Pentax 645Z – Cheapest Digital Medium Format Camera?

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Pentax is no stranger in the medium format camera market. In the film days, Pentax came out with the Pentax 6×7, an oversize SLR which was loved by landscape photographers and the Pentax 645 series. Many people still owns those medium format lenses. If you don’t, there are lots of used Pentax medium format lenses selling in the market.

Pentax has recently launched their latest digital medium format camera, the Pentax 645Z that uses CMOS sensor. There was a lot of buzz when it was announced. The pricing was nearly half the price of its nearest competitor. That made everyone sit up and take notice. The last time I checked, there was a long waiting list among professional and serious landscape and portrait photographers. The first trial unit has arrived in Malaysia but I was unable to lay my hands on it. This is really a hot item. Here is the Pentax 645Z package that you will get.

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Distinct Format. Unmistakable Brilliance.

Experience the distinct perspective of medium format photography with the unique 645Z. The 645Z seamlessly combines brilliant build quality, exceptional operability and hyper resolution with 51.4 million effective pixels. Designed to meet the needs of a wide range of professional photographers, the 645Z offers class leading speed and response with 3 frames per second continuous shooting and fast image review and transfer. Experience your photographs first hand with the high-resolution, tiltable 3.2 inch, LCD monitor. The 645Z allows the capture of beautiful, full HD movies and 4K Interval shooting. Take your photography, from the field to the commercial studio, to the next level with the distinctly brilliant PENTAX 645Z from Ricoh Imaging.

1. 51.4 effective mega-pixel CMOS sensor

Designed to meet the demands of professional photographers, the 645Z offers a 43.8mm x 32.8mm 51.4 mega-pixel CMOS sensor, which is ideal for ultra-high resolution imaging, exceptionally large printing applications and outstanding cropping flexibility.

2. Versatile live view with a tiltable LCD panel

The high-resolution, tiltable, air-gapless 3.2-inch LCD monitor with approx. 1,037,000 dots offers live view for convenient framing and reviewing of image lighting. The tilting LCD is convenient for waist level or overhead shooting.

3. Real Time Scene Analysis with 86,000 pixel sensor

The new Real Time Scene Analysis System features an 86,000 pixel RGB light-metering sensor and improved algorithms that further enhance accuracy of exposure, white balance and autofocusing. This assures a perfectly exposed image even in difficult lighting conditions.

4. Class leading speed and response

Built with the assumption that every second matters, the 645Z offers a fast frame rate of 3.0 FPS, quick image processing to rapidly review images, and swift image transfer with USB 3.0 computer connection.

5. SAFOX 11 Autofocus Module

Assure the sharpest focus with the SAFOX11 autofocus module. Maximizing 27 AF sensors and a vast light sensitivity range of –3EV to +18EV, the focus module includes 25 cross sensors and three AF sensors dedicated to low light focusing

6. Durable design

With a magnesium alloy body, die cast aluminum chassis, and 76 special seals, the 645Z boasts a fully weather and coldproof design to resist water, fog, snow, sand and dust, for top performance in extreme field conditions as well as in the studio.

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  • Anti Aliasing filterless design

    Anti Aliasing filterless design achieves superior resolution for rich, detailed imagery at supreme resolution where camera settings, lens selection and shooting conditions are controlled to prevent moiré.

  • Optional Flucard, Eye-Fi Wireless, and SDXC Memory card compatibility

    Perfect for studio or macro shooting situations, the optional 16 GB Flucard for PENTAX in the 645Z allows the photographer to remotely change settings such as aperture, shutter speed and ISO, shift the AF focus point, release the camera shutter, check a Liveview image, and browse and download images to any web browser enabled device. Eye-Fi Wireless and standard SDXC Memory cards are also compatible.

  • 100-204800 ISO

    High sensitivity range of ISO 100-204800 with improved noise performance throughout, including ISO-specific noise reduction, the 645Z will be ready to perform in a wide range of light levels and shooting conditions.

  • HDMI port

    An HDMI port outputs high definition images, video and sound to HDTVs.

  • Customizable RAW/Fx button

    Customizable RAW/Fx button allows for easy access to common shooting settings.

  • Beautiful, full HD movies and H.264 video

    Enhance your video recording experience with full HD movie capture in the H.264 format (1920 x 1080 pixels/60i/30p), also including the ability to switch from still image to video recording with the flip of a dedicated switch. Equipped with a stereo microphone terminal for external microphone connection, the user can also adjust the audio recording level manually and visually monitor sound levels during recording.

  • Dual SD card slots

    Dual slot SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card support ensures fast and reliable storage for high resolution image files, simultaneously saving in multiple formats, assigning images to different cards based on their original format, or easily holding one memory card in reserve.

  • Multi-pattern white balance

    When shooting scenes that include multiple light sources, such as sunlight and shade or flash, light sources are recognized automatically and the image is separated into different areas. White balance is adjusted separately in each area according to the different light sources to achieve optimal color reproduction. With a newly added Multi-Pattern Auto mode, switching back and forth between modes is easily achieved.

  • HDR Image Capture

    Improved in-camera HDR image capture features more blending options and better pixel registration for easier operation without a tripod.

  • Other Features

    • Compatibility with new D FA autofocus lenses as well as older 645 lenses ensures a wide selection of PENTAX glass for a wide range of photographic applications. • Deep, 14 Bit RAW files in PENTAX PEF and Adobe DNG formats retain great detail in highlight and shadow areas of an image, and offer a high level of flexibility when processing RAW files. • All-glass, trapezoid pentaprism viewfinder with interchangeable focusing screens offers a 98% field of view viewing angle for accurate framing applications. • Mirror dampening hardware applies a braking action to the mirror swing, minimizing the effect of camera shake and noise levels to the image capture process. • Mirror Lockup function prevents blur caused by the movement of the mirror during the exposure, ensuring the sharpest possible image capture for professional-caliber applications. • A Digital Level function displays the vertical and horizontal inclination of the camera, ensuring captured photos remain level to the horizon.

For more details on the specifications, go to Pentax 645Zspecifications

 

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