To me, one of the most exciting aspects of owning 645 and 67 glass is knowing that at some point in the future when I get a GFX that I'll be able to use them there, too. Glad to see they perform admirably. Also, I don't normally mention a video's sponsor, but I *love* MPB. Their process is so easy and I find them highly competitive in price.
Absolutely, it's been cool to be able to use glass that I have already on this system. And yeah, MPB is awesome. Happy to have them on board as a sponsor, and it's great to hear you've had a good experience with them in the past. Not surprising to hear!
To be fair you can do this with almost any camera glass. Because Mirrorless flange distance is so tiny you can adapt literally anything to it from any mount. Which is great for older glass. However newer glass in future will be almost useless if flange distances increase again so that's the trade off.
Nice photos Kyle! Really liked the ones in the garage-especially the portraits. I have an XT4 but you’re making the GFX system look more approachable w those vintage lenses.
Great comparison. I switched from the P645N to Fuji gfx and kept the lenses. I wondered how much i was missing in comparison to Fuji glass. This video confirms there no need to switch. Thanks!
Thanks a lot for this! I have a 100S and those same Pentax lenses, and an adapter on the way. I think I'm going to have some fun checking these lenses out!
Hi Bruce, I am about to make the move from 645z to GFX100s, I will keep all my Pentax lenses How was the switch for you, and what adapter did you go for?
This is exactly the video I have been looking for! I have been shooting a lot of old Pentax lens on digital and love the unique feel it gives my photography. However, swapping to a mirrorless medium format has always given me pause. Thanks for the insight and for showing us the results!
I’m less than 20 seconds in and you have made a statement that has been in my brain but never put to words. So thanks for just that. On with the rest of the video :)
the composition of the 2nd comparison photo is really really good! such a busy, messy area, but the subject shines through and it's all really clear an interesting!
I’ve been more drawn to vintage glass for my digital work as I rarely need auto focus or anything fancy and it’s so much more appealing with the prices. This comparison just proved that newer lens are indeed just glass as well. I’m fine with getting some imperfections. Especially ones that are easily corrected in post. Great video and nice portrait as well 🍻
I've moved away from autofocus lenses to vintage lenses as my photographic practice. It's just way more fun taking photos with a manual focus vintage lens, the tactile feel and image making process is just so much fun and the cost savings are enormous. I don't like the ultra sharpness that seems to be the "in" thing with new lenses at the moment, the saving in weight between a vintage lens as oppose to a modern autofocus lens is significant which for someone like myself who suffers back problems that saving in weight is a massive pro.
@@acmdv I agree. Just shot a wedding and thought I would need AF. Turns out that it makes things just a “little” more convenient. The size and weight of my Sigma 35mm is insane as well. Probably going to be looking into vintage glass soon and selling the Sigma.
@@BryanBirks Functions like Focus Peaking make using vintage lenses on modern cameras so much more convenient especially when you use a mirrorless camera as oppose to a DSLR, I can use all my film camera glass on my digital camera which saves space and money.
Cheers, Bryan. Yeah, the price is one of the most attractive things, especially when talking about this Pentax glass vs. the price of the Fuji Glass. If you're cool with manual focus and don't need weather sealing etc, then they're such a great option. All comes down to the type of work you do!
@@KyleMcDougall Ah well, if you find yourself heading to one of the many National Parks beyond bristol, give me a shout and you can borrow it with the adapter. Be interesting to see what you can do with it.
Great video as always! I can highly recomend the Pentax 120 macro, especially since you are scanning your negs with the GFX these days. Light, compact and sharp. Also the 35 is a sweet compact wide angle option.
I think it's pretty hard to tell the difference and you are being SUPER critical in a good way for for an average user or someone printing with less expensive lens options I don't think it would really matter. I'm really hoping to get a GFX50s in the future and I would love to adapt older lenses to the camera for my work.
Great Review! Vintage lenses are awesome to use with modern digital cameras. I use them on my GFX 50s, and it's great to see the Pentax lenses hold up with the 100s. The sharp center is great and truthfully the softer corners of the 45 don't bother me since they are not the main subject of the lens. Thank you for all the info.
This is good to see Kyle. I have got Pentax 645 35mm/75mm and 150mm now. I have found that if you need near-far DOF then focussing becomes critical. I'm using Tilt and Shift adapter so even more challenging as the the adapters are not as well made as say Canon Tilt options.
Great video, Kyle. Both lenses performed very well. I am curious to see how the SMC 105 f2.4 lens would render with the GFX system. I wonder if you get that beautiful "3D like" separation shooting wide open like you do with the 67? Anyways, have a great week. Thanks again for putting the time in to making these videos.
The Takumar 105 f2.4 works quite well on the GFX (50S in my case). In terms of rendition of course not 1:1 like what you would get on a Pentax 67 but definitely in that direction. The only thing that was slightly annoying were a lot of chromatic abberations when you're shooting in sunlight. Can be fixed in post but a bit of a hassle. I adapt a lot of Pentax 67 lenses on my GFX and found that they work excellent and add a bit of that vintage feel.
Cheers! The only downside for me with the 105 is it's far too long for the type of work that I do, on this sensor, unless you buy a focal reducer. I just picked up a Mitakon 65mm 1.4 which apparently has a really nice look. Hoping to do some portraits with it soon!
Yes, I would love to see that just for fun ! Interesting to keep in mind these lenses were designed for a much larger format so you are really using the sweet spot of the lens.
Recently bought a Sony A7iv with several vintage adapters. Finally settled on Takumar 50mm f1.4 m42 (8 element) for the extreme lens flares and warm cast on every photo. And for wide lense I just used my Canon FD 35mm f2 SSC
The colors and the lighting in your pictures are wonderful. Well done! Are they all raw files? WoW. At first I really don't like GFX's color from browsing the web. But your pictures are changing my mind.
I recommend the Tamron 45mm 1.8 for the GFX, the far edges have a little fall off in resolution, color and a little bit vignetting. For earlier GFX cameras the "Vibration Compensation" could be helpful, it works. This lens is amazing on the GFX.
I shoot the Pentax K-1 and 645D. I have some 645 glass as well as the legendary FA Ltds (31, 43 and 77). As an XT4 owner as well I am familiar with Fuji cameras and intend one day to add a GFX to my toolbag. I was aware of the compatibility of these lenses and was really nice to see such detailed comparisons (to confirm my belief that they will be fine and at least offer some character when wanted). It also makes buying into the GFX system a little less painful as I can get cracking on without breaking the bank balance too much to begin with! Thanks Kyle.
Cheers, Eddy. Yeah, these older lens options definitely help ease the cost a bit! And if they suit / perform well enough for the type of work you do, then you're good to go!
The fringing on the pentax (@5:45) is very apparent in the middle of the frame around the seashell in the grass as well. Granted, that's at 100%, but the chromatic aberration isn't just confined to the edges of the frame. Looking at the shots of the garage I'm curious what aperture you were shooting at, and if some of the fringing might come down to defraction being worse on the Pentax than on the Fuji. All that said, I did just find myself liking the pentax shots more, but I'm kind of a vintage glass fan to begin with.
Cheers, Lucas. Pretty sure these were all at f8, or f11. So yeah, the Pentax lens being a bit faster, it could have started to suffer from a bit of diffraction by f11.
I've been shooting on medium format for over 30 years, and being able to use all of my lenses on one body is one of the best reasons i have for owning a GFX100 II
I don't think the Pentax is falling apart or flawed its just a different character, a different way of telling the story. thanks you for making this video it help me out with adding glass to my eco system
No that's not how lenses work. Indeed they are falling apart. That doesn't mean that it's not a beautiful lens and I'd personally enjoy shooting with the Pentax😉
I would like to add the Mamiya 645 55mm f2.8 to this list. Just recently reviewed all images from the last year. It turned out, that my two favorite images out of thousands were taken with it. (Shot on the X-H1 and a shift converter, but I have no doubt, that it will work on my 50R, since my Mamiya 110 has no issues at all in this setup. Sadly enough, I sold this lens, but consider rebuying it) Excellent video as always, Kyle!
Cheers, Dean. I may pick the 35mm up in the future. That would usually be a bit too wide for me, but I've found myself shooting at the wide end of my 35-70 often, so I may pick it up for the kit.
This is good to know because while I primarily shoot film, eventually it would be nice to own a GFX. I just don't see myself being able to afford it any time soon. Knowing that my current lenses will likely do the job means it's closer on the horizon!
Man this was fun to watch, thank you so much for making it! I’m particularly loving how the Contax lens looks, it’s so unique. I’m a little confused on how you adapted it though…did you use two adaptors? I’m so not good at the technical stuff 🥺
Great comparison! I have similar results with Mamiya 645 Sekor C lenses. 80mm and up are usually very good edge to edge. My preferred are the 120/4 N macro and the 150/2.8 A. Not as perfect as GFX lenses, but very capable if ultimate resolution is not necessary.
Thanks for this! I’ve been thinking of a GFX 50sii, but I’m a Mamiya shooter. Can I ask which adapter are you using, and how does setting aperture work? Thanks!
Great side by side comparisons. Thank you. I use the Mamiya 645 45mm and 80mm on my GFX 50R and have been very pleased with the results. Disappointing about the edge sharpness of the Pentax 45mm, given that the Fuji sensor isn’t making full use of the image circle (i.e it’s not really the “edge” that we’re looking at).
Cheers, Mark. Yeah, from what I've read, the Pentax 45mm was never the 'best' lens, so it's not surprising. A bit disappointing, but I'll still hang on to it!
@@KyleMcDougall Would be interesting to see a comparison with the Mamiya and the Fuji 32-64 if you ever get hold of one. I don't actually have any Fuji GFX lenses, so it's difficult to make my own comparison! I have a Samyang (Rokinon in the US, I think) 24mm tilt-shift that works well on the 50R. It's a Canon fit, used with a Canon adapter. The larger image circle of the tilt-shift more than covers the MF sensor, even though it's designed for full frame.
That's awesome. And yeah, a lot of these lenses become very useable when cropping, even just slightly. Shooting 4:5 on this camera all of a sudden takes away the problem of poor corners.
I recently purchased a Fuji GFX 50R camera body, Carl Zeiss 2.8/45 Tessar lens, and two lens adapters Fotodiox Pro CTS - EOS and Kipon EF to GFX. I went out to shoot and I couldn’t get the camera to take the photo when pressing the shutter release button. The LCD and EF work fine, and I’m able to make A/SS/ISO adjustments and see the results in the LCD, but I can’t get the camera to save the image. Any thoughts or suggestion? FYI - The camera and focus are set to M mode.
Hey idont kniw if you already fixed the issue but you need to tell the camera that you are shooting without a lens. With these MF lenses the camera thinks there ist no lens attached and it wont fire the shutter. not sure where the option is exactly but it is called shoot without lens
If you can find one, the Pentax 35mm 645 was highly rated compared to even Zeiss glass. Also if you can find any 6x6 6x7 lenses, their image circle is much bigger which means more of the sharper center is used, but of course they aren't as a good of a deal like the 645 lenses.
I use the Pentax 645N and 645Z lenses on my 100S above 75mm. The 75mm which stared life as a film lens gave me incredibly sharp images. I blew one up to AO size which in american is 33.11 × 46.81 inches and it was still sharp sharp sharp and that was with the 52mp 645Z. I haven't tried a huge print from the 100S yet.
Yeah the 75mm has always been a great performer. I've shot a lot of work with it on my Pentax 645 film camera, and always been impressed by how it renders.
I absolutely love shooting in black and white with canon fd lenses on my Sony a7ii - it’s such a nice feel, in part because they do not resolve as sharply as the contemporary lenses. And I gotta say that I can really tell much difference from the video
Love from the UK Kyle, great reviews pal. New to GFX, just got a 100s with the kit lens. The 75mm Pentax 2.8 sounds like a beauty, but I also like the look of the Mitakon 65mm 1.4... I appreciate these are different, but if you had to choose one for street portraiture... which would you choose dude? :) Ta x
@@KyleMcDougall Thanks pal... I'll take your word for it. The Mitakon looks a beast... One other question, there are cheaper adaptors on ebay, do they make a difference, as it's only really a tube? Oh, and another question, where were you shooting in the UK for for the garage shots with the old Robin Reliant 3 wheeler...? real 70's icon. Dangerous as fuck on the road mind :)
I have. On the channel a couple months ago I did a video about the Mitakon 65mm lens for the GFX. In that I have some direct comparisons with the Pentax 67 shooting Acros, .
especially for these GFX lenses the vintage options are such a great budget friendly option, did the 45mm 2.8 Contax lens cover the gfx sensor btw? I remember a instagram post about it :- )
Any medium format lens should work. GFX Sensor (in fact all medium format digital cameras) have smaller sensor sizes than 120mm film in 645/6x6/6x7 format. So as long as the flange distance is correct, projection will cover more than the sensor can take
Great commentary on a subject that's important to photographers, and creatives alike. I really enjoy hearing your insight and your thought process and opinion. Personally, I would love to try the GFX 100S, but it too expensive.....and I would need to get rid of so much gear to finance it.
Hi. Interesting fun! I just received my 100S so have not used it yet. However, I shot Pentax 67 and 645 for many years. My architecture set up is: Laowa 20mm Pentax 645 A 35mm x kipon tilt shift Pentax 645 FA 45-85 x kipon tilt shift Pentax 645 A 80-160 x kipon tilt shift (I only have 1 Kipon TS ) The FA 45-85 is supposed to be a little better than the A version but both are great. I cannot tell the difference between the GF 45-100 and the Pentax. I also use the Pentax lenses with the Cambo Actus. It is truly a digital view camera! The Pentax 645 A 35mm shifted 10mm at extreme edges is not so hot. 5 to 8mm seems good. Unshifted it is very good. The A and FA 645 45-85 is better thank the primes is the general consensus. It is heavy and has a giant hood (the FA) but has an aperture ring. A GREAT lens! The 45 645 does not have a good reputation. All the 645 primes are tiny compared to GF. The 150mm is s gem. If you don’t need autofocus and metadata, they are hard to beat. It was very helpful to see this as I have often wondered if I was fooling my self about how good the Pentax 645 seemed. The 67 lenses give much more shift, but are heavy. Thanks again for this review. I was quite concerned about the 100S and the 645 lenses.
Definitely all comes down to the type of work you're doing / what you need out of the system, but yeah, there are some gems, like this 75mm from Pentax!
I think most differences require 100% zoom to see. Maybe this gives the Fuji lenses additional crop-ability, however, I like the feel of "imperfection". A little authentic chromatic aberration and vignetting is nice IMO. When you want lens character, the real thing looks better than the digital sliders in Capture One or Lightroom.
Amazing, thank you for sharing. Here I am wanting to jump to Fuji gfx from canon r5. I was hoping to see the Pentax 67 105 but i can definitely see the direction with these 645 lenses. Good to know to just help jump ship sooner. Kinda off topic, since you do video production as well, how is the video of the gfx? Like as a ccam or rush type of camera. I shoot mainly a Komodo but sometimes shoot not so important things on the r5, would it be a capable camera like the r5 for such random things or even include a shot here and there and blend it with something like a pocket6k or Komodo with decent grading. Its hard to find good video from the gfx.
Hey Carlos, I haven't shot much video yet on the GFX, but I shoot all of my UA-cam stuff on the X-T4 (which I've been super happy with), and the video I have shot with the GFX matches up and grades exactly like the X-T4 stuff. Both 10 bit 420. So yeah, I'd say it's more than capable as a C cam. I'm actually hoping to shoot a short doc with it soon, as a bit of an experiment, and will make a video about how I found it performed.
Pixel peeped details don't matter for me, even for big prints. What matters is tonal range richness that's larger with a tiny bit lower lens contrast we can find on high end older glass
Cool of you to make these kind of videos! Really like both lenses and the Fujis really do have a lovely quality to them, as well as the Pentax 645. Especially if the Pentax 45mm isnt considered top of the line. I'm not tech savy at all but do you think make the test with one of the 50mp cameras would make the difference smaller between the lenses or do you think it will enhance the "issues". Or maybe the question should be phrased "Do you think the Pentax would benefit from the less pixel count of the GFX line?". How about adapting the 6x7 lenses? You can get many of them really cheap as well. Of course it will be much heavier and cumbersome, but as the GFX probably will take more of the center of the 6x7 glass, they will maybe appear even sharper. Thanks again for making so many really interesting and thought provoking videos. /Robert
Cheers, Robert. Hard to say about the 50MP camera showing any difference (good or bad). But it is quite a bit less resolution, so maybe? As for the 67 glass, it is tempting, but quite a bit larger, and some options aren't as fast.
If it wasn't because I don't have a penny (literally) the GFX 100 has a really good price on MPB. And looks like the Pentax hold quite well; their faults would probably not be noticeable for normal people or reasonable size printed. And they are friendly with the pocket.
If you can borrow one, I'd love to see you examine the Pentax 67 400mm f4 ED on this 100mp sensor. In my experience on film, it's a fantastic performer. And it has a great reputation. It would be good to see it on a high resolution sensor since, to my knowledge it's the longest, 'modern' telephoto lens for medium format.
Just curious if there was a particular reason you went with the Kipon Adapter for Pentax 645? There seems to be a large price difference compared to the Fotodiox version, so I was wondering if there were some advantages to the former?
Nice video. I used only old Pentax 645 A series lenses and Sony Alpha II for all my work for the last six years or so. Now I switched to GFX 50s and will use them on this system too. 55mm is great. 35mm is a mixed bag. Can't complain about 150mm and now I added legendary 75mm to the set.
I wonder how you can create a custom lens correction profile to take out the distortion of the pentax 45 in Capture One, but it's the only slightly major downside for me..
Old A series from Pentax are very similar in terms of color rendering and fringing stuff, even so with the full frame lineups. I’ve got an A 70-200 f4 for my k1, and it produces very similar images to ones in your video like warmer tones, red fringing and sun star against highlight. Just not as sharp. I think it’s because of the coating of that era. I’d say those glasses tend to age a lot slower with the medium format
Makes no sense to me why people say old stuff is trash. This old glass was state of the art for commercial and professional photographers, then and now costing not so little.
Wonderful comparison and really helpful content! I now looked for the Pentax 645 75 mm 2.8 on eBay and there are plenty but it seems they all have a little haze /fog (all I found from Japan) and all sellers say it doesn’t affect the photo but what were your opinion on that? And are there nicer adapters than the plastic kinda looking Kipon adapter (ruins kinda the look to the old school lens in my opinion…) thanks for a short answer cheers :)
Does the softness off center of the 45mm not get better when you stop down a few stops? EDIT: The way you talked about shooting the 75mm wide open makes me think that you were maybe already stopped down on some of the comparison shots, so, I’m surprised.
I haven't adapted any yet. There is a 'focal reducer' that's available, but it's quite expensive. Otherwise, most of the focal lengths that I enjoy the most (the 105), would be too long for the type of work that I do.
Thanks for sharing this Kyle, great to see your early findings. Some questions (and for anyone who may know), if I may please - am a newbie and fair novice; How well does the 100s's metering, full EVF display, MF assist, highlight peaking etc. work with these older lenses? Am new to EVF's, apols for my lack of knowledge here :) The Pentax 45 looked just a little bulbous in the garage, before correcting. No biggie for most use cases, but may affect architectural/geometric scenes. Do LR correction profiles exist for this older glass? Which lenses in the Pentax range are known for best IQ? I'm guessing none are weather sealed. Which in-camera film profiles seem closest to the Pentax lenses? Any early thoughts on how well the Pentax 6 x 7 glass would compare? Perhaps with less edge softness? Thanks again, really enjoying your output Kyle!
Hey Andrew, maybe some others can chime in to answer a few of these. There's a couple I can answer though. I haven't used peaking yet, but the MF assist is great. I had no issues focusing with these at all. Overall I've been happy with the EVF. There was no correcting on either lens for this test, before or after editing. As for correction profiles, I'd say probably not for this older glass. You'd have to search for reviews about the Pentax lineup, but I know the 35mm is apparently a good performer, and the 75mm (as seen in this video). No comments yet about the 67 glass, as I haven't adapted any.
Inspired by this, I've been looking on eBay to see how often the wider 645 lenses come onto the market. Not often, it seems! Would be interesting to see how these handle, if you happen to borrow or acquire one. I'm guessing the newer GF coatings are much better at avoiding flare, but shooting with a hood should mitigate the worst of this. I'm also guessing the 645 lenses aren't weather sealed. Which of the Fuji film profiles get closest to the 645 'look', or does that entail a custom profile to get anywhere close?
nice ... yeah that Pentax glass has some nice character ... loved that lens on my Pentax645 :D... also mpb is great, basically using them to "switch out" some of my lenses ... got a nice Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.4 and Batis 40mm f2 for a good price in very good condition, much more trustworthy than any eBay transaction could ever be! :D
Isn't the 45-100mm the standard zoom lens? The 32-64 is more on the wide angle side. It's a bit weird anyways and not really equivalent to the 24-70mm.
@@KyleMcDougall I think their zoom lenses are a bit odd because they try to have very good optical abilities, good money value and still small and lightweight lenses. In my opinion they are doing good that way...
Many Pentax SMC lenses were made with Thorium (Which is radioactive) Unknown if the 45mm is one of those made with Thorium. But in all Thorium lenses, overtime they yellow creating warmer images. Again, unknown if this is one of those lenses or if the warmth is native to it. Just interesting facts about SMC
how do you fine adjust the desired focus point on a manual lens ? i'm asking because if you compare the two lenses, this setting is crucial for a valid conclusion between them.
To me, one of the most exciting aspects of owning 645 and 67 glass is knowing that at some point in the future when I get a GFX that I'll be able to use them there, too. Glad to see they perform admirably. Also, I don't normally mention a video's sponsor, but I *love* MPB. Their process is so easy and I find them highly competitive in price.
Absolutely, it's been cool to be able to use glass that I have already on this system. And yeah, MPB is awesome. Happy to have them on board as a sponsor, and it's great to hear you've had a good experience with them in the past. Not surprising to hear!
To be fair you can do this with almost any camera glass.
Because Mirrorless flange distance is so tiny you can adapt literally anything to it from any mount. Which is great for older glass. However newer glass in future will be almost useless if flange distances increase again so that's the trade off.
When thinking about getting a new camera, MPB offered me a little over double of what the original camera company & 2 other big box stores offered.
Oh that car is a tricycle! :D .. Thank you so much dear Kyle! Warmer, less contrast and softer edges are just beautiful to my eyes! 👌
Nice photos Kyle! Really liked the ones in the garage-especially the portraits. I have an XT4 but you’re making the GFX system look more approachable w those vintage lenses.
Thanks, Mick! I've been loving the GFX. The 50R is a great, and way more affordable option as well.
Vintage lenses are a must on modern digital cameras! Love the little differences at familiar focal lengths
Great comparison. I switched from the P645N to Fuji gfx and kept the lenses. I wondered how much i was missing in comparison to Fuji glass. This video confirms there no need to switch. Thanks!
Thank you Kyle for this great demonstration (and beautiful shots). You've helped me to move my Pentax FA lenses from the 645z to the GFX 100s.
it def did a great job ! great thing is we can crop on the 100s
The cropping is a big plus in some situations!
Thanks a lot for this! I have a 100S and those same Pentax lenses, and an adapter on the way. I think I'm going to have some fun checking these lenses out!
Hi Bruce, I am about to make the move from 645z to GFX100s, I will keep all my Pentax lenses How was the switch for you, and what adapter did you go for?
This is exactly the video I have been looking for! I have been shooting a lot of old Pentax lens on digital and love the unique feel it gives my photography. However, swapping to a mirrorless medium format has always given me pause. Thanks for the insight and for showing us the results!
Cheers, Tyler. Hope it helped!
Great video Kyle, genius idea of going a robin reliant specialist garage, nice to see Beer beach too
Cheers, Harley. Such a fascinating place!
I’m less than 20 seconds in and you have made a statement that has been in my brain but never put to words. So thanks for just that. On with the rest of the video :)
Cheers.
the composition of the 2nd comparison photo is really really good! such a busy, messy area, but the subject shines through and it's all really clear an interesting!
Cheers. Appreciate that.
I’ve been more drawn to vintage glass for my digital work as I rarely need auto focus or anything fancy and it’s so much more appealing with the prices. This comparison just proved that newer lens are indeed just glass as well. I’m fine with getting some imperfections. Especially ones that are easily corrected in post.
Great video and nice portrait as well 🍻
I've moved away from autofocus lenses to vintage lenses as my photographic practice. It's just way more fun taking photos with a manual focus vintage lens, the tactile feel and image making process is just so much fun and the cost savings are enormous. I don't like the ultra sharpness that seems to be the "in" thing with new lenses at the moment, the saving in weight between a vintage lens as oppose to a modern autofocus lens is significant which for someone like myself who suffers back problems that saving in weight is a massive pro.
@@acmdv I agree. Just shot a wedding and thought I would need AF. Turns out that it makes things just a “little” more convenient. The size and weight of my Sigma 35mm is insane as well. Probably going to be looking into vintage glass soon and selling the Sigma.
@@BryanBirks Functions like Focus Peaking make using vintage lenses on modern cameras so much more convenient especially when you use a mirrorless camera as oppose to a DSLR, I can use all my film camera glass on my digital camera which saves space and money.
Cheers, Bryan. Yeah, the price is one of the most attractive things, especially when talking about this Pentax glass vs. the price of the Fuji Glass. If you're cool with manual focus and don't need weather sealing etc, then they're such a great option. All comes down to the type of work you do!
Hello from down the road in Bristol! Wholeheartedly agree. Love my Mamiya 645 lenses on my gfx 50s ii. Use the 45mm f2.8 and the 80mm f1.9.
👋 The 80mm 1.9 is one that I would love to try!
@@KyleMcDougall Ah well, if you find yourself heading to one of the many National Parks beyond bristol, give me a shout and you can borrow it with the adapter. Be interesting to see what you can do with it.
Great video as always! I can highly recomend the Pentax 120 macro, especially since you are scanning your negs with the GFX these days. Light, compact and sharp. Also the 35 is a sweet compact wide angle option.
That's what I have, and it's great!
I think it's pretty hard to tell the difference and you are being SUPER critical in a good way for for an average user or someone printing with less expensive lens options I don't think it would really matter. I'm really hoping to get a GFX50s in the future and I would love to adapt older lenses to the camera for my work.
Great Review! Vintage lenses are awesome to use with modern digital cameras. I use them on my GFX 50s, and it's great to see the Pentax lenses hold up with the 100s. The sharp center is great and truthfully the softer corners of the 45 don't bother me since they are not the main subject of the lens. Thank you for all the info.
This is good to see Kyle. I have got Pentax 645 35mm/75mm and 150mm now. I have found that if you need near-far DOF then focussing becomes critical. I'm using Tilt and Shift adapter so even more challenging as the the adapters are not as well made as say Canon Tilt options.
I'm hoping to try out the TS adapter at some point in the future!
Those Fuji colors are quite unique. Love them
Great video, Kyle. Both lenses performed very well. I am curious to see how the SMC 105 f2.4 lens would render with the GFX system. I wonder if you get that beautiful "3D like" separation shooting wide open like you do with the 67? Anyways, have a great week. Thanks again for putting the time in to making these videos.
The Takumar 105 f2.4 works quite well on the GFX (50S in my case). In terms of rendition of course not 1:1 like what you would get on a Pentax 67 but definitely in that direction. The only thing that was slightly annoying were a lot of chromatic abberations when you're shooting in sunlight. Can be fixed in post but a bit of a hassle. I adapt a lot of Pentax 67 lenses on my GFX and found that they work excellent and add a bit of that vintage feel.
Cheers! The only downside for me with the 105 is it's far too long for the type of work that I do, on this sensor, unless you buy a focal reducer. I just picked up a Mitakon 65mm 1.4 which apparently has a really nice look. Hoping to do some portraits with it soon!
Yes, I would love to see that just for fun ! Interesting to keep in mind these lenses were designed for a much larger format so you are really using the sweet spot of the lens.
@@constantinslotty5309 do you know what focal length of Pentax lens would be about a 50mm equivalent once adapted to the GFX?
@@bigjames6666 75mm I guess but you only have an 4.5 and a ridiculously expensive 2.8 option there.
Recently bought a Sony A7iv with several vintage adapters.
Finally settled on Takumar 50mm f1.4 m42 (8 element) for the extreme lens flares and warm cast on every photo.
And for wide lense I just used my Canon FD 35mm f2 SSC
The old Takumar glass is great!
The colors and the lighting in your pictures are wonderful. Well done! Are they all raw files? WoW. At first I really don't like GFX's color from browsing the web. But your pictures are changing my mind.
Thank you! Yes, all RAW files. :)
I recommend the Tamron 45mm 1.8 for the GFX, the far edges have a little fall off in resolution, color and a little bit vignetting. For earlier GFX cameras the "Vibration Compensation" could be helpful, it works. This lens is amazing on the GFX.
I shoot the Pentax K-1 and 645D. I have some 645 glass as well as the legendary FA Ltds (31, 43 and 77). As an XT4 owner as well I am familiar with Fuji cameras and intend one day to add a GFX to my toolbag. I was aware of the compatibility of these lenses and was really nice to see such detailed comparisons (to confirm my belief that they will be fine and at least offer some character when wanted). It also makes buying into the GFX system a little less painful as I can get cracking on without breaking the bank balance too much to begin with!
Thanks Kyle.
Cheers, Eddy. Yeah, these older lens options definitely help ease the cost a bit! And if they suit / perform well enough for the type of work you do, then you're good to go!
MPB is taking over from Square Space!!
The fringing on the pentax (@5:45) is very apparent in the middle of the frame around the seashell in the grass as well. Granted, that's at 100%, but the chromatic aberration isn't just confined to the edges of the frame. Looking at the shots of the garage I'm curious what aperture you were shooting at, and if some of the fringing might come down to defraction being worse on the Pentax than on the Fuji. All that said, I did just find myself liking the pentax shots more, but I'm kind of a vintage glass fan to begin with.
Cheers, Lucas. Pretty sure these were all at f8, or f11. So yeah, the Pentax lens being a bit faster, it could have started to suffer from a bit of diffraction by f11.
I've been shooting on medium format for over 30 years, and being able to use all of my lenses on one body is one of the best reasons i have for owning a GFX100 II
I don't think the Pentax is falling apart or flawed its just a different character, a different way of telling the story. thanks you for making this video it help me out with adding glass to my eco system
You're welcome. Thanks for watching.
No that's not how lenses work. Indeed they are falling apart. That doesn't mean that it's not a beautiful lens and I'd personally enjoy shooting with the Pentax😉
I would like to add the Mamiya 645 55mm f2.8 to this list. Just recently reviewed all images from the last year. It turned out, that my two favorite images out of thousands were taken with it. (Shot on the X-H1 and a shift converter, but I have no doubt, that it will work on my 50R, since my Mamiya 110 has no issues at all in this setup. Sadly enough, I sold this lens, but consider rebuying it)
Excellent video as always, Kyle!
Thanks Jospeh. Lot's of great options out there to choose from!
Glad to see this video. I didn't know the Pentaxes render warmer. Would love to see a comparo or know what you think of Pentax A645 35mm f3.5.
Cheers, Dean. I may pick the 35mm up in the future. That would usually be a bit too wide for me, but I've found myself shooting at the wide end of my 35-70 often, so I may pick it up for the kit.
Just got a GFX 100 and looking for some cheap glass came across your video. Thanks for the awesome analysis.
Lovely comparison mate!
Cheers, Mark.
Very nice pics! Can you make a video about your editing process with the fuji?
I'll keep that in mind for a future video!
This is good to know because while I primarily shoot film, eventually it would be nice to own a GFX. I just don't see myself being able to afford it any time soon. Knowing that my current lenses will likely do the job means it's closer on the horizon!
i think the first portrait of joe is really nice
Thank you, Matt!
I actually love the colour fringing on the Pentax, personally I'm a fan of aberations.
Great comparison and I definitely prefer the Pentax look. It would have been nice to see what they looked like side by side prior to editing too.
OMG that look with the contax
It's a unique look, that's for sure!
Love to see some older Hasselblad lenses on the GFX. I sold all my pentax 67 lenses. 😢Thanks
Nice video. How about some Mamiya lenses?
Great review. I want to get lighter lenses for the GFX! That Pentax is very tempting.
Man this was fun to watch, thank you so much for making it! I’m particularly loving how the Contax lens looks, it’s so unique. I’m a little confused on how you adapted it though…did you use two adaptors? I’m so not good at the technical stuff 🥺
Great comparison! I have similar results with Mamiya 645 Sekor C lenses. 80mm and up are usually very good edge to edge. My preferred are the 120/4 N macro and the 150/2.8 A. Not as perfect as GFX lenses, but very capable if ultimate resolution is not necessary.
Thanks for this! I’ve been thinking of a GFX 50sii, but I’m a Mamiya shooter. Can I ask which adapter are you using, and how does setting aperture work? Thanks!
that 3678 image with the bulldozer in the mess ❤️
🙏
Great side by side comparisons. Thank you. I use the Mamiya 645 45mm and 80mm on my GFX 50R and have been very pleased with the results. Disappointing about the edge sharpness of the Pentax 45mm, given that the Fuji sensor isn’t making full use of the image circle (i.e it’s not really the “edge” that we’re looking at).
Cheers, Mark. Yeah, from what I've read, the Pentax 45mm was never the 'best' lens, so it's not surprising. A bit disappointing, but I'll still hang on to it!
@@KyleMcDougall Would be interesting to see a comparison with the Mamiya and the Fuji 32-64 if you ever get hold of one. I don't actually have any Fuji GFX lenses, so it's difficult to make my own comparison! I have a Samyang (Rokinon in the US, I think) 24mm tilt-shift that works well on the 50R. It's a Canon fit, used with a Canon adapter. The larger image circle of the tilt-shift more than covers the MF sensor, even though it's designed for full frame.
What does that 45mm come out to, 35 equivalent, when adapted to the GFX?
@@bigjames6666 Around 35mm.
@@TarrelScot ah I see. I suppose a 70 or 80mm would be closer to a 50mm equivalent then
I love adapting my Contax 50mm f/1.4 on my GFX in 1:1 crop. The field of view is very close to the 6x6 80mm f/2.8 look.
That's awesome. And yeah, a lot of these lenses become very useable when cropping, even just slightly. Shooting 4:5 on this camera all of a sudden takes away the problem of poor corners.
Id love to see you do a test with the focal reducer.
I'd love to as well, just so expensive!
I use a Canon EF 135mm f/2 with my 100S. It’s a fantastic portrait lens with a Fringer adapter.
I recently purchased a Fuji GFX 50R camera body, Carl Zeiss 2.8/45 Tessar lens, and two lens adapters Fotodiox Pro CTS - EOS and Kipon EF to GFX. I went out to shoot and I couldn’t get the camera to take the photo when pressing the shutter release button. The LCD and EF work fine, and I’m able to make A/SS/ISO adjustments and see the results in the LCD, but I can’t get the camera to save the image. Any thoughts or suggestion? FYI - The camera and focus are set to M mode.
Hey idont kniw if you already fixed the issue but you need to tell the camera that you are shooting without a lens. With these MF lenses the camera thinks there ist no lens attached and it wont fire the shutter. not sure where the option is exactly but it is called shoot without lens
I see a fair amount of barrel distortion on the Pentax 45mm lens, but it can be corrected in post.
i am adapting my Hassy Planar 110/2 and Contax 80/2 which work amazing on the GFX
Beautiful lenses!
If you can find one, the Pentax 35mm 645 was highly rated compared to even Zeiss glass. Also if you can find any 6x6 6x7 lenses, their image circle is much bigger which means more of the sharper center is used, but of course they aren't as a good of a deal like the 645 lenses.
I have a few older 6x6 lenses that I'd like to try as well. Problem is buying a bunch of different adapters that may not get used!
Good comparison job, it’s informative
I use the Pentax 645N and 645Z lenses on my 100S above 75mm. The 75mm which stared life as a film lens gave me incredibly sharp images. I blew one up to AO size which in american is 33.11 × 46.81 inches and it was still sharp sharp sharp and that was with the 52mp 645Z. I haven't tried a huge print from the 100S yet.
Yeah the 75mm has always been a great performer. I've shot a lot of work with it on my Pentax 645 film camera, and always been impressed by how it renders.
I absolutely love shooting in black and white with canon fd lenses on my Sony a7ii - it’s such a nice feel, in part because they do not resolve as sharply as the contemporary lenses.
And I gotta say that I can really tell much difference from the video
The feel/handling is definitely a plus with some of the older lenses. I know what you mean.
Love from the UK Kyle, great reviews pal. New to GFX, just got a 100s with the kit lens. The 75mm Pentax 2.8 sounds like a beauty, but I also like the look of the Mitakon 65mm 1.4... I appreciate these are different, but if you had to choose one for street portraiture... which would you choose dude? :) Ta x
Mitakon without a doubt. Much faster and much better separation. The Pentax could be cool with the Kipon 'speedbooster', but that's a pricy accessory.
@@KyleMcDougall Thanks pal... I'll take your word for it. The Mitakon looks a beast... One other question, there are cheaper adaptors on ebay, do they make a difference, as it's only really a tube? Oh, and another question, where were you shooting in the UK for for the garage shots with the old Robin Reliant 3 wheeler...? real 70's icon. Dangerous as fuck on the road mind :)
Great video Kyle! Have you ever done a side by side comparison: GFX / Pentax 67 or Mamiya 7?
I have. On the channel a couple months ago I did a video about the Mitakon 65mm lens for the GFX. In that I have some direct comparisons with the Pentax 67 shooting Acros, .
Excellent video . Wish I could afford a GFX100S to try my Mamiya 645 lenses on....!
The 50MP versions are just as great IMO, and a lot cheaper.
So the quick lesson is choose the pentax for film-like look. And choose the fuji lens for a clinical look! Great video.
The quick lesson, imo, is at the end of the day the general public won't be able to tell the difference.
Very very nice review
especially for these GFX lenses the vintage options are such a great budget friendly option, did the 45mm 2.8 Contax lens cover the gfx sensor btw? I remember a instagram post about it :- )
The Contax does (with a bit of smearing). My next video on the channel I go out and do a day of shooting with it. Should be up next week.
Any medium format lens should work. GFX Sensor (in fact all medium format digital cameras) have smaller sensor sizes than 120mm film in 645/6x6/6x7 format. So as long as the flange distance is correct, projection will cover more than the sensor can take
Great commentary on a subject that's important to photographers, and creatives alike. I really enjoy hearing your insight and your thought process and opinion. Personally, I would love to try the GFX 100S, but it too expensive.....and I would need to get rid of so much gear to finance it.
Cheers, Ruben. I appreciate that!
yeah , whenever that finishes loading , exactly . Love the medium format , hate even 50mpix , let alone 100mpix
Hi. Interesting fun! I just received my 100S so have not used it yet. However, I shot Pentax 67 and 645 for many years.
My architecture set up is:
Laowa 20mm
Pentax 645 A 35mm x kipon tilt shift
Pentax 645 FA 45-85 x kipon tilt shift
Pentax 645 A 80-160 x kipon tilt shift
(I only have 1 Kipon TS )
The FA 45-85 is supposed to be a little better than the A version but both are great. I cannot tell the difference between the GF 45-100 and the Pentax.
I also use the Pentax lenses with the Cambo Actus. It is truly a digital view camera!
The Pentax 645 A 35mm shifted 10mm at extreme edges is not so hot. 5 to 8mm seems good. Unshifted it is very good.
The A and FA 645 45-85 is better thank the primes is the general consensus. It is heavy and has a giant hood (the FA) but has an aperture ring. A GREAT lens!
The 45 645 does not have a good reputation.
All the 645 primes are tiny compared to GF. The 150mm is s gem. If you don’t need autofocus and metadata, they are hard to beat.
It was very helpful to see this as I have often wondered if I was fooling my self about how good the Pentax 645 seemed.
The 67 lenses give much more shift, but are heavy.
Thanks again for this review. I was quite concerned about the 100S and the 645 lenses.
Thanks for sharing your experience as well. I've actually heard good things about the Pentax zooms for how affordable they are!
I still use pre-AI Nikkor lenses on my Canon 5D mark II. People never complain about my photos
I think for the price difference and the selection you can get in Pentax it's a no brainer. The difference is so minimal (IMO).
Definitely all comes down to the type of work you're doing / what you need out of the system, but yeah, there are some gems, like this 75mm from Pentax!
I think most differences require 100% zoom to see. Maybe this gives the Fuji lenses additional crop-ability, however, I like the feel of "imperfection". A little authentic chromatic aberration and vignetting is nice IMO. When you want lens character, the real thing looks better than the digital sliders in Capture One or Lightroom.
Hey Kyle, what apertures were those shots at?? .. Is the pentax that good wide open??
Amazing, thank you for sharing. Here I am wanting to jump to Fuji gfx from canon r5. I was hoping to see the Pentax 67 105 but i can definitely see the direction with these 645 lenses. Good to know to just help jump ship sooner.
Kinda off topic, since you do video production as well, how is the video of the gfx? Like as a ccam or rush type of camera. I shoot mainly a Komodo but sometimes shoot not so important things on the r5, would it be a capable camera like the r5 for such random things or even include a shot here and there and blend it with something like a pocket6k or Komodo with decent grading. Its hard to find good video from the gfx.
Hey Carlos, I haven't shot much video yet on the GFX, but I shoot all of my UA-cam stuff on the X-T4 (which I've been super happy with), and the video I have shot with the GFX matches up and grades exactly like the X-T4 stuff. Both 10 bit 420. So yeah, I'd say it's more than capable as a C cam. I'm actually hoping to shoot a short doc with it soon, as a bit of an experiment, and will make a video about how I found it performed.
Hey have you got the chance to compare the Fujinon lenses with the Mamiya 645 lenses as well?
Not yet, no.
Pixel peeped details don't matter for me, even for big prints. What matters is tonal range richness that's larger with a tiny bit lower lens contrast we can find on high end older glass
Cool of you to make these kind of videos! Really like both lenses and the Fujis really do have a lovely quality to them, as well as the Pentax 645. Especially if the Pentax 45mm isnt considered top of the line. I'm not tech savy at all but do you think make the test with one of the 50mp cameras would make the difference smaller between the lenses or do you think it will enhance the "issues". Or maybe the question should be phrased "Do you think the Pentax would benefit from the less pixel count of the GFX line?". How about adapting the 6x7 lenses? You can get many of them really cheap as well. Of course it will be much heavier and cumbersome, but as the GFX probably will take more of the center of the 6x7 glass, they will maybe appear even sharper.
Thanks again for making so many really interesting and thought provoking videos.
/Robert
Cheers, Robert. Hard to say about the 50MP camera showing any difference (good or bad). But it is quite a bit less resolution, so maybe? As for the 67 glass, it is tempting, but quite a bit larger, and some options aren't as fast.
If it wasn't because I don't have a penny (literally) the GFX 100 has a really good price on MPB. And looks like the Pentax hold quite well; their faults would probably not be noticeable for normal people or reasonable size printed. And they are friendly with the pocket.
First of all thanks for every single video. İf it possible, could you try mamiya 646 lenses on this camera ?
If you can borrow one, I'd love to see you examine the Pentax 67 400mm f4 ED on this 100mp sensor. In my experience on film, it's a fantastic performer. And it has a great reputation. It would be good to see it on a high resolution sensor since, to my knowledge it's the longest, 'modern' telephoto lens for medium format.
Those 45mm images... is there less distortion on the Pentax? I mean it'd make sense, you can correct it digitally these day
Seems to be .
Just curious if there was a particular reason you went with the Kipon Adapter for Pentax 645? There seems to be a large price difference compared to the Fotodiox version, so I was wondering if there were some advantages to the former?
Maybe one was perfect and one was slightly not?
I'd used Fotodiox in the past and wasn't happy with the fit/tolerances. The Kipon fits nice and snug and feels really well built.
Nice video. I used only old Pentax 645 A series lenses and Sony Alpha II for all my work for the last six years or so. Now I switched to GFX 50s and will use them on this system too. 55mm is great. 35mm is a mixed bag. Can't complain about 150mm and now I added legendary 75mm to the set.
The 75mm is one of my favourites!
I wonder how you can create a custom lens correction profile to take out the distortion of the pentax 45 in Capture One, but it's the only slightly major downside for me..
Hi Kyle, Have you tried any Pentax 67 lenses on the GFX yet?
Not yet!
How about a GFX100S vs XT4 image quality comparison? : P
So new Fuji kit zoom is just as good or better than vintage primes?
Would have been interesting with a speed booster as well
Old A series from Pentax are very similar in terms of color rendering and fringing stuff, even so with the full frame lineups. I’ve got an A 70-200 f4 for my k1, and it produces very similar images to ones in your video like warmer tones, red fringing and sun star against highlight. Just not as sharp. I think it’s because of the coating of that era. I’d say those glasses tend to age a lot slower with the medium format
Makes no sense to me why people say old stuff is trash. This old glass was state of the art for commercial and professional photographers, then and now costing not so little.
I wonder how the Pentax 45mm renders portraits
Flipping back and forth between the shots it looks like there were some differences in distortion as well. 🤔
Wonderful comparison and really helpful content! I now looked for the Pentax 645 75 mm 2.8 on eBay and there are plenty but it seems they all have a little haze /fog (all I found from Japan) and all sellers say it doesn’t affect the photo but what were your opinion on that? And are there nicer adapters than the plastic kinda looking Kipon adapter (ruins kinda the look to the old school lens in my opinion…) thanks for a short answer cheers :)
Personally, I'd wait for a clean version. As for the adapter, the Kipon is the nicest one that I've come across.
@@KyleMcDougall thank you so much 😊
Does the softness off center of the 45mm not get better when you stop down a few stops?
EDIT: The way you talked about shooting the 75mm wide open makes me think that you were maybe already stopped down on some of the comparison shots, so, I’m surprised.
Yeah the 45mm was stopped down for all of the images (except the portrait), and the corners were still pretty poor.
Not sure if you still have your Pentax 67, what do you think of those lenses adapted for the GFX?
I haven't adapted any yet. There is a 'focal reducer' that's available, but it's quite expensive. Otherwise, most of the focal lengths that I enjoy the most (the 105), would be too long for the type of work that I do.
Thanks for sharing this Kyle, great to see your early findings.
Some questions (and for anyone who may know), if I may please - am a newbie and fair novice;
How well does the 100s's metering, full EVF display, MF assist, highlight peaking etc. work with these older lenses? Am new to EVF's, apols for my lack of knowledge here :)
The Pentax 45 looked just a little bulbous in the garage, before correcting. No biggie for most use cases, but may affect architectural/geometric scenes. Do LR correction profiles exist for this older glass?
Which lenses in the Pentax range are known for best IQ? I'm guessing none are weather sealed.
Which in-camera film profiles seem closest to the Pentax lenses?
Any early thoughts on how well the Pentax 6 x 7 glass would compare? Perhaps with less edge softness?
Thanks again, really enjoying your output Kyle!
Hey Andrew, maybe some others can chime in to answer a few of these. There's a couple I can answer though. I haven't used peaking yet, but the MF assist is great. I had no issues focusing with these at all. Overall I've been happy with the EVF. There was no correcting on either lens for this test, before or after editing. As for correction profiles, I'd say probably not for this older glass. You'd have to search for reviews about the Pentax lineup, but I know the 35mm is apparently a good performer, and the 75mm (as seen in this video). No comments yet about the 67 glass, as I haven't adapted any.
@@KyleMcDougallmost helpful, thanks once again. Good to know the EVF display works with the older lenses, that opens up the options heaps.
Inspired by this, I've been looking on eBay to see how often the wider 645 lenses come onto the market. Not often, it seems! Would be interesting to see how these handle, if you happen to borrow or acquire one.
I'm guessing the newer GF coatings are much better at avoiding flare, but shooting with a hood should mitigate the worst of this. I'm also guessing the 645 lenses aren't weather sealed.
Which of the Fuji film profiles get closest to the 645 'look', or does that entail a custom profile to get anywhere close?
Ah, it's the more recent Pentax 645 DA and DFA lenses that had sealing, and are a fair bit more expensive.
Thank you for the education
You're welcome.
Another option for cheaper but excellence optics: adapt Pentax 67 lenses.
Is it black pro mist filter in the 2nd shot with a car in the garage/workroom? If yes is it 1/8 or 1/4 ?
nice ... yeah that Pentax glass has some nice character ... loved that lens on my Pentax645 :D... also mpb is great, basically using them to "switch out" some of my lenses ... got a nice Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.4 and Batis 40mm f2 for a good price in very good condition, much more trustworthy than any eBay transaction could ever be! :D
Cheers, Michael. Glad to hear you've had a good experience with MPB!
Isn't the 45-100mm the standard zoom lens? The 32-64 is more on the wide angle side.
It's a bit weird anyways and not really equivalent to the 24-70mm.
Yeah, it's almost as if they need to make one that is in between both.
@@KyleMcDougall I think their zoom lenses are a bit odd because they try to have very good optical abilities, good money value and still small and lightweight lenses. In my opinion they are doing good that way...
Many Pentax SMC lenses were made with Thorium (Which is radioactive)
Unknown if the 45mm is one of those made with Thorium. But in all Thorium lenses, overtime they yellow creating warmer images.
Again, unknown if this is one of those lenses or if the warmth is native to it. Just interesting facts about SMC
Just when I was thinking of getting rid of my GFX100S I watch this.
how do you fine adjust the desired focus point on a manual lens ? i'm asking because if you compare the two lenses, this setting is crucial for a valid conclusion between them.
are there any longer focal lengths that can work with this? like something above 100MM?