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Pentax 645D is here ! ! !


yuri_huta

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

"...6.0 μm x 6.0 μm pixel size..."<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>

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<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>
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<p>The body is pictured with a D-FA 55mm f/2.8 AL(IF) SDM AW.</p>

<p>AW - All Weather? Considering the weather sealing on the body, perhaps this is a weather sealed lens? Maybe better weather sealing than the WR lenses for the APS-C DSLR line?</p>

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<p>Thanks Peter. In my excitement, I did not even look at any other announcements. This is really great. I was hoping I could find something that will let me shoot film and digital with the same system. Unfortunately, I chose Pentax 645 as my film base, so now I need to save up for the digital side of my system.</p>
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<p>Wow. I like that Pentax is rolling the dice. It is a risky move. I say that, because I wonder how Pentax will market this camera. How DO you sell this thing?</p>

<p>Price wise, it is only a little more expensive than the top of the line, full-frame cameras from Canikon. But the similarities end with price. The 645D isn't designed for speed, unless 1 frame per second is quick to you. So you won't see it at sporting events, or in a photojournalist's hands.</p>

<p>The 645D is a deliberate camera. Shooting portraits/weddings, product/advertising, and landscapes are the apparent aim for this camera.</p>

<p>At $9400, that sensor better produce fabulous results. That's just the reality of it. At 40MP, and in the price range of the big guns at Canikon, the 645D really needs to stand above the full-frame sensors in quality. Otherwise, what's the use?</p>

<p>I'm glad Pentax did this. I hope it works. And I'm dying to see some images from this sensor.</p>

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<blockquote>

<p>Shooting portraits/weddings, product/advertising, and landscapes are the apparent aim for this camera.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Not so much weddings, unless you strobe every single interior shot. The CCD, despite its area, is not designed for low light—the max native ISO is only 1000, with 1600 being available as a software push. No, this is a camera for slow, low ISO photography.</p>

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<p>Steve, Nikon and Canon are not the competition here. Have a look at the prices for everything else with 30Mp or more sensors - Phase One, Mamiya, Hasselblad. There is a substantial market of professional photographers for these beasts, and increasingly with cashed up landscape amateurs - Pentax have really put the cat amongst the pigeons with this. </p>
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<p>At this price, they will be selling outside Japan soon enough. For the serious Pro, This is about a little less than half the price of the Hasselblad H3DII-39 with seemingly features to match*. I'm impressed with the shutter speed sync at 1/125th (The 645NII was 1/60th). Where the 645NII was 1/60th.</p>

<p>With these the sensor size is like APSc, not really 6x4.5 like the old film cameras were. So I wonder what the crop ratio is on full 645 lenses already in existence?</p>

<p>*Pentax has Higher shutter speed range, Higher ISO range, Hassleblad flash sync up to 1/800th (this must be shutterless electronic)!!<br>

http://www.hasselbladusa.com/media/1342803/uk_h3dii39_datasheet_v4.pdf</p>

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<p >Peter Zack wrote:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>With these the sensor size is like APSc, not really 6x4.5 like the old film cameras were. So I wonder what the crop ratio is on full 645 lenses already in existence?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>The 645 film had a 69.7mm diagonal while the 645D has 55.0mm. So the crop factor is 0.8.<br /> <br /> The 645 came with a normal lens of 75mm, equivalent to 50mm on 35mm film. But rather than give us the similar 60mm on 645D, we are getting a 55mm... the true normal size!</p>

<p>Thus the smc PENTAX-D FA 645 55mmF2.8 AL[iF] SDM AW (whew!) is the medium format cousin of the FA43 Limited. You heard it here first!</p>

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<p>I'll never be able to afford this beast. But I have been stocking away a small assortment of P645 lenses for just this day. Hooray! Another month or so, and maybe I can sell a few and pick up a nice P645N that someone's dumping for digital. Hey, some folks play investor on Wall Street, I just do it at KEH and B&H.</p>
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<blockquote>

<p>Peter Barnes said:<br>

Steve, <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/#" target="_blank">Nikon<img src="http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_bing.gif" alt="" width="10" height="10" /></a> and Canon are not the competition here. Have a look at the prices for everything else with 30Mp or more sensors - Phase One, Mamiya, Hasselblad. There is a substantial market of professional photographers for these beasts, and increasingly with cashed up landscape amateurs - Pentax have really put the cat amongst the pigeons with this.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Peter, I disagree. I think they are after BOTH the Canikon AND Mamiya markets. Mamiya already has priced their entry level 22mp dslr at around 7k which is the same as the Canon EOS 1DS mk III which is 22mp also. The difference being sensor size. This was done to get the Canikon folks to BUY-IN to the Mamiya system and then be able to move up by swapping backs. What Pentax has done is basically say screw that! For a little more than $9k you can have 40mp + huge sensor. To get the same in Mamiya is almost twice as much. So anyone looking at Mamiya will think twice about that. The Canikon crowd who is about to drop $7k will also think twice. At that level another couple thousand isn't a big deal (that size of equipment purchased is leased anyway), so it bumps up the payment another 40 bucks. No big deal.<br>

I think this will Rock the house when it hits the US market and I bet this is only the begining of a grand re-entry into the pro marketplace. If they are successful, then we will see a drop in price of top of the line gear which will cause a trickle down effect over time. So much for all of those 'Pentax going down the tubes' rumors that we hear every christmas:-) Note to Canikon: You are about to get your collective Kungs totally Fu'd.</p>

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<p>Looks pretty interesting--you can see lots of sharing of latest D-SLR technology and usability. I would not assume that a direct JPY->USD conversion indicates what USA pricing might be like. Could be the same, could be worse, but I would not be shocked if pricing is slightly better. My recollection (could be wrong) is that JPY prices for their APS-C DSLR equipment look a bit steep if you just convert to USD.</p>

<p>I notice the new lens is marked with SDM. I hope this doesn't mean that all new glass won't be AF-compatible with 645N.</p>

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<p>I share everyone’s excitement over the 645D product release. It just seems like a screaming bargain. I only hope the thing is <em>really really good</em> .<br /> <br /> I’m glad that they are limiting the initial scope to Japan as it allows some time to develop the professional support services. If those services fail to materialize, then we will have a better idea who the intended audience for this camera system is.<br /> <br /> That all said, right now I have this sense that order has returned to the universe. The distance between the SLR space and the MF space during the film days was pretty wide, but Pentax was always associated with MF. They had a good chunk of that space with working photographers.<br /> <br /> Fast forward to now, it will be interesting to see if the psychological distance between DSLR and MF-DSLR will be any closer. At least Pentax shooters with some emotional value attached to the brand can now point past the “FF” castle at something bigger. And as we all know, bigger is better:)</p>

<p>ME</p>

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