Possible Pentax mirrorless MF 645 Camera

[Stefan Steib]

According to this source we will see an interview with Pentax´s R&D Chef Mr. Kitazawa tomorrow, where he mentions they are already working on a mirrorless camera (like a mamiya 7?) with the chip of the Pentax AF645D

http://photorumors.com/2011/12/17/p...rorless-full-frame-and-medium-format-cameras/

Also in the works a full frame 35mm mirrorless.

Finally there starts the movement and as always the Japanese are doing it.
I am sure this is the way to go. So who´s next ?

Greetings from Munich
Stefan

 

[GrahamWelland]

Well, I for one would buy a rangefinder-like mirrorless MF camera that had Mamiya 7 quality glass in a portable package. I would have to think though that this would basically mandate some form of EVF which given the quality of current EVF's probably would work now.

Bring it on ...

 

[Stefan Steib]

There already is an intense discussion happening in the pentaxforum:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/...announce-pentax-upcoming-bodies-dec-19th.html

It seems we have to wait to see until tomorrow to know the exact text though.

Greetings from Munich
Stefan

 

[Shashin]

I would imagine they will not have two MF lens lines and with the new 645 lenses, they will stick with the current 645 mount. I doubt Pentax would go with a rangefinder--the R&D to learn how to make one would be enormous. Most likely it would be a variation on the Sony SLT mirrorless line.

The magazine come out tomorrow, not a Pentax announcement.

 

[FredBGG]

personally I think Pentax needs to just put a bigger sized sensor into the 645D.

A 22MP 645d with the 48.9x36.7 sensor in the Aptus 22 or Phase One P25
for $ 8,000 would be a winning camera.

 

[PeterA]

I was impressed enough with Sony's viewfinder tech to buy a Nex 5N and A77for my personal (admittedly eccentric and geeky ) test purposes - live view that works in combination with focus peeking functions better than the typical one autofocus point supplied by MF back makers today. The Sony mirrorless shutter system is outstanding IMHO - and worth a stop or two in terms of reduced blur in hand held situations.

A larger chipped mirrorless camera would mean a significantly smaller body size is possible - with a lot of modern gee whiz electronic GUI helpers as well.

I would buy an in camera stitched panorama enabled MF chipped camera in a heart beat - CMOS or CCD I dont care as moire isnt a big issue with tiny pixel sizes. The sweep panorama system employed by Sony needs improvement.

Interesting to see in afew threads in the MF forum ( lately) some people doing the sums (doing the looking?) and figuring out the problems with edge to edge sharpness in backs with more than 30-40 megapixels

I am envisioning a flat thin panelled live view ( as in real live view) mirrorless digital housing to which lenses can be attached. Remove the AA filter from the CMOS chip, allow for a B&W only version ( should be cheaper not MORE expensive) thanks and we are almost there.

The 'there' ultimately will be a digital capturing device/medium which will allow for movements to be seen live - allow users to choose whatever lens they wish to mount and make focusing easy...




.

 

[Shashin]

The neat thing with the 645D is the sensor plane is to the front of the top LCD so the current camera is a lot deeper than it needs to be--they kept the space used for the roll film holder. It would be easy for them to make a smaller mirrorless while keeping the same lens line. They could also add shifts, either to the sensor (or rotating sensor) or the lens mount--the lenses would have enough of an image circle to allow that.

Personally, I do not like the Sony EVF or even EVFs in general--the image is just too crude.

 

[Stefan Steib]

the interview is out - full text Japanese and English here:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/...anslation-kitazawa-interview.html#post1749610

the central sentence is:
"Kitazawa: Well, regarding the 645, sooner or later we will want to make it into a mirrorless. The reason is the mirror shock inherent to SLRs. Those very tiny vibrations do have an effect on the final image. I think in the future I would like to pursue mirrorless full-frame and 645 cameras."

Very , very interesting interview. Thanks to the Pentaxforum for this translation !

regards
Stefan

 

[Graham Mitchell]

I would imagine they will not have two MF lens lines and with the new 645 lenses, they will stick with the current 645 mount. I doubt Pentax would go with a rangefinder--the R&D to learn how to make one would be enormous. Most likely it would be a variation on the Sony SLT mirrorless line.

The magazine come out tomorrow, not a Pentax announcement.

There is no point in using the existing lenses - the distance from lens to sensor is large, to allow for the mirror, which means the mirrorless camera would be just as large.

If they do this, it's likely to be with new lenses (assuming they have never produced a medium format rangefinder in the past).

 

[Graham Mitchell]

My concern would be with the focusing. I doubt they would use a rangefinder system - it's more likely to be EVF. However you can't judge critical focus of a 40MP image on a 480x36 pixel screen, so it will need some very good focus indication overlay to help you quickly see exactly where the critical focus lies, but CCD sensor readout is too slow to do this properly. If they can pull that off, it could be a very useable camera.

 

[Shashin]

There is no point in using the existing lenses - the distance from lens to sensor is large, to allow for the mirror, which means the mirrorless camera would be just as large.

If they do this, it's likely to be with new lenses (assuming they have never produced a medium format rangefinder in the past).

Actually, the camera can be very much smaller and still keep the same flange distance. The sensor plane on the 645D is not at the back, but deep within the body--as if there as a film roll-film holder on the camera with the rolls behind the film plane. Pentax could move most of the body around what is now the mirror box. Imagine if you took the bulk of a MFD back and moved in front of the sensor like most consumer cameras.

To make two medium-format lens lines would be really expensive. I don't think Pentax would win any goodwill from their customers if they dropped the 645 lens line. Pentax has only two MF lens lines, the 645 and 67 lenses, both for SLRs.