645 digital
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Pentax gets official with 40 megapixel 645D medium format camera
We had a hunch that Pentax was readying a 645 Digital, and sure enough, the company has come clean with that very camera today. The May-bound 40 megapixel 645D is a medium format beast, but unlike similar options from Hasselblad, this one won't actually destroy your hopes of sending four generations of offspring to college. Boasting a 44mm x 33mm sensor, a 3-inch rear LCD and a virtually indestructible chassis, this monster promises high res images that only pros can appreciate, and there's a pair of SD / SDHC card slots for those who love to surround themselves with options. You'll also get a newly designed 11-point AF sensor, a fresh dust removal system, 77-segment multi-pattern metering system and a battery good for around 800 images when fully charged. 'Course, with a retail price of ¥850,000 ($9,442), you'll also expect amenities like an HDR mode, dynamic range expansion and an HDMI output, all of which just so happen to be included. Oh, and if you're in the market for some new glass, there's also a 55mm F2.8 lens that'll ship alongside of this here body for the princely sum of ¥100,000 ($1,110).
Pentax teases new DSLR, 645 Digital finally making its debut?
The on-again, off-again saga of Pentax's monstrous 30 megapixel 645 Digital might have a happy ending after all. The Japanese company has put together a little teaser site for a forthcoming shooter, and the silhouette above carries the unmistakable shape of a digital SLR, though conclusions about what particular camera it may be are still hard to reach. We can look at Canon's recent unveiling of the T2i as a sign that the prosumer DSLR segment is ripe for a refresh and prognosticate a new K-series shooter, but that would be nowhere near as exciting as getting a spectacularly chunky and expensive camera to add to our wishlists. To support 645D theorists, we can point you to Pentax's earlier assertion that the shooter is coming in 2010, which goes nicely with the new promises of "a large ultra-high resolution image sensor, a new world." [Thanks, Kenneth]
Pentax's 30 megapixel 645 Digital on track for 2010 release
Got an itch that only a 30 megapixel shooter can scratch? Not really kosher on anything offered up by Hassleblad? For those odd, eccentric souls who somehow managed to answer "yes" to both of those inquiries, you'll be elated to know that Pentax's long awaited 645 Digital -- which was once rumored as canceled altogether -- is on track to be released next year. According to an update on the company's Japanese website, the device will boast 30 megapixels and will play quite nicely with the FA645 55mm f/2.8 lens that should launch simultaneously. Start saving those tax credits right about now -- we can say with absolutely certainty that you'll need every spare dollar you can find to afford this sucker.[Via DigitalCameraInfo]
Pentax canceling the 645 Digital to focus on K-series DSLRs?
Pentax's 31.6 megapixel medium-format 645 Digital has been announced for over a year now -- we've even seen one in the flesh -- but it's never actually shipped, and now it looks like it never will. According to Impress, Pentax is killing off its digital medium format cameras to focus on K-series DSLRs, but the 645's film versions will live on. Considering the ever-more-competitive field of excellent prosumer cams out there, we can't say we fault the decision, but if there are any engineering samples lying around, we'll be happy to take 'em off Pentax's hands.
Pentax's 645 Digital is real, too good for us
We were a smidge bummed that we couldn't manhandle Pentax's leg-sized 645 Digital -- which was trapped in a bubble -- but perhaps it was for the best. We're sure they could sense we'd all want to have a Nigel Barker moment, when really we should be focusing on the fact that this camera can shoot 31.6 friggin megapixels. It should be out later this year -- not as though you'll be able to afford it. Well, not you Bill, just pretty much everybody else.%Gallery-1994%
Pentax busts out Hasselbladian 31.6 megapixel 645 Digital
Pentax has apparently tapped Kodak to provide its 31.6 megapixel KAF-31600 medium format CCD for the upcoming 645 Digital, which would seem to be the company's highest resolution digital camera to date. So far all that's known from the pre-PMA announcement is that the 645 will sport both SD and CF slots, and will ship with a specially-built 55mm lens that's also compatible with 645-series SLR film cameras. We should find out more about this behemoth in early March -- although possibly not pricing and release info -- but one thing we can say for sure is that if it's priced anything like the Hasselblad H3D-31 whose sensor it shares, expect to pay out well into five figures.[Thanks, David N.]
