Pentax's 30 megapixel 645 Digital on track for 2010 release
By Darren Murph 
posted March 24th 2009 3:24PM
posted March 24th 2009 3:24PM
[Via DigitalCameraInfo]
posted March 24th 2009 3:24PM
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I wonder whose job it is to count each pixel.
1... 2... 3...
Sod it. 512k pixels is more than we'll ever need. *cough*
for small screens that is. trying blowing it up on a 30" screen. detail loss and increased and the details don't look too clear.
that would just be 'a bag of hurt'
30! What? That's got to be well past the point of insanity!
explain
Insanity, ha! I want more till u can.....I'll just tell you when you get there.
Well there is a point where the human eye cannot percieve any higher quality. I would guess that 30 megapixels is easily in reach of that limit
I wouldn't really say that, perhaps you are referring to DPI, but this sort of camera is used for photography that would be blown up to large proportions, such as a highway ad..
Super hi-def is 32 mega pixels... we need 2 more to match.
1080p hd is only 2 megapixels, however...
Think posters, billboards, etc. This is not for normal consumers.
OK OK the power of the engadget commenter has convinced me. I hadn't thought of billboards etc.
O_O
thats quite a frightening looking camera...
The sensor is twice the size of a "full-frame" dSLR like the Nikon D3 or Canon 1Ds-MkIII, so it has a huge mirror reflex element in the middle and mounts massive glass. Most of the image quality gains come from the huge sensor and marvelously huge glass that allows in more light captured, not the 30 megapixels.
Medium Format sized sensor?
It's 645 for a reason. :D
How about a Pentax 67 DSLR. That'd be one sweet behemoth.
Finally a 645 for the modern age. Imagine adding 1080P video to that monster? Pentax should consider it since this puppy will probably be the cost of an econo car. You might even be able to get 10 Tata Nano's for the price of this bad boy. Just sayin...
PS A Tata Nano is a car, in case some missed the memo ;^)...
That looks pretty sweet. Too bad it'll come at a price where the mere mortal won't be able to afford it :(
Why would a god need money?
no, let me take your picture
Another question that could be asked, to which many more people might readily answer "yes" is "Are you heavily invested in Pentax 645 mount lenses?".
Wanting a medium format has so much more to do with sensor size rather than MP count, and wanting a particular brand of camera has so much more to do with lens investment/availability than brand recognition.
ill just wait 5 years and buy a 30 mp point and shoot or dslr for under 400 bucks
I really hope it does not get there because I don't need megapixel, I need faster FPS, slow mo, faster processor, HD movies, etc.
I really don't give a damn about a 30Mega pixel or even a 12Mega.
I just want other features.
And watch, in five years pro shooters will still be using pro-grade cameras not $500 cameras.
Its not going to happen anytime soon... There is no reason why that many pixels would need to be crammed into a tiny sensor like that on a DSLR or P&S. The future is in extending the dynamic range of current sensors. The people who need these 645 cameras have their photos made into billboards/huge posters, etc. Try doing that with a P&S.
Look if we've already got 24 in the D3X, what's another 6 MP? That's only about 10% more resolution.
Not kosher? If the Black Coats are selling them how can they not be Kosher?
Nice, what i need a 20+ ultra zoom, 1080p video record, fast fps, 10+ megal pixel, camera that can fit your pocket, and shoot raw.
Aah, who cares about medium or large-format cameras anymore? (unless this is a full frame, THAT would be something to talk about...)
Uh, READ, its more than FF format. In fact the diagonal length of the sensor is double of the full frame.
Where are you getting that info from?
He means the sensor in this is much larger than 135 FF. And size does still make a difference in the digital world.
this is a 645 medium format. That means the sensor is 6cm x 4.5cm (60mm x 45mm). Nikon's D3X, a full frame sensor as was mentioned by someone else above, is a mere 35.9mm x 24mm. That makes the Pentax 645's sensor nearly 4 times the size.
Am I the only one who thinks that Pentax should rather build something that will keep them alive (say a better DSLR and a much better marketing and sales department?) instead of such a niece product? Of course, if enough people buy it... but somehow I doubt it.
This camera is my sister's daughter? Oh dear.
Better sales and marketing department, true, but go read some reviews. Pentax DSLR's are extremely competitive in the sections of the market they are placed in price-wise (low-end and mid-range). They could use something to compete at the mid-high end. This is overdoing it quite a bit, obviously.
Yeah, niece products suck. Nephew products on the other hand... they ROCK!
I love Itttttttttttttt thats my camera yesssssssssss
You will also need to save up for a block and tackle assembly so you can get it on a tripod
The 645 series bodies are not that heavy. My 645 with an Optech strap feels lighter around my neck than my D3.
@Darren,
it's called Hasselblad, not Hasslebad.
i hope engadget spelled "hasselblad" wrong on purpose...
IIRC it's launced in Japan only, in a small series.
Wow that thing looks beastly
The idea of 30MP is retarded.
For most users, sure. But medium format cameras like this are specialized for those that need to make *MASSIVE* prints.
Wait, you can't take the back off? thats a big FAIL to me. It won't be easy to clean the sensor, you have to replace the whole camera when better digital technologies come out, oh, and 30 mp medium format cameras have been out over 3 years so this isn't anything new.
Hasselblad had a nice camera with the H2. Too bad they discontinued it (well, really came out with a film only version that won't work with 3rd party digital back.) so you would have to buy their digital back with the H3D. . . Their digital backs suck! Put a PhaseOne or Leaf DB on the H2 and you had a winner!
Price here is the key. If this thing is going to be >$15K, then it's hard to imagine it having much market impact outside of existing Pentax 645 users that have a lot of lens investment already. If, on the other hand, it becomes the first MF DSLR to sell for under $10K (at, say, $6K), then you have a lot of high-end enthusiasts with money to burn that would want to upgrade to this instead of a 1Ds or D3.
It does seem like a year ago would have been a better time to have this lined up, rather than post-economic collapse, but how could they have known?
We are talking digital now, you can clean the sensor from the front. It wasn't like in the good old days of film, which I still use you should clean from the back too because dust can seep in anywhere behind or infront of the film and disturb the image.