Ode to the Pentax 645: The Quiet Romantic of Medium Format

In the world of medium format photography, some names shout. Hasselblad — the status (or dare I say it, pretentious). Mamiya — the muscle, the dependable workhorse, all business. But then there’s Pentax.  Humble, earnest, quietly brilliant.  And among its creations, the Pentax 645 stands as something truly special — a camera that never chased the limelight, yet delivered everything a photographer could want.

And now, years later, it’s having a quiet renaissance. The secret’s out — and for those of us who’ve used it, it’s about time.

The Pentax 645 is not just a tool — it’s a partner. A quiet romantic. And it’s been the medium format camera I return to again and again.

Ahead of Its Time

When the Pentax 645 first arrived in the 1980s, it brought something revolutionary: ease. Medium format, until then, often meant bulk, complexity, and a steep learning curve. The 645 took that tradition and softened it — wrapping high image quality in a form that felt surprisingly intuitive. It looked and handled more like a beefed-up SLR than a studio monolith. And for photographers transitioning from 35mm, it made the leap feel natural.

Autofocus? Eventually, yes. Auto exposure? Absolutely. Interchangeable backs? No — but it didn’t need them. What it did offer was simplicity, dependability, and a viewfinder that made the world look cinematic.

In many ways, the Pentax 645 was the people’s medium format camera. It didn’t try to be flashy. It just quietly got the job done — and looked good doing it.

The Romance of Pentax

There’s something undeniably romantic about shooting with the Pentax 645. The soft thunk of the shutter. The way the lenses — especially the 75mm f/2.8 or the 105mm f/2.4 — render the world with creamy separation and soulful tones. It’s a camera that seems to invite slower shooting, deeper breaths, and a bit more feeling.

It’s not intimidating like a Hasselblad, which can sometimes feel like you’re borrowing someone else’s tuxedo. And it doesn’t carry the “bricks and bolts” feel of a Mamiya, whose industrial heft demands muscle memory and mental math.

No — the Pentax 645 is something else entirely. It’s your companion, not your instrument. It feels close.

Affordable Beauty

Perhaps the sweetest part of this love story? It’s affordable now. Once a luxury, the Pentax 645 (both the original and the later 645N or 645NII) has become one of the best-kept secrets in film photography. For the price of a fancy dinner and a few rolls of Portra, you can own a medium format legend — one that still punches well above its weight.

This is a camera that democratizes medium format. It lets more photographers feel what it’s like to slow down, shoot big, and make images with depth and atmosphere.

Why I Keep Coming Back to It

I’ve shot with all the big names. But I keep coming back to the Pentax 645 — not out of nostalgia, but because it simply feels right. It never tries too hard. It doesn’t need to. The results speak for themselves — gorgeous negatives, forgiving metering, lenses that whisper emotion into every frame.

It’s the kind of camera that makes you fall in love with photography all over again — not through perfection, but through presence.

Final Thoughts

The Pentax 645 may never be the darling of camera collectors. It may not fetch thousands at auction. But that’s precisely its charm. It was never about prestige. It was about pictures — honest, rich, textured images that feel as good to make as they do to look at.

So here’s to the Pentax 645 — the quiet romantic of medium format. You were always enough. The world just took a little while to catch up.