Pentax 645 AFD revived

<p>The British Journal of Photography is reporting (30 September) that Pentax has revived its plan to release the digital 645 camera in spring 2010 "hopefully in time for the PMA show". The new camera is expected to have a 30 million pixel sensor and a new 55mm f2.8 lens.<br>

<a href="http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=869343">http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=869343</a></p>

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<p>Hope it really comes out and is no more delayed. And hope that IQ is better than the new EOS which is supposed to appear at the same time. Given that I would really like to buy one. I just love to work with my P645NII and these fantastic lenses.<br>

Greetings<br>

Peter</p>

<p>I summarised the various available info on this in the article <a href="http://www.theatreofnoise.com/2009/09/pentax-645-digital.html">Pentax 645 Digital On The Horizon</a> . I hope this is useful!</p>

<p>Didn't Pentax discontinue production of all 645AF lenses? I would love to see a 645D, but wondering how they could launch this camera with only one lens in the current catolog.</p>

<p>Of course there is quite a lot of inexpensive glass on the used market that would fill any immediate needs.</p>

<p>I think that if Pentax introduces a 30mm and a portrait lens alongside the normal, that is all most would require. I have accumulated lots of lenses for APS-C but don't think the mad LBA race makes much sense for the medium format market.</p>

<p>Not the lenses are discontinued but the camera body. Same with the 67 system.<br>

Regards<br>

Peter</p>

<p>Pentax really had some gems in the 645 FA (autofocus) lineup, but they should stop the "on again" - "off again" with thier customer base. <br>

I guess the difference this time is that some have actually seen the prototypes floating around in Japan.<br>

Pentax had a golden opportunity give a digital option to 67, 645, and k-mount users with the 645D and DSLRs...</p>

 

<p>The 30mp is a minimum specification; it what the prototype showed had (31mp). Pentax is clear that the production model will have more megapixels.</p>

<p>I'm wondering if 33-55mm will have trouble with the digital sensor. Optically, will this lens have a problem with resolution? And, will there be a problem with the way the light strikes the sensor, since sensors seem to like the light rays to come in "straight on" instead of at angles?<br>

My wish is that they'd come with a true 645 sensor (69.7mm diagonal) and slap 39 megapixels on it. That would be a slightly smaller pixel density as 31 MP on a 48x36mm chip. At 39 MP, it also puts it safely ahead of the newer 35mm cameras that are closing in on 30 megapixels. And, it'd allow me to use my 33-55mm lens and not have to wait for them to come out with a 28mm or a 28-45mm zoom. If they stick to the 48x36mm sensor and don't come out with a super-wide right away, there'd be no point in me buying it since I couldn't do any landscape work.<br>

What also caught my attention with the new camera was the option to have the anti-aliasing sensor removed for much sharper images.<br>

And, finally, I hope they allow AE-Lock to not "time out" and simply work like an on/off switch. The 645N and NII only remember the exposure for 20 seconds or so. This "Lock & Hold" feature is standard for even low-level Nikons. I wonder if the current Pentax cameras offer this.</p>