Cliff wrote: I am considering either a 645n or a 645nii for landscape work. I know that the 645nii has a mirror pre-fire like the MZ-S/Z1P/*ist & *istD.
However some reviewers (like Michael Reichmann: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/645-mlu.shtml) found that there was no difference between the n & nii in his tests using mirror pre-fire versus no pre-fire. This is because the 645n already has a very soft mirror (mirror brake). I am not 100% convinced, and I wouldn't mind hearing other opinions on those who have used both these cameras. I mainly will be using wide-angle lenses on the 645 (e.g. 33-55mm). I use both the Z1p & MZ-S, and have found that the Z1p's mirror vibration to be excessive (& use pre-fire even at 1/60th), while the MZ-S's vibration is MUCH less. Regardless I use the 2 second pre-fire when using slow shutter speeds (e.g. below 1/30th with wide-angle) to ensure that I get sharp images, and it works great; hardly any vibration due to mirror slap (on a solid tripod of course). REPLY: I have used both the N and the NII. In my opinion you should definitely get the NII. The 645N has no mirror lock whereas the NII has both mirror lock AND mirror pre-fire. The latter is great for landscape under circumstances when you would otherwise have used a cable release. The problem with the Luminous Landscape MLU test is that it is performed under ideal conditions; ie. on a hard, sollid surface on a sturdy tripod. For landscape photographers such conditions are rare as we usually put our tripods on moss or worse in a bog. In addition the NII takes 15 frames a 120 roll whereas the N take 16 and, hence, the latter will experience film flatness issues. Also, the custom functions are user selectable on the NII model whereas on the N they have to be activated at a Pentax service station. The MZ-S doesn't vibrate much. In fact, it probably don't need mirror lock! The shutter of the LX alone, mirror locked up, vibrates more then the MZ-S without mirror locked. P�l
