Mamiya 645AFDII with P30 digital back
- Thread starter joey ting
- Start date
tomohitogo
New Member
hi Joey
What do you wish to learn?
How to use the camera?
How to use the software?
Best people to teach you are the professionals who are already using this camera combination... I don't think there is a public course on this.
The Mamiya is a straight-forward camera that has one focal point (not 52). Best used in Manual mode.
The P30 back you will need to use Capture One to fully extract the best of the RAW files...
great camera/digital back by the way.
What do you wish to learn?
How to use the camera?
How to use the software?
Best people to teach you are the professionals who are already using this camera combination... I don't think there is a public course on this.
The Mamiya is a straight-forward camera that has one focal point (not 52). Best used in Manual mode.
The P30 back you will need to use Capture One to fully extract the best of the RAW files...
great camera/digital back by the way.
I'm not thinking of buying a new Mamiya camera. I owned this camera because I used to have a photographer shooting for client and we bought this camera. I thought of picking up photography as a hobby. So for a start, should I learn with this camera or I should sell it and buy a Canon?
I wish I had a P30 to use as my hobby.
I tend to think the system is better suited as a studio camera, will you be investing in at least a couple of lights? The quality will definitely get you addicted.Wow what a way to start, there no problem learning to shoot with your set up but the learning curve might be hard as this camera require some level of photography skill and know how to get good picture and it will perform beautifully. Best thing is to get a photography lesson?
Hi Joey, there is no difference between photographing with say a Nikon D700 and a Mamiya 645AFD. The buttons are different but the technique used is the same. I can say this because I own both. A camera is just a tool, photography is photography. I think you might be slightly obsessed over the system's price tag or its status symbol. The Newbie corner has some great info on how to start learning photography. Or you can join in with newbie photoshoots offered in Gatherings forum.
On your own, you start by reading the manual to learn its controls (which are less complicated than the average 35mm DSLR), and shooting some daytime outdoor scenes to get used to its handling, basic composition & basic exposure. The thing with the Phase One digital backs is the size of the LCD, it's rather small to be able to judge your exposure. You either have to learn to read the histogram accurately or shoot tethered to a laptop. This is one reason why most of us are rather surprised to see this system used as a learner's camera. But the metering on the Mamiya 645 system is fairly accurate, I have no problems with it when shooting film.
I'd advise you try it out yourself first, and when you have more specific questions then we will try our best to assist you. Good luck and have fun!
On your own, you start by reading the manual to learn its controls (which are less complicated than the average 35mm DSLR), and shooting some daytime outdoor scenes to get used to its handling, basic composition & basic exposure. The thing with the Phase One digital backs is the size of the LCD, it's rather small to be able to judge your exposure. You either have to learn to read the histogram accurately or shoot tethered to a laptop. This is one reason why most of us are rather surprised to see this system used as a learner's camera. But the metering on the Mamiya 645 system is fairly accurate, I have no problems with it when shooting film.
I'd advise you try it out yourself first, and when you have more specific questions then we will try our best to assist you. Good luck and have fun!
I have to say that its real nice that you have the mamiya 645 as a learner's camera. Most people takes years before they can save up to buy one. And mainly cos they wan excellent image control. No DSLR on the market currently can come close to a medium format digital back output for that reason..... the AFD is meant to be used portably as well as in the studio, however, if u are fussy about exactness, it is better to mount on tripod even in studio or outdoor no matter how much light u are getting.
I cannot provide much advice if I don't know what level of learning u are currently at, are you a fresh starter who has never used a camera before or someone who have shot for a few years. What do you like to photograph also matters. Just dont bring this camera to a sports event or an airshow. cos if I am not right its only 1.5 frames per second.
Otherwise with a little patience, this camera will be all you need.
As for P30, don use anything pass ISO 200...i am being fussy.
the AFD is meant to be used portably as well as in the studio, however, if u are fussy about exactness, it is better to mount on tripod even in studio or outdoor no matter how much light u are getting. I cannot provide much advice if I don't know what level of learning u are currently at, are you a fresh starter who has never used a camera before or someone who have shot for a few years. What do you like to photograph also matters. Just dont bring this camera to a sports event or an airshow. cos if I am not right its only 1.5 frames per second.
Otherwise with a little patience, this camera will be all you need.As for P30, don use anything pass ISO 200...i am being fussy.
wow !
I cannot put into words, how much I envy you being able to play with a digital back.
I am a AFD2 user too. Like what foxtwo mentioned, the metering of AFD2 is very accurate. The following shot was taken using slides ( Kodak E100VS ), 4 portraits shots stitched. You should be able to do better, because there is an LCD to confirm your shot. good luck.
Hi I think you should stick to it. The dynamic range and quality of MFDBs are hard to match. Because of this when the latitude an image can take will surprise you. I like the colours produced by MFDBs too. I used to have a afd with leaf aptus ii5 but I now have a phaseone df with leaf aptus 65. I will never let go of this, though its not that expensive now.
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