Thoughts on the New 645D sensor

[chris_gampat]

<p>If it's going to really be around $6,500 then it will kill all other medium format camera competition. A 40MP sensor scaled down a bit to 39MP and with better noise control will be awesome.<br>

If they were able to tone down the noise in the K-x maybe Pentax is able to do something very similar with the 645D's sensor?<br>

http://thephoblographer.com/2010/03/05/could-this-be-the-pentax-645ds-new-sensor/<br>

It'll make for some nice landscapes in NYC.</p>

[xavian_anderson_macpherson]

<p>Are you kidding! At that price it will kill most high-end full-frame 35mm DSLRs as well!!</p>

<p>Xavian-Anderson Macpherson<br>

ShingoshiDao</p>

[kelly_hughes]

<p>I think they are saying it's going to be about $18,000. I sure hope your number is closer, though.</p>

<p>Plus, imagine how expensive all our 645 lenses will become on eBay after the 645D debuts!</p>

<p>-Kelly</p>

[ivan_j._eberle1]

<p>Rumor has it that it will have Live View-- which means a CMOS, and not the above-mentioned CCD, sensor.<br>

Too, the Pentax Japan teaser page does have a moving video background... seems to hint that it might have video.<br>

Give me built in WiFi live view to an iPod Touch as the ultimate preview and triggering remote --and am I so there!</p>

 

[chris_gampat]

<p>Well let's hope it supports tethering because otherwise we're all screwed. The K7 and K-x don't support tethering.</p>

[scott_murphy_photography]

<p>Just to keep things in perspective. Assuming this sensor is 6 x 4.5, a 6 x 4.5 fine grained negative or transparency scanned at 4000 ppi, produces an image that is 9448 x 7086 px. This works out to be 66.95 MP, an increase of 42%.</p>

<p>Not bad, but it has a long way to go.</p>

[dave_redmann]

<p><em>Just to keep things in perspective. Assuming this sensor is 6 x 4.5, a 6 x 4.5 fine grained negative or transparency scanned at 4000 ppi, produces an image that is 9448 x 7086 px. This works out to be 66.95 MP, an increase of 42%.</em></p>

<p>Uh, no. First off, a standard "645" film frame is about 56 x 41.5 mm, and this sensor is 44 x 33 mm. Next, even Velvia 50 is only rated for 50% MTF response out to about 45 lp/mm, and that's straight off Fuji's own data sheet. So even if the scanner is perfect--perfect film flatness, perfect focus, perfect alignment, etc.--the most detailed of the tranparencies is only good for about 5040 x 3735,* or 18.8 MP. Now I realize that the sensor won't quite deliver the full effective resolution that its pixel count implies, but <em>assuming the lens can deliver</em>, and in the real world that can be a significant issue, the 645 D ought to be able to deliver something approaching twice the real fine detail that color transparency 645 film can.</p>

<p>*E.g., 56 mm x 45 lp/mm x 2 l/lp = 5040 l. I realize that detail with less than 50% MTF response can provide some information. But the curve is falling away fast, and film and scanning limitations mean that real-world results are unlikely to show a substantial amount of detail at higher resolutions, and what detail there is will tend to get increasingly masked by grain.</p>