I have a 1Ds mk II which I'm very happy with, but, the idea of shooting MF really appeals to me.

I am sponsored by, and promote the Hensel range in SA. The agents are also agents for Mamiya. I can get a kit at a "decent" price. The question is: how good is the Mamiya 645 AFDII and ZD back? Will the quality of the MF with the ZD back give me that much better results than I get with the Ds II or will it be just bragging rights.

Hi Mark!

>I have a 1Ds mk II which I'm very happy with, but, the idea of shooting >MF really appeals to me.
Terrific. There really is a lot you can do with Medium Format Digital. About 2/3 of my client work is shot on a Leaf Aptus 22 system and I am very comfortable with it.


>I am sponsored by, and promote the Hensel range in SA.
Great stuff!

>The agents are also agents for Mamiya. I can get a kit at a "decent" price. >The question is: how good is the Mamiya 645 AFDII
The 645 AFD2 is my camera of choice to shoot the Leaf rig with. The lenses are marvelous and I particularly like the performance of the 2 zooms and use them a lot.

>and ZD back?
Yikes! Well, here's what I know...
The ZD camera was not a tool I was excited about (how's THAT for being nice?) when we had the opportunity to test drive it. The ZD back is not available here in the states and from what I know, it's not capable of creating a file that meets our expectations either. We LOVE the design and features for sure, and would very much like to support Mamiya as they have always been great to us, but what matters at the end of the day is image quality. We have extensive experience with both Leaf and Phase backs and would reccommend that if you are interested in MF that you start there?

>Will the quality of the MF with the ZD back give me that much better results than I get with the Ds II or will it be just bragging rights.

Remember when you shot 35mm film and shot 6x7 film on the same job and saw the difference in those 2? The gap now between DSLR and MF is even bigger. There's LOTS of control in MF digital shooting, wonderful accurate colors and details, and a much higher quality of data. In the commercial world, it does make a difference. But if I were a wedding shooter, I would stick with DSLRs.
Hope that helps!
: )

Thanks Will.

I'll look into the Leaf and Phase one systems. The price I can get the ZD back for is very tempting - less than half the price of a 22mp phase one back.

Image quality is king, so settling for something that won't have a big advantage over the 1Ds mkII because it can be got cheaply, doesn't make sense.

Luckily I don't do weddings, the MF will be a studio rig.

I know this is a dead thread but just in case anyone notices it again I was looking at a used Sinar 54H back on the Mamiya AFD. Anyone familiar with it?