it is here... Pentax 645D

<p>"...features a 40MP, 44 x 33 CCD sensor, 921k dot 3.0" LCD and is compatible with the existing 645 system lenses..."<br>

"The camera will initially be available only in the Japanese market at a suggested retail price of ¥850,000 (~ US $9,400) from May 2010."</p>

<p>http://www.dpreview.com/news/1003/10031002pentax645d.asp</p>

<p>"...dust-proof, weather-resistant construction with 70 special seals, outstanding cold-resistant performance to assure solid operation at a temperature as low as –10°C, and a newly designed shutter unit with a top shutter speed of 1/4000 second that can withstand as many as 50,000 shutter releases..."</p>

 

<p>Fantastic. Half the price of the 40MP medium format Mamiya and only slightly higher than Nikon D3X. I've been waiting for a 24MP D700X for scenics but will now seriously consider the Pentax. I used to use an RB67, medium format is magical. I can't wait to see some images from the Pentax. It could potentially put a dent in high end Nikon and Canon sales. </p>

<p>I think it very well may put a dent into the high end Nikon/Canon DSLRs. Suggested retail is $9400, so presumably the street price will be under that and in the territory of Nikon/Canon.<br>

I can't wait for it to hit the US market!</p>

<p>Thanks Yuri - i have been impatiently waiting this. What is this about initially only being available in Japan - why would Pentax do this? The specs in the dpreview article say "Usable lenses: Pentax 645AF2, 645AF, and 645A mount lenses" - are there any other sorts of Pentax 645 lenses? I have some manual focus lenses marked Pentax-A 645 - am I correctly assuming these are 645A mount lenses?</p>

<p>Peter, I think you are right Pentax-A = 645A mount lenses. This is for all the Pentax 645 lenses then, A, FA and now D-FA. Wonderful news. I did not catch the A series lenses.</p>

<p>What about the Leaf Shutter 75mm lens - marked as Pentax SMC 645 L.S. 75mm f2.8? Will it be compatible?<br /> </p>

<p>Compatible, yes-- but whether it's a good fit, we'll have to wait and see. Consider that because it's MF, the pixel density of this sensor might outresolve your lens. If you've got a one capable of only 60 or 70 lp/mm and a sensor that's capable of close to 90 lp/mm, what's the point of having that 20% better resolution than a 24MP FF DSLR (that is, why spend nearly $10 grand on a body when $2K would easily net you the same or even better results)?<br>

I'm glad the 645D finally has seen the light of day, but for now it seems like the best bargain of all is to have Ektar 100 loaded in my P645N easily outresolve my old 35mm SMC-A lens.</p>

<p>Thanks Ivan - so a Pentax SMC 645 lens has the same (or compatible mount) as a Pentax-A SMC 645 lens? <br>

Not sure what you mean by this:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>it seems like the best bargain of all is to have Ektar 100 loaded in my P645N easily outresolve my old 35mm SMC-A lens</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I've resisted selling my 645n system and lenses on eBay, hoping for this day. The 645D may well affect marketing and product strategies at Canon and Nikon, bigtime. I suspect the initial release is Japan only to avoid any stumbles in the US market (hardware/software bugs) and probably not a bad idea. My 645n has been dead reliable and is almost twelve years old. I hope the 645D is the same way. I've been using many of my 645 lenses on my Canon 5d mkII with an adapter and most of them outperform equivalent Canon L lenses. The 5dmkII will become my backup at some point in the future.</p>

<p>I stopped holding my breath a long, long time ago. I'll believe it when it's on the B&H website. In the meantime, I'll just hold onto my Pentax 645 lenses. Workflow issues aside, what will produce better IQ: a 645D or 645NII with Velvia/Astia film and a Nikon 8000 scanner?</p>

<p>I'm was hoping this camera would be a professional model, but now I'm wondering how it compares to Mamiya & Hasselblad.<br>

DOWNSIDE:</p>

<ol>

<li>HUGE MISNOMER of "645D." The sensor isn't even close to 645. It's way smaller. It's too bad they are trying to mislead people.</li>

<li>Uses tiny, slow SD cards.</li>

<li>14-bit, not 16-bit</li>

<li>Silly point & shoot modes</li>

<li>50K Shutter Releases is extremely low for digital photography even if it shoots at a slow 1.1 FPS </li>

<li>Works to -10 Celcius (or 18F). My 645N II has worked -26F (or -15C) though the film advance gets a bit whiney.</li>

</ol>

<p>UPSIDE:</p>

<ol>

<li>No Anti-Aliasing Filter for much sharper images.</li>

<li>39.5 MP with Sensor cleaning</li>

<li>DNG raw files may elimate forced upgrades to Photoshop CS4 in order to use the camera</li>

<li>Automatic CA Removal even with older lenses</li>

<li>HDR (if it works) could be a real coup</li>

</ol>

<p>THOUGHTS:</p>

<ol>

<li>They mention in the press release that the camera is also designed for professional landscape and outdoor photographers, which I am one. However, in order to switch to digital it's important to offer more than film. And, I really hope that it has low noise at ISO 800 (and definitely 400) otherwise I'll just push Fuji Astia 100F to 400 and save $10K.</li>

<li>They need to offer a VERY wide angle lens to match the previous 33-55mm of the film camera. And, that would be a 26mm and hopefully wider.</li>

<li>It's only being offered in Japan right now.</li>

<li>Interesting how the new 55mm f2.8 lens has a true 645 image circle to work on the film cameras, but won't autofocus on them.</li>

</ol>

<p>Mike</p>

<p>Mike, I would add "Price" to the "Upsides."<br /> <em><br /> "In order to switch to digital it's important to offer more than film."</em></p>

<p>If the maximum native resolution is ISO 1000, I doubt this camera will be stellar at 800. Whether at 400 it can beat 100 chrome MF film pushed to 400 only time and testing will tell, but there is also the matter of digital's "workflow" advantages and the option of taking several hundred photos just to see what works with little or no financial cost. For many photographers, an easier workflow and not paying almost a dollar a shot for film and processing are the "more than" that digital offers.</p>

<p>DOWNSIDE:<br /> <br /> 2. SDHC is not slow. Volume - 362 RAW per 32 GB SDHC. CF is big and will go out from market.<br /> <br /> 3. 14-bit vs 16-bit. Funny. Try to find any difference in real photo.<br /> <br /> 4. Silly point & shoot modes. Explain, please, what do you mean? If you don't want to use JPEG, don't use it....E.t.c.<br /> <br /> 5. 50K Shutter Releases is extremely low for digital photography even if it shoots at a slow 1.1 FPS. Absolutely nonsense. 50 000 shutter release is enough for MF camera. Don't write such silly thing. A lot of 645N users never made above 20 000 - 30 000 pictures.<br /> <br /> 6. -10°C is working temperature under manual. 645NII is 0°C.</p>

<p>Sensor is 40 MP, not 39.5.</p>

<p>try to buy another digital MF 40 MP camera + standart 55 mm ALL WEATHER lens for $9400.</p>

<p>Custom Image function to create desired visual effects with ease The PENTAX 645D’s Custom Image function lets the user easily control an image’s finishing touches to more precisely reflect the user’s creative intentions, or to more faithfully reproduce the ambience of the scene. The user can select one of eight modes, including the new Reversal Film mode designed to create images with the colors that are typical of reversal film.<br>

Which reversal film?<br>

Other that is impossible to match color reversal film, it is a matter of phisics: in reversal film the light passes throught the film, on a print they are reflected and on a monitor they are different again!</p>

<p>While I admit I haven't nitpicked the specs of both cameras...my first thought is that this might give the Leica S2 a run for its money...especially if the "in camera HDR" function actually works!</p>

<p>The cropped sensor gives this 40MP camera a pixel pitch more like the D3X than the D3. Makes for impressive specs but somehow this doesn't seem like such an advantage except from the marketing standpoint-- insofar as the 165 lines per mm this presents (which translates to 82.5 lp/mm) is likely to out resolve all but a very few of the existing P645 lenses.<br>

I can throw away excess sensor resolution much more cheaply on Ektar 100, as my P645N is fully depreciated, thank you very much.<br>

Personally, I'd rather have seen a full 42x56 CMOS sensor with larger photo sites. One potential upside is we might soon see prices of mint condition used FA 35mm f/3.5 lenses return to Earth, and that there won't such be a bidding frenzy on every one that comes up at auction.</p>

 

<p>I think this is tremendously exciting news from Pentax. For me, two things stand out:</p>

<p>- the flash sync speed, which is now 1/125 sec (twice as fast as the 1/60 in the 645N and NII, which will be advantageous for wedding photographers)</p>

<p>- the fact that the new 55mm D-FA lens won't autofocus on the 645N/NII. This seems very odd: presumably it was to save weight, or maybe there is a mechanical reason? A 55mm autofocus lens would have been very handy on the older film models.</p>

<p>It also looks like Pentax have not incorporated their shake reduction technology into the 645D, which may also have been handy on occasion as I regularly seem to have to push my 645N to the limits of hand-holdability (admittedly because I always seem to use slow film...)</p>

<p>Do wedding photographers need or want this camera-- aren't they already much better served with any of several FF DSLRs with fast lenses for low-light capability in dark chapels with no-flash rules?<br>

Too, a sensor with this kind of resolution and no AA filter is going to be brutal to pores and bad skin. It's complete overkill for photographing anyone but pre-adolescents. Maybe good for craggy old man studies-- but not weddings.<br>

As Pentax says, a landscapes and nature camera for prosumers.<br>

Bring on the macros and superwides and the tilt-shifts that maximize it's potential.</p>

<p>The specs on a lot of the workings seem pretty closely related (not surprising) to the current Pentax D-SLRs like K-7. There are no silly P&S modes like 'Pets' or 'Sun 'n Surf', so I don't know what Mike M. is referring to. Bright/Natural etc. are merely for creating JPEGs; this stuff truly doesn't get in the way if all you want is RAW. They can affect how the image looks on the review LCD.</p>

<p>The sensor size, while smaller than 6x4.5cm is similar to competing systems like Mamiya's, though it's true that Mamiya seems to be de-emphasizing the "645" in their cameras, with "DM" appearing more and more. By keeping the name I think Pentax probably wanted to evoke the continuity with the old system; and in theory (though I wouldn't expect this to happen at any time soon) if sensor tech and prices allow, the system could probably still support a somewhat larger sensor. I'm not sure that many people will really be 'misled' by this...few people will drop $10K on this without a decent understanding of what it is.</p>

<p>One question I still have is whether the 645D can autofocus a screw-driven FA645 lens, or if these are relegated to manual-focus only.</p>

<p>These concerns about outresolving existing 645 lenses...who's to say at this point...this sounds like FUD-spreading. Pentax's MF glass has been competitive historically with Hasselblad and Mamiya--people are using their glass with digital backs with similar resolution. With smaller format glass, digital didn't mean that all designed-for-film lenses were made obsolete...most good lenses remained pretty good. I would imagine a new ultrawide, probably in the spirit of the FA645 33-55/4.5 would be a pretty high priority for Pentax.</p>

<p>A few years ago, SD would have seemed a particularly odd choice. These days there are fast SD cards with capacities as high as 64GB. Seems likely this situation will continue to improve. I feel pretty confident that if Pentax thought that the card was going to be the bottleneck, they would have used CF. This decision likely made it that much easier for them to include two slots.</p>

<p>Another "good thing": XSync now 1/125 instead of 1/60 of 645N and supports HSS via P-TTL flash.</p>

<p>The operating temperature ranges listed in specs for most electronic equipment is generally pretty conservative. Most people haven't had too much trouble with smaller-format D-SLRs in much colder temperatures than listed in their specs.</p>

<p>new DFA55/2.8 SDM only...:)<br>

prices....:)<br>

Hasselblad H4D (60 Mp): $ 42,000<br /> PhaseOne DF + P65+ back (60 Mp) + 80 mm lens: $ 42,000<br /> Leica S-2 (37.5 Mp) + 35 mm lens: $ 28,300<br /> Pentax 645D (40 Mp) + 55 mm lens: $ 10,500</p>

<p>The small good thing - Pentax 67 system users can use 67 lenses via adapter.<br>

There are no cameras with crop 1.0 (56*41.5 mm), just Phase One has 60 Mp sensor with crop 1.05 and with price $42000. Pentax had choosen optimal sensor for first camera IMO.</p>

<p>Being a long time Pentax 6x7 aficionado this news is very welcome. If I could incorporate my present lenses into this system I might spring for it. My big question, however, is how would 6x7 lenses perform when adapted to this new system? Probably useable but ...? And the performance at higher ISO would be a factor, too. When the test reports start coming in the view will become a lot clearer. Regards.</p>