The Ultimate 645 Rangefinder Camera

[eleskin]

Why can't we have a fully mechanical 645 camera with a bright Leica like finder, spot, center, and multi matrix metering, and fast lenses? I have two lenses for my Pentax 645 N , both the 45mm and 75mm, and they are both F 2.8 lenses, and are not that large in size. This tells be F 2.8 can be produced at reasonable cost. Why are they not making a decent camera / lens combo for those of us who lile available light?

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

Fully mechanical will be expensive and the market will be very small.
2.8 is still slow for available light. I'd rather use 1.4 or faster.

Best regards,

Michiel Fokkema

 

[Maurice]

I've never heard of (commercial available) 1:1,4 lenses for the 645 format-I know there's a 1:2 planar for the Contax 645, but that's an SLR

 

[ath]

Why can't we have a fully mechanical 645 camera with a bright Leica like finder, spot, center, and multi matrix metering, and fast lenses? I have two lenses for my Pentax 645 N , both the 45mm and 75mm, and they are both F 2.8 lenses, and are not that large in size. This tells be F 2.8 can be produced at reasonable cost. Why are they not making a decent camera / lens combo for those of us who lile available light?

Focusing issues?

 

[Bryce]

I've read that there is a limitation on lens speed with leaf shutters.
Besides, you want how little DOF?

 

[Rey]

I think that rangefinders have some built-in design issues, such as base length-to-lens size, that would limit the lense speed. By this I mean that, a medium format f2.8 lens would have to be inserted into a much larger body, which would reduce the utility of the camera. As for mechanical, that is probably feasible, but the market has collapsed for fully mechanical cameras (to make a profit, cameras must be mass marketed). Concerning TTL metering, I agree, I feel that Bronica, Fuji, and the Mamiya 6x7 rangefinders could have, and should have, invested in this.

 

[Harry Lime]

The closest thing to what you want is either a Rolleiflex 2.8/80 or Plaubel Makina 67.

 

[jan normandale]

Why can't we have a fully mechanical 645 camera with a bright Leica like finder, spot, center, and multi matrix metering, and fast lenses? I have two lenses for my Pentax 645 N , both the 45mm and 75mm, and they are both F 2.8 lenses, and are not that large in size. This tells be F 2.8 can be produced at reasonable cost. Why are they not making a decent camera / lens combo for those of us who lile available light?

Do what most of us MF users do;
• Plan A, take a tripod and cable release
• Plan B, use faster film or push your film

 

[Monz]

The closest thing to what you want is either a Rolleiflex 2.8/80 or Plaubel Makina 67.

I have a Roleiflex 2.8/80 Xenotar but using it is very different experience to using a rangefinder. Even with a prism (which makes composition easier by laterally flipping the image), things are much slower compared to a rangefinder.

However, I am quite happy with a Bronica RF645/65mm f4, as long as I use film of ISO 400 and faster. The ancient ZI Super Ikonta 533/16 with f2.8 80mm coated Tessar lens and coupled rangefinder is another one to consider.

All the best.
--
Monz

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

TLR is different from a rf but I wouldn't say it is much slower.
A TLR can be much more stealthy because you can shot from the hip while composing.
It is different but not necessarily slower,

cheers,
Michiel Fokkema