Mamiya ZD | Final Autumn Images

(click on images for larger versions)

This is going to be my last post of autumnal colours with the Mamiya ZD. The temperatures are dropping and so are the leaves. And with those cold temperatures I have been reminded of my biggest bug-bear with the medium format digital cameras and systems I used to use ten to fifteen years ago: battery life.

I’m not sure whether it is the old technology used in the lithium ion batteries in these medium format digital cameras of yesteryear or whether it is their size and power requirements of large CCD sensors but they were all very susceptible to cold temperatures in a way that modern batteries simply are not.

The weather here in the UK right now is hovering around freezing point but not much below yet the Mamiya ZD’s batteries start to give up at around 60% charge in these conditions. I have to keep spares which I store in a pocket very close to my body to keep them warm. When the battery in the camera unexpectedly gives up I swap it for a warm one.

I recall once owning a battery pocket extension accessory for my Rollei 6008AF system cameras. This accessory allowed you to keep the battery in your pocket at all times and keep it connected to your camera via a cable. If I’m going to shoot much with the Mamiya ZD this winter then I need something like that!

The lens I used for these shots is the standard lens for the ZD, an 80mm F/2.8 AF. It is very compact and lightweight, rather cheap in terms of build quality but is really an extremely sharp lens, probably the sharpest of all the AF lenses I currently own from 35mm through to 150mm.