THE 645 BLOG
Round I - The Phase One P25 and Mamiya 645AFD II
ENTRY #16 - REBALANCING THE FUND
Published Saturday, March 29, 2008
This entry explains why I chose to sell the P25 & 645AFD II medium format kit. The P25 files were very sharp and set a new benchmark for what I consider “sharp” to actually mean. However, there were a number serious limitations, so some hard decisions were made.
ROUND I - THE 645AFD II AND P25
ENTRY #15 - LUNCH, WALK & A SUNSET WITH THE CANON 1Ds MARK III
Published Sunday, March 23, 2008
With a Hasselblad 110mm F2 Planar mounted to the newly purchased Canon 1Ds Mark III, this entry reflects the performance differences between Canon’s latest top-of-the-line dSLR and the Phase One P25. For more on the 1Ds Mark III, see the 135 Blog.
ENTRY #14 - HASSELBLAD 110MM F2 PLANAR - ONE MORE DAY...
Published Sunday, March 16, 2008
It took forever to get this lens because seller had sent it off to Hasselblad for service - without telling me first. The 110mm arrived over 2 months later than expected... Unfortunately I was already leaning towards selling the P25. A dollar short and a day late...
ENTRY #13 - MORE IMAGES WITH THE MAMIYA 645AFD II AND P25
Published Saturday, March 15, 2008
Some more “testing” of the Hasseblad 110mm F2 Planar during golden hour. A bit of a challenge because light was diminishing quickly. Ran into a problem where the lens must be stopped down for sunset images; otherwise, the P25 sensor corrupts the image file. Odd...
ENTRY #12 - HASSELBLAD 110MM F2 PLANAR FOLLOW-UP
Published Friday, March 14, 2008
Some backyard testing with the Hasselblad 110mm F2 Planar. The lens has a nice 3D look, but to be perfectly honest, some like the Contax 100mm F2 Planar or Zeiss 100mm F2 Makro-Planar ZF can pull off the same look just as easily - perhaps even more easily.
ENTRY #11 - HASSELBLAD 110mm F2 PLANAR FLE FIFTH GENERATION
Published Wednesday, March 12, 2008
After alot of waiting the Hasselabld 110mm F2 finally arrived. Originally purchased to use on the P25, I decided to use it on the Canon 1Ds Mark III first since the 1Ds Mark III was a very new arrival and the P25 was on its way out.
ENTRY #10 - CONFESSIONS OF A GEAR SLUT
Published Sunday, March 9, 2008
At this point I am frustrated with Phase One P25 and the limitations created by a base ISO of 50, so as a knee-jerk reaction I decided to buy a Canon 1Ds Mark III as a possible replacement. Not my brightest decision, but so goes life...
ENTRY #09 - I DIDN’T GET THE MEMO...
Published Saturday, March 1, 2008
Fill flash on a dSLR is simple - buy the manufacturer’s mid-range flash unit (something like a Canon 430EX II and a Stofen Omnibounce) and make it “mission accomplished”. Fill flash on medium format is a hornet’s nest. Buyers beware...
ENTRY #08 - MEDIUM FORMAT VERSUS CANON 5D PART III
Published Sunday, February 24, 2008
Ongoing testing and comparing to see how a Canon 5D Mark I stacks up against the Phase One P25. The results are interesting. The P25 leads easily, but the 5D holds its own in light 6X price differential.
ENTRY #07 - MEDIUM FORMAT VERSUS CANON 5D PART II
Published Sunday, February 17, 2008
More side by side shot comparisons with the Phase One P25 and Canon 5D Mark I. For dSLR owners thinking about moving up to medium format, these side be side shots should be helpful in evaluating how much added detail is gained with medium format.
ENTRY #06 - MEDIUM FORMAT VERSUS CANON AND NIKON
Published Saturday, February 16, 2008
By now I have decided that a P25 cannot do everything and I need a dSLR for ISO and for those times when a medium format camera is too big. Some comparison shots on this page - plus a moire comparison - scroll down to the bottom of the page for links.
ENTRY #05 - MAMIYA 645AFD II & PHASE ONE P25 - Week Five & Six
Published Saturday, January 26, 2008
Today’s outing was a quick shoot with the Mamiya 200mm F2.8 APO. The 200mm is one of the bright spots in the medium format experience.
ENTRY #4 - MAMIYA 645AFD II & PHASE ONE P25 - Week Three & Four
Published Sunday, January 13, 2008
It is time to sell the Canon gear to pay for the Phase One P25, so lots of product shots this week. If there is one area where digital backs excel - it’s product shots. The detail is amazing and the clarity in the shadow regions is far, far and above what the Canon 1Ds Mark II can do.
ENTRY #03 - MAMIYA 645AFD II & PHASE ONE P25 - Week Two
Published Sunday, December 30, 2007
The P25 and 645AFD II came along for the ride during our holiday trip to Los Angeles. I ran into many snafu’s - like OOF’s, not enough ISO, whether to meter for highlights or shadows and so forth. Of the images that did turn out, there are some amazingly rich colors.
ENTRY #02 - WHITE BALANCE, ICC PROFILE AND LCC
Published Sunday, December 23, 2007
First impressions are very positive when it comes to sharpness, but sensor color cast is a constant issue (called LCC) by Phase One. Phase says it is lens induced, I say the is a baseline cast at the sensor level. This is a big “gotchya!” Not happy...
ENTRY #01 - MAMIYA 645D II & PHASE ONE P25 - Week One
Published Saturday, December 22, 2007
Entry number one kicks off the 645 Blog and discusses why I chose to switch to digital medium format.
