Pentax 645Z Macro Adventures

Recently I have picked up my Pentax 645Z again, to rediscover the world in miniature. The depth of field/focus can be very minimal at close range, seemingly elusive. I have a razor-sharp macro lens that I bought used at reasonable cost (compared to similar Hasselblad and Leica medium format lenses), the Pentax 645 120mm f/4 SMC FA Macro, that makes it possible. Several such excellent automatic and manual Pentax 645 lenses are left over from the film era and are shunned by some photographers who would rather spend thousands for a similar lens with the “digital” designation.

So, with or without extension tubes, there is a world in miniature to be discovered. The live view function on the rotating viewfinder makes it even more possible. The subtleties of color captured with a 51M pixel sensor and the information-gathering ability of these large lenses are amazing. And the time and money saved by not having to process and scan film is substantial, of course. So my idea is to capture a dreamy world, whether it is one of my “selfscapes” or the stuff that we all have around the house, such as my desk surface that becomes a constructed landscape, or the flowers in a vase that have seen better days.

Hope you enjoy the images below. – This is also a forum for exchanging information, so if you have any questions about this or would like to share similar guest contributions, please let me know in the comment section below, or send me an email!

Cheers!

Gerhard (Gerry) Clausing