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PENTAX 645D II

Ken_R

New member
I had the 645D. It was/is a really nice MFD DSLR. Just wished that Pentax had the service and support in the US that was in tune with such an expensive camera and lenses (the newest ones).
 

markymarkrb

New member
There was an update* on the link above that mentioned Pentax 645DII to be announced tomorrow but it has since been removed. TBD
 

Uaiomex

Member
Ricoh? Pentax is way more cool and recognized. Besides the Ricoh name is ugly, cheap and infantile in my language. I won't be buying any "rico" camera! Eduardo
 

tsjanik

Well-known member
Ricoh? Pentax is way more cool and recognized. Besides the Ricoh name is ugly, cheap and infantile in my language. I won't be buying any "rico" camera! Eduardo
I believe name change applies to compact cameras only. 645 and K series remain Pentax. I thought rico means rich.
 

D&A

Well-known member
I believe name change applies to compact cameras only. 645 and K series remain Pentax. I thought rico means rich.
I too thought that was Ricoh's stradigy too and one I think that would serve then well. The Pentax name in both 35mm SLR type cameras and as well as medium format is a storied name, even with many just starting out with their first photographic classes.

Of course we also know what has happened to other familiar names like Minolta and Konica after acquisition and mergers too place.

On a separate note I have no doubt a new 645D II will offer improvements in many areas that some have asked for and were expecting...but like the situation between the CCD M9 and new CMOS M, and the improvements the new M has brought, I believe there are going to be Legion of fans for the original 645D that are going to be reluctant to change for a wide variety of reasons. Of course we'll have to see what the new camera brings to the table and at what price.

Dave (D&A)
 

jduncan

Active member
I believe name change applies to compact cameras only. 645 and K series remain Pentax. I thought rico means rich.
I believe name change applies to compact cameras only. 645 and K series remain Pentax. I thought rico means rich.
It does, but also means "sabroso" that is of good flavor. From there sexual innuendoes follow.

It's also the masculine form so a male Photographer carrying a "rico" camera can be the target of jokes about been narcissistic.
They go like that:

Que esta ciego? como toma fotos ? (Are you blind? how do you take pictures)

Or :

Siga soñando de ese lado "keep dreaming that side"

So if you are coming to Costa Rica with a Ricoh camera don't be surprised of the funny faces :)

It's just joking.

Best regards,
J. Duncan
 

tsjanik

Well-known member
.............. I believe there are going to be Legion of fans for the original 645D that are going to be reluctant to change for a wide variety of reasons. Of course we'll have to see what the new camera brings to the table and at what price.

Dave (D&A)
I agree Dave. I'm very happy with the files from the 645D. It will take more than 50 MP and live view for me and we'll see if CMOS can maintain the "look" of the 645D files.
 
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Shashin

Well-known member
I don't know, Dave. I don't see the need to purchase a new camera just because a new model comes out. I don't feel limited by this model and I am very happy with the results.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Will, please take time to watch "The Light Bulb Conspiracy" documentary. Your reluctance to buy the latest and greatest because it's the, err, well, latest and greatest, is very un patriotic and against the best intentions of the market economy.

Shame on you. :D
 

D&A

Well-known member
Will, please take time to watch "The Light Bulb Conspiracy" documentary. Your reluctance to buy the latest and greatest because it's the, err, well, latest and greatest, is very un patriotic and against the best intentions of the market economy.

Shame on you. :D
Graham, now I'm feeling guilty. I just pre-ordered three 645D II's, ( two backups of course). Oh wait, who's economy is helped most by their purchase?

All kidding aside I too agree with Tom and Will and have been very happy with the 645D and and have been completely satisfied by the quality of its files as well as the reliability and features of the camera. Sure there is always room for improvement but it will probably take something extraordinary to put the thought in my head of upgrading.

Along conventional lines, something tells me the three most likely upgrades we'll see are the higher ISO performance, live view, and probably a faster processor to facilitate read/write and preview speeds. As for image quality from the CMOS chip, that's waiting to be seen.

Dave (D&A)
 
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GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
I agree - if it ain't broke, don't fix it (or replace it). We're all guilty of chasing the shiny new toys.

645D II with CMOS sounds cool though. I look forward to hearing more about it.

A little surprised about the negativity towards Ricoh as a brand though. The Ricoh compact film and digital GR cameras have been excellent and highly regarded. It's not like we're talking about hiding our cameras in paper bags here (**cough** Hasselblad Lunacy ** cough **)
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
If there is one improvement I want, it is the ability to turn off the dark frame behaviour associated with long exposures. I see the benefit of this function, but give us the choice to turn it off. That way I can use the system with star trail stacking!
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
Yes - that would be very appealing indeed. That has been pre-announced as being in their roadmap for some time and this announcement doesn't specify a date, so it's nothing more than a promising statement of intent... I wonder if it will cover full frame 645 or not. The original 25mm DFA did but the revised 25mm DA does not. It might provide indications of likely sensor size strategy.

Calling it 645D 2014... Hmmm...
 

Ed Hurst

Well-known member
I will certainly be looking at how this body performs before rushing to buy it. I am very happy with my 645D. A little more resolution, further improved high ISO performance, quicker read/write speeds, etc. are all well and good, but the overall IQ will have to be clearly improved before I spend significant money. What will colour response and DR be like? What about noise at base ISO? The 'character' of the files?

I do feel that 40MP is not enough sometimes, but 50MP is not much of a jump. And the other benefits... jury's still out in my book. I want to love it though and will be carefully watching it, wanting to want it!

The best thing about this is the commitment it shows to the Pentax MF product line!
 

tsjanik

Well-known member
Yes - that would be very appealing indeed. That has been pre-announced as being in their roadmap for some time and this announcement doesn't specify a date, so it's nothing more than a promising statement of intent... I wonder if it will cover full frame 645 or not. The original 25mm DFA did but the revised 25mm DA does not. It might provide indications of likely sensor size strategy.

Calling it 645D 2014... Hmmm...
Ed, I agree that this confirms Ricoh's commitment to the 645D, which is good, in particular for those of us already invested in the system.

Tom.
 
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