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by Royce Howland on Tue Apr 15, 2014 12:50 pm
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Awhile back, I wrote in another thread that CMOS sensor technology with other associated things like Live View were finally coming to the medium format camera segment of the market:
http://www.naturescapes.net/forums/view ... 7&t=241679

Earlier this year, Phase One, followed by Hasselblad, both introduced new MF digital back & camera systems based on a new Sony ~50MP CMOS sensor. Around the same time, Ricoh also "pre-announced" an upgrade to the original CCD-based Pentax 645D camera, but hardly any specifics about it were known. It almost certainly uses the same Sony sensor adopted by Phase and Hasselblad.

Late yesterday, Ricoh finally made it official.
http://www.us.ricoh-imaging.com/dslr/645Z

I'm an unabashed fan of the original Pentax 645D, so I admit that I'm biased. :) But I have to say the new camera appears to have kept everything I liked about the original model, and makes it substantively better with some important new changes. This is a big step beyond simply going from ~40MP to ~50MP of resolution. Just on paper I don't really see anything that looks like a fumble with the new design... but as always, the reality of the camera in the hand, and the images on-screen and in print still needs to be checked out.

Some key points of the new camera:
  • I'm calling it now -- "Z" is the new "X". Look for the Pentax 645Z to blaze a trail of a slew of new cameras with "Z" in the name. :)
  • ~51 MP at 8256 x 6192 pixels (up from 40 MP)
  • CMOS sensor with Live View and focus peaking (replaces the CCD sensor with no Live View)
  • ISO range of 100 - 204,800 (up from 100 - 1600); quality as yet unknown but this is an all-time high for any medium format system including the new Phase & Hassy on the same sensor
  • Redesigned shutter rated at 100K actuations (up from 50K) and 3 FPS (up from 1.1 FPS)
  • 1.037 M dot pop-out tilt LCD (replaces previous 921 K dot fixed LCD); another medium format first
  • Full HD video, and pseudo 4K with an interval shooting mode; another medium format first
  • Upgraded AF mechanism with 27 points including 25 cross-type and 3 points optimized for low light (up from 11 points); possibly the best spec'ed AF of any MF system, and the 645D already was a solid performer in this area
  • Some new remote operation capabilities via USB 3.0 tethering and WiFi Flucard tethering (improved from the weak tethering support on the 645D, but still to be determined whether it will satisfy hard-core studio tethered shooters)
  • Full weather sealing (minor improvements over excellent weather sealing on the 645D)
  • $8500 USD price at launch in the USA (down from $10K launch price of the 645D)
Some info is posted at DPReview and various other sites around the net:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2014/04/15 ... entax-645z
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2014/04/15 ... entax-645z

It's worth noting that the full line of previous Pentax FA 645 lenses which remained in production elsewhere in the world but were not imported to the North American market, now will be officially available to us here. They're up at B&H for pre-order now and should start coming available through the Pentax dealer market. These will complement the small (but increasing) number of new digital-specific DA and DFA 645 lens designs that have been available in North America since the launch of the 645D here in 2010.
http://www.pentaxforums.com/news/fa-ser ... he-us.html

I've loved every day of using the 645D since I got it in late 2010, and love using it today equally as much as I did when it so convincingly supplanted my trusty Canon 5D Mk II. In my estimation, more than ever the Pentax 645D and now 645Z are the Canon 5D and 5D Mk II of the medium format world. We'll see how the 645Z does in reality but based on what I know of its predecessor it should deliver phenomenal image-making of a solid medium format system with the vast majority of the feature set and all-around shootability of a modern general purpose DSLR. And do so at a price that's a tiny fraction of all the other MF options, and dropping down closer to the high end of the 35mm DSLR range.

That said, like every other camera, the new 645Z will not appeal to everyone. It's still not a fast action system. It's large and heavy, so not for those who want something compact and lightweight. It will have a limited range of glass, not covering specialized needs like fast supertele primes or tilt-shift. The standard lens flash-sync speed of 1/125s means a limited range for those who need to shoot with flash. Etc.

Still, I'm betting it will prove to be an incredible tool for the kind of image-making done by photographers who are in its core target -- like me. To say that I'm interested in this new camera would be an understatement... :)
Royce Howland
 

by Markus Jais on Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:04 pm
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Looks very impressive for that price.

I do not know much about the medium format system and want to ask about the Pentax lenses for this camera. How good are they? Can they compete with the Phase One and Schneider Kreuznach lenses?
Just curios.

Markus
 

by SantaFeJoe on Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:08 pm
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Can't wait to see huge prints from those files. I also wonder in printers will even be able to bring out the best of images created with it.

Joe
Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.  -Pablo Picasso
 

by E.J. Peiker on Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:15 pm
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It's definitely another impressive offering.
 

by Royce Howland on Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:31 pm
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Markus, the best of the Pentax lenses are able to compete well enough with anyone. I've only found one legacy FA 645 lens design that I consider a dud all around, the 45mm prime. And one FA 645 design that is good but has a particular anomaly in its optical performance; this is the 35mm prime. The manual focus A 35mm prime doesn't share the same optical anomaly so I actually use it most of the time in preference to the autofocus FA 35mm lens.

The new digital-specific DA and DFA 645 lens designs are shaping up to be superior; the 25mm ultra wide-angle and 90mm image stabilized macro are fantastic. (The 90mm IS lens is another medium format first by Pentax, by the way. Nobody else has image stabilization yet.) Only the first DFA model produced (when ownership of Pentax was transitioning from Hoya to Ricoh) has struck me as marginal; this is the 55mm prime. But some people like it well enough for other types of work than what I do.

Still, it is true that as an entire range, you get what you pay for with Leica or Phase One for example. Ricoh is not going to claim to go head-to-head across the board with systems costing 3X - 5X or more. But they don't need to, because the reverse is also true -- even legacy FA 645 glass on this body will deliver far better than 33% - 20% of the IQ of the more expensive systems. :) IMO Pentax has a price performance argument that nobody else in medium format can reach.

Like with many things, when you get to the high end there's a non-linear price performance curve going on. 2X the price doesn't get you 2X the performance; it might only be 25% more performance. The 645D and 645Z put a new control point in the upper quadrant of the MF performance curve, and drag the price way down towards the 35mm price quadrant.

Joe, printers will have no problem making these images shine. I can visually see the difference between prints of my 645D files vs. prints of similar files made on my old Canon 5D Mk II. I can see these differences down to 13x19 size, and certainly at 17x22 size. Some people disagree but that's okay, I trust my eyes. :) Certainly if somebody doesn't print their work (or sell it to people who print it), a camera like this is overkill. But if you do print your work, this camera is going to shine even on common sizes that many of us work with.

If you consider that the native print resolution of Epson printers is 360 PPI, the 8256 x 6192 files from the 645Z will print at native res at a size of 17.2 x 22.9 inches -- no up-resing required, almost an exact match for the common 17" cut sheet size. This is not an exotic print size; anybody using a 17" or larger printer, or getting prints made at 16 x 20 and up, I believe would see the image quality right there.
Royce Howland
 

by signgrap on Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:26 pm
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Royce have you had an opportunity to compare a print from your 645 with a print from a D800E?
Obviously the comparison wouldn't be as apparent as with the 5D II but I would think an informed viewer would still see a difference.
Dick Ludwig
 

by Royce Howland on Tue Apr 15, 2014 2:43 pm
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I've not had the time to do a direct comparison of prints between the D800E (or a7R) and 645D. It has been on my to-do list for a long time and a few of us were interested in doing it, but other stuff kept interfering. :) But yes, an informed viewer I believe would see the difference at 17x22 and up from there. I'm going to try to get my grubby hands on a 645Z as soon as I can. Once I do, I have in mind a shoot-out and print-off comparing say the 5D Mk II (I don't have a Mk III but might be able to access one, or perhaps a 6D), D800E, a7R, 645D and 645Z.

For people who print 16 x 20 and up, and don't want to go to the lengths of stitching, there's a cluster of 4 cameras in 3 different systems that offer best bang-for-buck: D800E, a7R, 645D (as long as it remains available) and now the new 645Z. There are cameras that are cheaper, but not nearly as good. There are better cameras, but radically more expensive. I think these 4 right now hold down a centre position around which everything else swings, in terms of print quality for photogs like myself.

They are different enough from each other that the print quality itself may not be the main reason somebody would pick one of them vs. another. And in fact a person might own more than one of these systems since their differences could make them complementary to each other rather than competitive. For example I can easily see adding a modest a7R kit to my setup for use as a lightweight travel kit when I don't want to lug the much larger & heavier 645 system somewhere. I'd get most of the benefits of reduced size & weight while only giving up a certain amount of absolute print quality. But when size & weight didn't matter so much, the 645 system would still be king.
Royce Howland
 

by Scott Fairbairn on Tue Apr 15, 2014 4:28 pm
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For those interested in MF , this looks like an amazing camera. I'm not a landscape photographer so it's not for me, but it sure looks like a great product.
 

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