AF MF Camera help

AshleyC

AshleyC

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I need some advice as to the auto focus MF cameras out there. One of my new years resolutions is get back into doing some studio shoots this year and once i move house i will be setting some sessions up. I really want an AF MF camera. There seem to be 3 brands, Mamiya, Pentax and Contax. Contax seems to be the front runner but also by far the most expensive of the lot. I dont want MF because i take ages fiddling around trying to focus things and tbh with my eyesight, the camera probably does a better job of it!

So what say ye. Anyone moved on from MF to AF and have an opinion. I dont want a huge set of lenses. Just a nice portrait lens, decent accurate AF as well. Anyone with a Contax, is it really worth the extra?
 
I recently bought a mamiya 645AFD and the quality coming out of the camera is immense. If I can get my V500 to play nicely I'll get some shots on the forum this weekend
 
The autofocus on the Pentax just works. Nothing fancy, but it's accurate and reasonably fast. I've used it with the 75mm lens.
 
I have the Pentax so can only really comment on that, but I'm led to believe from what I've read that they're all much of a muchness in terms of AF ability. If you're used to using AF on a modern SLR or dSLR I think you'd be slightly disappointed by the speed of it on any of these cameras...it will be slower and hunt around more than you're used to, especially on less contrasty subjects or in low light, a bit like an earlier generation AF camera perhaps, if you've used one of those. Personally I wouldn't buy these cameras purely for their AF systems, though it is a useful feature (along with other features that can speed up your workflow compared to most other medium format cameras like programme exposure, motorised film advance, matrix metering, TTL flash capability, etc).
 
Pentax 645N
 
If you do go for the Pentax the 150mm f2.8 FA is probably the portrait lens to go for (if AF is important to you).

Something else to think about....if you are tempted by medium format digital then the Mamiya and Contax have digital backs available I believe, and with the Pentax the FA (autofocus) lenses are fully compatible with the 645D and 645Z also (Pentax doesn't use film backs in the normal sense). Would be a nice system with film and digital if you could afford the digital bit of one of these (I can't, unless they become a lot cheaper at some point).

If you can afford it, the Contax is certainly appealing...Zeiss lenses (including a very enticing 80mm f2).
 
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thanks :) im not too fussed about the speed of the AF, im sure it will be fast enough. I just take ages manually focussing the things when i just want to get on with taking shots as im never sure if ive got it at the sharpest point. I think my glasses and contact lenses need updating :)
 
I assume that you're focusing with a pentaprism? I find manual focusing far easier with a waist level finder and the nice big magnifier in the hood (Mamiya RZ67, RB67, C330f). Some eye level cameras are easier than others; the OM series are fine, the Minolta 7D shows everything in focus whatever the focus setting etc.
 
The Pentax is pretty easy to manually focus too....the screen is big, bright and clear and pops into focus very nicely....I have a mix of manual and autofocus lenses for mine.
 
AshleyC said:
I need some advice as to the auto focus MF cameras out there. One of my new years resolutions is get back into doing some studio shoots this year and once i move house i will be setting some sessions up. I really want an AF MF camera. There seem to be 3 brands, Mamiya, Pentax and Contax. Contax seems to be the front runner but also by far the most expensive of the lot. I dont want MF because i take ages fiddling around trying to focus things and tbh with my eyesight, the camera probably does a better job of it!

So what say ye. Anyone moved on from MF to AF and have an opinion. I dont want a huge set of lenses. Just a nice portrait lens, decent accurate AF as well. Anyone with a Contax, is it really worth the extra?
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To my knowledge, most of the more accomplished film photographers currently using the Contax 645 won't even considering using the autofocus capabilities of the camera (e.g., Jonathan Canlas), preferring to focus it manually instead, which says a lot to me. I even met a photographer at a wedding last year in the USA and she too was focusing her Contax 645 manually.

Personally, I think you'd be better updating your contact lenses than investing in any of these cameras solely for their autofocus capabilities. To be clear, I'm not saying that these cameras aren't worth buying (I'd love to play around with a Contax 645 and it's 80mm f/2 lens), but I don't think they're worth the additional cost if autofocus is your only reason.
 
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yeah AF is pretty much it, i know in the past i spend so long in the focus window going forward and back trying to work out the sharpest position i just think it would be easier to point and shoot and get on with it. I need to find one in the flesh really to see how fast the AF is on one.
 
AshleyC said:
yeah AF is pretty much it, i know in the past i spend so long in the focus window going forward and back trying to work out the sharpest position i just think it would be easier to point and shoot and get on with it.
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It'd be easier and far cheaper to just take a few more frames if you were unsure about nailing focus (i.e., focus bracketing), would it not?

Obviously autofocus can be a very handy tool, but I'm very sceptical about its usefulness in medium format film cameras. Well, admittedly, I'm pretty sceptical about autofocus in any camera...
 
Well the alternative is a Fuji 645, eg the Zi.There you get auto everything, unless you're going to fiddle around with buttons on the back like one of those horrid DSLRs ( ;) ), but importantly they are said to have cracking lenses. Whether the longest Zi setting is suitable as a portrait lens, I don't know. Holding the camera in landscape format gives a portrait format viewfinder and pic, too...
 
ChrisR said:
Well the alternative is a Fuji 645, eg the Zi.There you get auto everything, unless you're going to fiddle around with buttons on the back like one of those horrid DSLRs ( ;) ), but importantly they are said to have cracking lenses. Whether the longest Zi setting is suitable as a portrait lens, I don't know. Holding the camera in landscape format gives a portrait format viewfinder and pic, too...
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The Fuji GA645 easily gave me the highest percentage of out-of-focus photographs of any camera I've ever owned.
 
ive got the GA645zi and while its lovely for landscapes i wouldnt use it in a studio. Far too wide and while the quality is good its not as good as what you get from a "proper" MF lens/body setup
 
Nobody's mentioned the Hasselblad H1.....:hungover:

645, fuji lenses, its the film camera Robo Cop would use...:rolleyes:
 
AshleyC said:
Far too wide and while the quality is good its not as good as what you get from a "proper" MF lens/body setup
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I'm not sure the Fuji isn't a "proper" MF camera? Whilst its downfall for me was its simplicity, I'd say I got some of the sharpest negatives from my GA645 over any other MF kit I've shot with.
 
fair enough, for "proper" read "traditional" i guess is more accurate. I agree with your simplicity thought though, it has been called my "fisher price" camera from people who should know better :)
 
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I can see that. The lack of interchangeable lenses/accessories does limit it but as a MF camera it does gives excellent results. I also agree that it looks more like a Tonka toy than a camera ;0)
 
Proper...traditional ??, its probably nearer the PAS of the MF World than anything else.
 
That's exactly what it is, doesn't stop it shooting on 120 MF film though. Anyway, already ruled out for the OP.
 
There isn't much AF in the MF World, the Fuji is probably the cheapest way in.

I think if AF is essential, you have to commit and expect to have to spend a wedge or two
 
My pentax 645n AF is very very good I have to say I bought it as I wanted the option of AF for MF and I use it most of the time.
 
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