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Pentax countdown..........

bensonga

Well-known member
Thanks for this link & info Neil. Looks like a very good lineup of lenses.

I'm really getting excited about this camera.....sure hope it comes to the USA in 2010.

Gary

Re Lens availability

I have been trying to search on the Japanese Yodobashi camera shop to work out which lens are available for the Pentax.

This link shows the Pentax stock at the shop. Camera and new digital lens is under reservation.
http://www.yodobashi.com/ec/categor...dname&sorttyp=SELL_PRICE_DESC&mkrs=0000035700
 

roanjoh

New member
I'm still surprised that we don't have any full-res images posted online. I hope they are not having problems with image quality.
 

Oren Grad

Active member
From Michael Reichmann's "What's New" today:

"Interested in the new Pentax 645D? This fascinating new cameras was shown in production form last week at the CP-Plus show in Yokohama, Japan, and our intrepid reporter Bernard LANGUILLIER was there. We'll have his observations as well as an exclusive interview about the camera with Pentax's Product Planning executive here tomorrow – and yes, the 645D will be eventually available outside of Japan."
 

kdphotography

Well-known member
From Michael Reichmann's "What's New" today:

and yes, the 645D will be eventually available outside of Japan."
Hey Guy. Does this mean no more workshop in Japan? :ROTFL:

I could see a stop at the Yodabashi Camera Store...it's about six floors + stacked full of goodies. If anything qualifies as the red light district of camera porn, this is it.

:thumbup:
 

bensonga

Well-known member
Ok, I'm ready for it.....four Pentax 645 lenses (35, 55, 75, 150) and a backup 645NII body are on the way to Alaska. With that and my full complement of ten Pentax 67 lenses (and a P67 to P645 lens adapter) I should be set. Can't wait to get my hands on a 645D. :thumbs:

Gary
 
M

ManuelGF

Guest
I also sigh a 645D. If 645NII is delicious, the 645D is not just a digital version has too many improvements. Quiet and fast shutter, better flash system sync, better measurement, better autofocus ...
 

roanjoh

New member
Ok, I'm ready for it.....four Pentax 645 lenses (35, 55, 75, 150) and a backup 645NII body are on the way to Alaska. With that and my full complement of ten Pentax 67 lenses (and a P67 to P645 lens adapter) I should be set. Can't wait to get my hands on a 645D. :thumbs:

Gary
Oh wow!!! I hope the "estimated" ship date to the states will work in your favor. Or maybe a trip to Japan?
 

bensonga

Well-known member
Oh wow!!! I hope the "estimated" ship date to the states will work in your favor. Or maybe a trip to Japan?
If it doesn't arrive here in the US until 2011, that would work better for me. I'll need that time to save up the big $$ and work on getting the wife's ok. :eek:

Gary
 

roanjoh

New member
Just read the whole thing......... the interview sounds reassuring. I have a gut feeling that this camera will be wildly popular once they are available to the market.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
From that interview, I think Pentax did a good job of identifying a target market and meeting their needs (weather proofing, DSLR like handling and features, legacy Pentax 645/67 users). I for one am a happy Pentax owner and look forward to the day when the 645D is available in the US. :thumbs:

Gary
 

tjv

Active member
I'm with you guys. It looks to be a real winner and to the system for me - one that won't bankrupt me but give me the end quality I need, plus more. Look forward to this being confirmed with images samples and user reports in the near future.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
If the 645D performs on par IQ wise with something like the Hasselblad CFV-39 ($13,995 list) and it sells in the USA for under $10,000 then I think Pentax will have a very competitive product in the highend DSLR and MF digital marketplace.

Gary
 

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
What a frustrating process. I want to know full details as much as anyone. But it's not even slated to ship until May (assuming it's one of the few MFD products to ship exactly on time) and then only in Japan for some undetermined time.

Unreleased systems always have such unanswered questions, so it's not a negative comment on Pentax or anything.

Just one that came up in that interview:
- the body sounds like it's very very weather sealed and should do well in extreme environment. But as the LL experience in Antartica shows some systems claim a high level of weather sealing but do not hold up well in extreme environments. Companies like Phase have a proven history holding up extremely well in bad environments even thought they don't claim much at all when it comes to weather sealing. So the first question is how will the real world results come out. The second question is what lenses will have weather sealing built in at the mount? I don't know the Pentax lens line (can anyone fill us in here) - if they aren't weather sealed at the bayonet then using the camera in rain is a bad idea period. With Canon for instance the L series lenses are weather sealed but the consumer grade and older professional lenses are not. Still a nice thing that they have recognized a demand for it and I look forward to seeing how it holds up in the real world.

Also from that interview I find it really annoying to use "first sensor anti-dust vibration in medium format" as a selling point. I would much much rather have a sensor that is wicked easy to clean because it's completely and easily accessible than a sensor which is inside a mirror box and requires dedicated cleaning solutions (like the very good Artic Butterfly solution) any day. Not even a hard choice. The fact that they have included anti-dust vibration is great because if you can't access the sensor you need that technology to stay sane. But no dust-shaker I've seen on the market in any camera is 100% effective at removing dust, and can do next to nothing if, god forbid, something other than light dust works it's way onto your sensor (e.g. mist depositing something there while changing lenses) and you'll be stuck using the Artic Butterfly like a spelunker rather than a quick wipe with a Digiclean of an exposed medium format sensor. Of course I'm very biased in that all the medium format products my company sells are separate body/back combos rather than a ZD-Camera or Pentax 645D all-in-one SLR like solution.

Also for landscapers the idea that you can't use the sensor on a technical camera is disappointing. Of course for the very low entry price it's not a deal breaker, but since there is no upgrade path other than strait-selling your equipment used and since there is no track record on what the market will value a used Pentax 645D at it will be a hard investment for landscape photographers who think they might eventually transition to a technical camera or view camera. MANY of the photographers who have purchased Phase backs in the last two years for the purpose of landscape have later upgraded to a technical camera with large format Schneider/Rodenstock lenses, and for them they could keep 100% of their initial investment and simply add a tech body and lens.

Surely someone else cringed when they read "we already have 15 concrete orders at one retail location". Buying a system that not only you have used, but that no one has used is scary to me. Very very scary. Trust me I am all about loving and getting excited about gear - just - ya know - wait until you can put it in your hands (or in the very least until someone you trust has put it in theirs) before you put actual money on it.

Another question that comes up is how they are getting a base ISO 200 out of the same sensor technology that Hassy is only rating at 100. And how does their ISO of 1000 compare to the H4D's higher ISOs? One big caveat here of course is that the H4D-40 is shipping - a very big caveat in medium format known for delays/cancelations/spec-changes or vaporware.

Surely as Pentax comes closer to actually shipping the announced system we will get more details, and especially some raw files to play with. That will answer a lot of the questions.

As I conclude all the above writing it comes off more negative than I mean it to be. I guess probably because the question marks are all in potentially negative categories. The HUGE positive (and it is huge) is not in question: low price. So the questions that I bring up above are many and likely won't be answered until there is a shipping system, but the really big plus is written right with the announcement (though what US price would be is still in the air along with when "sometime" will be in regard to US availability). As far as announcements go it is very exciting - a lot of details need to be filled in and real world vs. announcement needs to be seen, but it is a very exciting announcement.

Doug Peterson (e-mail Me)
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Stuart Richardson

Active member
To be completely honest Doug, it sounds like you are trying to run damage control more than anything else. It also seems like this camera is filling a bit of a niche that other medium format makers did not want filled.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
Hi Doug,

All good points. Of course, I see this camera thru the eyes of my own particular needs as perhaps a serious but amateur photographer. My own view is that Pentax will not be competing for the higher end Hasselblad or Phase One MFDB systems where a removable back may be desirable, if not for the photographer's needs now, then in the future. I do think there may be quite a few folks like myself who would consider something like the 645D instead of a high end Canon or Nikon. I think Pentax will have to develop more new lenses that meet their own stated goal of weather proofing, if the existing lenses don't meet that requirement. Lots of unanswered questions still.....but I'm hopeful the camera will fit the bill for many of us who aren't ready, willing or able to spend $15-$30k for a MFD camera. It's a great entry point for a medium format digital system.

My earlier statment might have been misleading....I think they will be competitive with the high end DSLRs and LOW END medium format digital systems. After all, if a person didn't already own either Pentax 645/67 lenses or Hasselblad V-system lenses, it might be pretty tough to sell a person on a CFV-39 instead of a Pentax 645D....assuming the IQ are comparable when all is said and done.

Gary
 
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Oren Grad

Active member
Doug, this is a digital Pentax 645, it's not a Hasselblad wannabe. The interview reinforces that. It's a direct successor to the Pentax 645 film cameras, and makes the same kinds of tradeoffs aimed at more or less the same market.

When the original Pentax 645 was new, there were pundits who gave Pentax grief over the fact that it had only swappable inserts, not interchangeable backs like Mamiya and Bronica (and later Contax). But sales of the camera made clear that there was room for both approaches.

The simpler construction certainly is part of what allows Pentax to target this very aggressive price point with the digital version.

The weather-proofing doesn't have to be monsoon-grade to have value - all it needs to do is give the targeted buyer peace of mind that the camera will hold up decently well and not be very finicky in the intended use. I don't take my EOS-1v's out in a heavy rain either without wrapping them in something, regardless of what lens is mounted. But I'm confident that they won't die just from getting a few drops on them.

I don't think the camera even needs to match image quality with the current MF players to be successful, though it might well achieve that. To hit the market niche targeted by Pentax, it just needs to be a distinct step up in IQ from the D3x and 1DsIII under conditions where low-ISO, tripod-mounted working is appropriate. That should be a slam dunk unless something has gone horribly wrong in development.
 
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Terry

New member
I don't think the camera even needs to match image quality with the current MF players to be successful, though it might well achieve that. To hit the market niche targeted by Pentax, it just needs to be a distinct step up in IQ from the D3x and 1DsIII under conditions where low-ISO, tripod-mounted working is appropriate. That should be a slam dunk unless something has gone horribly wrong in development.

Exactly how I would be using it. For everyday shooting I am perfectly happy with my m4/3 gear. Essentially this would be my tech camera.....just an automated one.
 
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