Medium Format Film Camera And Lens Comparison Leanne Vice
Film · Leanne Vice Photography
If you have ever wondered about the difference between the Pentax 645N and the Contax 645, this post is for you. I have shot extensively with both medium-format systems and compared them side by side — autofocus speed and reliability, lens rendering, handling, metering, and the all-important question of which one I reach for at a newborn session versus a wedding.
The Pentax 645N is the workhorse: fast, dependable autofocus, a wonderful 75mm f/2.8, and a price that makes it the easiest doorway into medium format. The Contax 645 with the Zeiss 80mm f/2 is the dream — that lens renders skin tones and bokeh like nothing else, and the images have a depth that keeps clients coming back.
My honest conclusion: start with the Pentax, learn your film stocks (mine are Fuji 400H and Kodak Portra), and add the Contax when your business can justify it. Either way, medium format will change how you see light. More film tutorials are linked from the For Photographers page.