EVEN THE DOGS ARE ROLLING THEIR EYES...

When I sold the Phase One P25 earlier this year, I knew I would own another medium format system when prices were more affordable. I had two ideas for getting back into medium format - a Contax 645AF with a Phase One P30, or a Mamiya ZD camera. Finding a Contax 645AF kit is easy, but finding a digital back with a Contax 645AF mount is not nearly as easy. Since the Contax 645AF prospects were slim and none, I focused on the Mamiya ZD camera. Last month after two years of stalking ZD’s on Ebay, I finally bought a used one for just under $5,000.

The Mamiya ZD camera is a very unique design - it is the first all-in-one digital medium format camera. Mamiya announced it early, around mid 2005 but the camera did not make it to market until around 2006 / 2007. It was very expensive with an initial price $22,000. Mamiya never imported to them to the United States, so the camera never really went anywhere in North America.

Essentially the ZD is like an over-sized Canon 5D with a 48x36mm Dalsa sensor at the heart. Leica was second to the market with the S2, and Pentax finally starting shipping the Pentax 645D. I am sure both those cameras are better, but the Mamiya ZD is CHEAP! And the lenses are very affordable too. Depending on your preferences, there are some advantages to an integrated all-in-one design include -

1. •The ZD camera uses ONE battery, and it is a rechargeable lithium ion battery similar to those found in current Canon and Nikon dSLRs. One battery means I do not have to carry spare batteries & charger for the digital back, plus another set of spare batteries (and charger) for the camera. The ZD comes with a nice, compact dual charger (world voltage).
   

2. •The ZD camera is smaller and lighter than the other medium format options. The Mamiya 645AFD II weighs ~3 pounds with its 6 AAA batteries, plus another pound for the Phase One P25, plus its battery, plus the 80mm F2.8 AF kit lens. The kit weighs 5+ pounds. Whereas the Mamiya ZD weighs 2.87 pounds, the battery weighs 3.5 ounces and the 80mm lens weighs 10.6 ounces. In total 3.75 pounds. The ZD is not a petite camera, but compared to its medium format competitors - the ZD is the lightweight of the bunch.
   

3. •The ZD camera (and back) use the same Dalsa 22 MP sensor as the Aptus-22 and Sinar Emotion-22. The Dalsa sensor has a reputation for less sensor cast than the Kodak 22 MP sensor. After experiencing moderate sensor cast with the P25, I was worried that the ZD may have similar performance. Amazingly the ZD has not shown any signs of sensor or lens cast thus far - which is a huge relief.
   

4. •The ZD’s auto-focus consists of three auto-focus points - which are very close together. With the ZD’s thumb pad, any of these three points can be selected INDEPENDENTLY, or all three can be selected at once for a wide focus array. Selecting the AF point is just like using thumb-stick on a Canon dSLR or the thumb pad on a Nikon dSLR. Presumably this is the same auto-focus system now available in the Mamiya 645AFD III and Phase One P645.
   

5. •The ZD camera uses its rear LCD to display functions such as its custom functions - similar to a Canon or Nikon dSLR. On the Mamiya 645AFD II the custom functions are set using cryptic acronyms displayed in the top panel LCD. Without the user manual, it’s difficult to remember what all the acronyms and glyphs mean.
   

6. •The ZD viewfinder has .75x magnification with 98% coverage, so no more sloppy overlay masks with crop lines. What I see in the viewfinder is what I get. The ZD’s status bar in the viewfinder is very similar to a modern dSLR showing focus point selection, focus confirmation, metering mode, shutter speed, aperture, EC adjustment, ISO, buffer status and other info.
   

There are some drawbacks to the Mamiya ZD camera, but considering its $5000 price point for a used body, some trade-offs are to be expected. I have only been using the ZD for a couple days, and and the ZD has exceeded my expectations. The images on this page were some of the first pictures taken, using Mamiya’s 80mm F2.8 Auto-Focus Lens and the Mamiya 200mm f2.8 APO telephoto.