Since gaining the Bronica and re-kindling my romance with film, i have also aquired a couple of 110 cameras, an original Olympus Pen F half frame film camera, Canonet rangefinder camera, and after 15 years of lust a Pentax 645, all my cameras get used, but i have the biggest love affair with my 2 monsters.. The Bronica and Pentax 645.
Ever since i started my job selling cameras 15 years ago, I have always lusted for a Pentax 645, why because it was one of if not the first camera i ever sold, when i started my job we had 2 645s in stock that we were selling on behalf for customers, one was a 645 with 3 lenses and a spare insert, the other was a 645n with a 75mm lens. It was the original kit I sold early on, and since then always wanted one.
Why have i wanted one, well for 1984 tech in Medium Format, this was the gun
| Maker | Pentax |
|---|---|
| Type | Single-lens reflex camera |
| Lens mount | Pentax 645 A mount |
| Recording medium | medium format film |
| Focus | manual (auto on 645N) |
| Exposure | automatic, manual |
| Flash | hot shoe, socket, X-sync |
| Shutter | vertical cloth focal plane |
| Shutter speeds | 15 s - 1/1000 s, Bulb |
| ASA/ISO range | ISO 6-6400 in 1/3 stop increments |
| Exposuremetering | TTL center-weighted |
| Viewfinder | fixed eye-level pentaprism |
| Battery | 6 AA |
| Weight | 46.2 ounces (1,310 g) |
| Made in | Japan |
In the 4 months ive had the 645 i have shot over half a dozen rolls of film through it.. all with a 200mm lens. In the time i have owned it, i have also purchased an 80-160mm lens for a little versatility, and another film insert for extra capacity. I would love a couple more lenses, something like the 45-85mm and of course the 75mm lens. I would also love to get one of the Pentax * series telephoto lenses, either the 400mm f5.6 or 600mm f5.6,... though they are lottery win lenses.
I love the 645, its a monster of a camera, it looks like and handles like an overgrown Pentax SLR from the era, the body with no batteries, insert of lens weighs over 1.3kg, it truly is a monster, yet is so comfortable to hold, and the controls are in easy to reach places it makes using it no harder than using an old 35mm SLR.
Ive put maybe 6 or 7 films through it now and it is actually one of the first cameras i look to carry on a trip because it is just that nice.
Unlike my Bronica, which has a waist level finder, and no light meter, the 645 uses a Prism finder, with center weighted TTL metering, This makes the process a little faster, but with manual focus getting it just right is the challenge. Because of the prism finder, it also looks like a regular camera when in use so most people ignore it, its only when that satisfying clunk and whirrr of the mirror and shutter moving, then the film advancing that people look at it.
The Bronica on the other hand takes patience, having to take light meter readings before taking a picture, i use a light meter app on my smartphone, so people see that and think i have taken a picture, then when i bring up the camera to adjust settings and take the picture i get looked at with weird looks.
Why do i love the bronica? Well even compared to the 645, the Bronica is different..
The Bronny with no meter, waist level finder looks like an old school Hasselblad that should be in a studio or museum. The no built in meter thing really slows down your picture taking by requiring a light meter or, be really good with the sunny 16 rule. The other fun thing about the bronny is the waist level finder, without a prism to correct the image like say the 645, the images are up the right way, but reversed, so framing takes a lot of patience.
The negs are gorgeous when processed, when scanning the negs, they are HUGE, even when scanning at 4800dpi, a 6x6 neg from the Bronica scans out at over 10,300 pixels by 10,300 pixels!
The 645 negs at 4800dpi scan out at at over 10,000 x 7000 pixels. I tried to scan a few at 9600dpi and those files are MASSIVE to say the least.. a 645 neg scanned out at over 20,000 x 15,000 pixels!!!
I love these big cameras because they force me to photograph with more patience and also be more critical about what i do take even with my digital camera.
