Pentax 6x7 - 45mm vs 55mm

[venchka]

Thanks all. I didn't do anything special. Leveled the camera on the tripod. Metering by my trusty Gossen Luna-Pro. "Expose for the shadows. Develop for the highlights." HP5+ and Xtol 1:3 did the important part.

 

[Turtle]

I'd say the 55. I have a Mamiya 7 and love the 50 and 65. A 55 would be almost in the middle and get a hell of a lot of use if you are a typical user. The 43mm is seriously wide and gets much less use and so I suspect the 55 would be more widely applicable unless you are firmly committed to using very wide lenses. The 55mm would be roughly like a 26mm or so and therefore a good standard wide lense for landscapes etc. if you have a 105, I would suggest the 55 even more strongly as with a 45 you would have no wide in the middle ground, only an extreme wide.

 

[venchka]

... if you have a 105, I would suggest the 55 even more strongly as with a 45 you would have no wide in the middle ground, only an extreme wide.

What's wrong with that? 😉 😎
I own 45-105-150. 😀

 

[Dave Jenkins]

The 45 is a lovely, lovely lens. I used one professionally for architecture for years whenever I could get away with not using 4x5. There's no noticeable distortion if you line it up correctly, and I had a grid screen installed to help with that. I sold the camera and lens when I switched to digital, and seriously regret not keeping the outfit.

I've found the best way to compare the field of view of different formats is by comparing side-to-side coverage. By that standard, the 45 is equivalent to about a 22.5mm lens on a 35mm camera, with a little bonus area on the top and/or bottom.

 

[franswa]

Dangit, Y'all. I might just have to buy a 55 now after reading this thread. I wasn't even in the market for the darn thing either!

 

[jordanstarr]

I owned both and sold the 45 because it brought more money, but I immediately regretted it. However, it is too wide for me to be practical for most purposes and since 28mm is my most desired focal length for street and landscape in 35mm format, I would go with the 55. The 45mm can be a little too dramatic at times, but if you want that look, it's killer.

 

[Doug]

The P67 45mm gains a more main-stream use when fitted to the Pentax 645 or Leica S2. 🙂