Is this too good to be true? 645 lens on D700?

[rightup]

I have a failing Mamiya 645j body (not a pretty sight or so I'm told) but maybe I can re-purpose my beloved Sekor C lenses on a Nikon D700 with an adapter like diotrox or something? Is this true or fool's gold?

 

[Solarflare]

Why, yes you can ?

Its not a mirrorless system, otherwise the flange distance might have been too short.

 

[rightup]

Why, yes you can ?

Its not a mirrorless system, otherwise the flange distance might have been too short.

I know nothing about camera construction or geometry but I read that this combination works and I was leaning toward a D700 anyway. A good looking sensor in a full size camera but without the big file sizes. My next question will shine a bright light on my spotty attention to actual photographic knowledge and that is how do the manual focus lenses focus on a DSLR? Is there a focusing screen somewhere like on my Mamiya 645?

 

[Solarflare]

You can focus with the viewfinder by checking in which places the viewfinder image turns unsharp, then choosing the middle of the two points at which you start seeing its out of focus. This was enough on my D600 and is enough on my D750 to manage sharp pictures of static subjects.

You can get focus confirmation from the AF system of the camera.

You can get a magnifier for the viewfinder from Nikon; the one for the D700 probably works fine, the one for the D750 though seems to be worthless.

You can get focusing screens from secondary companies like KatzEye, though installing them needs a minimum of skill and of course also violates the warranty.

You can focus perfectly with lifeview and magnification. I think the D700 already has lifeview, as one of the first cameras. I dont know how well it does magnification. The issue I'm having on my D750 is that choosing the location to magnify is EXTREMELY SLOW, which is very annoying. Other than that, it works beautifully. I use it in low light.

You can also use devices like the "Zacuto 2.5x Pro cine-finder" (which Ming Thein uses with the D810) to make it easier to see if you're in focus, especially in bright sunlight.

I am currently in the process of trying to get my first pure manual focus lens. Many of the best lenses for Nikon F are actually purely manual (Zeiss, Voigtländer/Cosina, old Nikon AI-S like the famous 105mm f2.5), so if I'm happy with the results, theres indeed a lot of great glas to get.

 

[jake337]

Why, yes you can ?

Its not a mirrorless system, otherwise the flange distance might have been too short.

I know nothing about camera construction or geometry but I read that this combination works and I was leaning toward a D700 anyway. A good looking sensor in a full size camera but without the big file sizes. My next question will shine a bright light on my spotty attention to actual photographic knowledge and that is how do the manual focus lenses focus on a DSLR? Is there a focusing screen somewhere like on my Mamiya 645?

I'm sure there is a company that makes focusing screens for the D700 you will just have to search. I can't recommend as I have never used one.

When I manual focus with my dslr I look for the highlights in the eyes to become crisp or use liveview and zoom in.