to measure the difference for someone else's post on point and as I recall I couldn't really tell enough difference to make a difference.

The half stop difference may help old eyes focus a bit better, but the size advantage and integral hood might make the 3.5 a better travel lens.

For whatever it's worth, I've used the 3.5 for head and shoulders portraits with studio lighting (and for head shots as well): I doubt if you'll be disappointed with what you already have.

I am about to pull the trigger on a Pentax 645N with a choice of either a 150mm f3.5 lens or an 80-160mm f4.5, both MANUAL FOCUS.

My intended type of photography would be portraits (ala Cartier-Bresson!

). I am tilting towards the zoom since it offers me the flexibility of being far/close to the subject, but I am not sure.

I am not too concerned if one is a bit less sharp than the other.

I am hoping you can help me solve this.

Also, how much more can I expect to pay for the 80-160 compared to the 150mm?

Thanks a lot!

Avi

• 2

I have briefly owned the 3.5/150mm, and found it to be a very sharp lens, really useful, with built-in hood. Great value for money. I do not have the zoom, but bear in mind that the zoom will be heavy. The zoom has a very good reputation. As for the smallest distance to focus, the 3.5/150mm was not very good there, one of the reasons to sell it when I acquired the 2.8/150mm. But sharpness or rendering were absolutely brilliant. I loved the lens, somethimes regret selling it, although I never carried it once I had the FA version.

• 3

MF Zooms are HEAVY and BIG. If you intend to do HCB style why not 35mm?

• 4

my choice

zoom lenses in medium format are problematic - they are large and heavy... i've never found them worthwhile and find i leave it behind more than i carry it, (hmmm, it's been sitting on the shelf for a while now!)

i 'd stick with prime lenses, especially with the, i think hcb would approve.

p.s i understand your desire to use medium format over - beautiful negative

• 5

I have assidously avoided 120 zooms as size, weight and functionality become a bit cumbersome, especially for street portraits. I've been shooting a street project on and off at mostly 645 format, and by far the best images I've gotten (on TMAX, mostly) have been with a Pentax FA 150. I know it's a slightly different beast than an SMC-A but still, the focal length counts most in this regard, and for 645 out in the open, 150 is wonderful, especially at f/2.8.

Hydrangea details. Shakujii Park, Tokyo, Japan. © Michele Marcolin, 2023. K1ii + smc Pentax-A 645 150mm f3.5.

I have long been intrigued by medium format lenses since I had the opportunity of taking seminars on Hasselblad tools in the past. But not being involved - thanks god for the costs - into that kind of commercial stuff, I willingly left it off the radar, despite we have a few crates of 645 and 67 cameras and lenses. And having lately stumbled upon a 35mm format Pentax 150mm f3.5 lens I became curious to know about the differences between that and the homonymous medium format version - which indeed is a rather different lens. So yesterday I went diggin’ it up, together with the adapter and today I started giving it a spin.

What to say? Mmm… first of all, there is no much literature or reviews about it on line. Few informations also on catalogs, and I have not got the time yet to dive into forums. It displays the usual solid construction and smooth movement of the 35mm A and M series. The lens scheme consists of a simple, but performing 4 lenses in 4 separate groups (the 35mm Pentax-M 150mm f3.5 is instead a 5/5 lens, very similar to the 135/f3.5); it has the smart and effective built-in retractible hood like the M series; 8 blades and an aperture that ranges from F3.5 to F32. No weather sealing, of course. I have it listed on a catalog of 1984, the same year of the launch of the 645 camera, and apparently it was manufactured until the year 2000. So it was a sort of living fossil for the system. It seems to have enjoyed - and still it does now that you can find it for peanuts - quite a good reputation for portrait and landscape. On film it delivers very well, with pretty interesting colors.

For the very modest experience I matured today (virtually nothing), I can say it is indeed a medium format lens! That means, it is F3.5 but the DOF feel really like a 1.8: you think you have pinned your subject only to later discovering you was still quite off the chart. The helicoid movement is a pleasure and getting it in focus is really a matter of instants, but nailing it, is another story; i.e. on FF cameras like K1 it is most unforgiving.

The lens is absolutely sharp wide open, with crisp details and definition. The out of focus (front and background) is positively ‘unappealing’, meaning that is is beautiful, but not distracting; kind of old school thing, with an interesting series of transitions, decompositions and bubbles. Colors can be tricky: I still need time to explore the suitable light conditions where to be confident. The FF version seemed more solid, even from the beginning. With this instead, I have met with erratic results of over-exposition and faint contrast (and without considering the mis-focused shots due to the thin DOF).To note that like the FF150mm, on FF digital sensor, it does suffer from some CA (and when I say a bit, it means you get to see it more than the standard old lens CA). So you need to be conscious of where you aim it at. In general, tweaked in post or not, the images turn out beautifully - close focused subjects in particular, with a nice 3D effect and great texture detail.

When was Pentax 645 released?

The Pentax 645 is a medium format single-lens reflex system camera manufactured by Pentax. It was introduced in 1984, along with a complementary line of lenses.

Does the Pentax 645 have a timer?

both 67 and 645 have like a 12 secs delay timer in body that is useful, when I want to get into the frame myself...

What is the maximum shutter speed for Pentax 645?

The 645 has whole EV shutter speeds from 15 seconds to 1/1000", but without either film loaded or the 120/220 false back attached, you can't change shutter speeds or even trigger the shutter.

What mount does the Pentax 645 use?

The 645Z has the same sturdy, stainless steel lens mount as the 645D, called the Pentax 645 AF2 mount. This mount is compatible with all Pentax 645 lenses including the legacy FA, A and leaf shutter types, as well as with Pentax 6x7 lenses when mounted with a genuine Pentax 6x7 to 645 adapter.