Is shutter vibration a problem with MFDB when shooting the AFD II handheld? I have a AFD II and I know there's a good deal of mass moving around in it, but I've never considered how much of it was mirror, curtain, film advancement, etc.

I shoot 70-80% of the time handheld (1Ds2) and body shake from mirror & shutter is minimal with my lenses (the longest being 200mm). The 645 lenses would range from 45mm to 210mm and I'm deciding between the P20, P25 and P30 backs (ie - different sensor densities).

BTW - how much does a P-back weigh? I haven't been able to find that spec.

Haven't noticed a bit of difference between the film back and P30 on the Contax system.

John,

In my experience the only way to guarantee sharp images from the Mamiya 645 AFD/AFD II is to use it on a tripod. There isn't excessive mirror vibration/shutter shock etc but it is lot noiser and vibration prone to any 35mm DSLR. I shot with the 16mp Kodak back and it was brutal with any movement. The higher res P backs will no doubt be worse.

the backs weigh about as much as film backs, add in the battery...if you are holding a 645 with a zoom, you won't ntice the difference between a film back and a Dback...
of course there is more vibration compared to the canons...the mirror is much larger...that said it is a lot less then the H1/2 (which is like the pentax 67....pretty bad)....a GOOD tripod will take care of that in any way...i would say that a 645afdII with a lens and back does not weigh much more then a canon 1dsII with a comparable lens...the canon zooms are heavier...

Thanks. While the AFD2 is heavier than the 1Ds2, their weight distribution is very different. I can pro's and con's for each. I wasn't sure if the digital back would change the balance, etc. Is the Hassleblad H-series, Contax 645AF or Rollei 6008AF (HY6 someday) better for handheld shooting? PSS - I know you've not been impressed with the H2's.

BTW - the rep at MAC Group said a new version of the ZD (the body, not the back) will be released in the US in the "near future". I asked if he meant PMA or the Tokyo show, he just repeated "near future". The US price would be between $10,000 and $13,000. I couldn't get any technical details (still a Dalsa sensor? less mirror shake?, etc).

this is my very personal opinion:
i get less shake shooting handheld with WLF....the way the rollei is balanced is a dream...a very heavy camera, heavy lenses, but i can shoot with 1/15...the way i can brace myself, hold the camera infront of my body and look down....i shoot handheld with my RZ in the same way....
i find the 645afd well balanced and the weight is distributed well, the lenses are not too heavy which helps....the H1/2 with the zoom is simply undoable for me....i have to put it down every 15-20 shots...it just feels like you are holding a flagpole out straight infront of you with all the weight at the other end and you have a 3inch handle to keep the thing up.....
i envy all contax owners for the extra grip available for the contax body which makes vertical shoting a lot easier.....i really wish mamiya would make one....that is a typical example of how extra weight can make shooting easier....
the handle of the rollei 6008 (and soon the Hy6) is phantastic...if you have not used it...do yourself a favor, try it....

Do the Contax 645 AF's have any more or less vibration from the mirror?

I shoot a Mamiya AFD and have not noticed any major mirror slap effect. I'll often shoot at 1/60 and if I'm careful I can shoot it hand held. Anything under that I will put the camera on a tripod.

IMO the camera's wieght is distributed nicely when a digi back is attached.

Thanks. I doubt I'd shoot anything slower than 1/100th handheld, though, if I bought the 35mm or the 28mm, you might catch me trying to cheat alittle