Pentax introduces 40MP 645D medium format digital SLR camera

By | March 10, 2010, 3:41am PST

Summary: This is a camera only the pros can handle. Pentax has unveiled the 40-megapixel (yes, 40) 645D medium-format SLR camera with an interchangeable-lens system.

This is a camera only the pros can handle. Pentax has unveiled the 40-megapixel (yes, 40) 645D medium-format SLR camera with an interchangeable-lens system.

The Pentax 645D boasts an impressive list of specs for its high-end class, with a dedication to producing super high-resolution quality photographs. To do that, they’ve built in a high-performance 44mm x 33mm sensor and a 77-segment multi-pattern metering system for better accuracy. This is all within a highly-durable diecast aluminum chassis.

Some of the special modes to help create those fantastic photos include High Dynamic Range for developing a composite image with an extra-wide gradation range from three images at different exposures, as well as Dynamic-Range Expansion to compensate for over- and under-exposed sections in the frame.

Pro photographers also won’t have to worry about swapping out a battery often for a replacement or recharge, as the included lithium-ion should last for at least 800 images after being fully charged.

Here’s what else Pentax has incorporated in the 645D:

  • 11-point AF sensor
  • 3-inch TFT LCD screen (921,000 dots)
  • Dust removal system
  • SD/SDHC card slots
  • Connectivity: HDMI output,  USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, NTSC/PAL Video output, DC input
  • Dimensions: 6.1 x 4.6 x 4.7 in, weighs 52.2 oz (with battery and two SD cards)

Professional cameras come with big prices, and the 645D is no exception, but it might be worth the ¥850,000 ($9,412) retail price. It debuts in Japan in May - no word on a North American release just yet.

[Image via DPreview]

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Rachel King is a staff writer for ZDNet based in San Francisco.

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Rachel King

Rachel King has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted in this blog.

Biography

Rachel King

Rachel King is a staff writer for CBS Interactive in San Francisco. Before serving as a contributing editor at ZDNet in New York City for two years, she previously worked for The Business Insider, FastCompany.com, CNN's San Francisco bureau and the U.S. Department of State. Rachel has also written for MainStreet.com, Irish America Magazine and the New York Daily News, among others. Rachel has a B.A. in Mass Communications and History from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, where she served as art director for the student magazine, Plated.

Rachel started playing with her mother's old Brownie camera when she was just a toddler, working her way up from a Hello Kitty point-and-shoot to training on both film and digital SLRs.

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RE: Pentax introduces 40MP 645D medium format digital SLR camera
three-shao 19th Sep
@MrBeck My goodness that is great! Awesome job replica watches imitation rolex watches omega replica watches
0 Votes
+ -
Moving back toward film resolution
MrBeck 10th Mar 2010
Since 35mm has a resolution of greater than 27mp as measured by the majority of film scanners used before the pros went digital, it is nice to see the digital medium get back to where film was 50 years ago.
0 Votes
+ -
Except....
bosshog7_2000 10th Mar 2010
Let's see you make exposure and colour balance
changes after the fact with film....something you
CAN do with RAW files. Film's dead, let's move
on.
0 Votes
+ -
6x7 is much larger than 35mm
jogiba@... 10th Mar 2010
Maybe I should put some Velvia 120 in my 6x7 Pentax and scan the images with my V700 Epson scanner. But I will just keep shooting with my Pentax K-7 since it's good enough and I could see what I got in seconds.
@MrBeck My goodness that is great! Awesome job replica watches imitation rolex watches omega replica watches
Good luck to Pentax. It's already a crowded niche market with products like the Leaf and Phase One backs for Hasselblad and Mamiya. Medium format had it's heyday back in the film-era when discerning amateur photographers (myself included) would "graduate" to medium format but digital "medium-format" is now largely confined specialized high-end professional photographers. At least for those people who held on to their severely depreciated Pentax 645 lens collections this might be a welcome relief. Anthony Maw, Vancouver, Canada www.anthonymaw.com
0 Votes
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Actually I think it will be a hit
bosshog7_2000 10th Mar 2010
This new Pentax system cannot be compared to
Leaf and/or Phase One backs....go ahead and try
and buy a complete camera with back and 40MP
for $10k from either of those companies....

If the sensor on this Pentax performs then it
is vastly cheaper than the Mamiya, Leaf,
Hasselblad alternatives.
Clint
http://clintdunn.zenfolio.com
Medium Format is a code word, as near as I can tell, for >20 megaPixels. There is an element of harking back to real physical medium format, in the terms of big chunky hardware and enormously expensive lenses (albeit with unmatched quality). But there's a reason for this niche market: if you really want to have a large high-res image on your wall, 20-50 megaPixels is an absolute requirement. A 20x20 inch print at a mere 240dpi is 4800x4800 pixels, or 23 mPixels.

However, I believe this market category is now a short-term anomaly, and that the "small" SLR (35 mm heritage) will begin, more and more, to step up to so-called medium format resolutions. And, over time, their prices will come down. And medium format, as a hardware category, will fall by the wayside.

Technologies to watch that are required to make it happen: sensor densities and lens resolution vs size/weight.
0 Votes
+ -
You're wrong ekkedesign....
bosshog7_2000 10th Mar 2010
Medium format has nothing to do with pixel
count...it refers to the sensor size. A
conventional 'full frame' DSLR has a sensor
roughly 36x24mm in size...roughly equivalent to
a 35mm film frame. This Pentax sensor measures
in at 44x33mm....basically 1.7 times larger
than a 'full frame' DSLR.

The reason medium format cameras generally have
a higher pixel count is that they are able to
fit more pixels on a larger sensor and still
maintain relatively low digital noise.

Clint
http://clintdunn.zenfolio.com
35 mm film can only be scanned at a practical limit of 2800
to 3200 ppi. Any more than that just enlarges grain and is
useless. 35mm film is therefore equivalent to about 11 - 13
megapixels at its absolute best.

getreal
Will my 67 lenses fit on it?
0 Votes
+ -
meh-ga pixels
frylock 25th Mar 2010
What I'm looking for next is a sensor that can capture the dynamic range (not resolution, we're past that) of film. Not these HDR software gimmicks, but true 14 stop (or better) DR.

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