rumor: Pentax 645D Price: $6500 USD

[SeanBK]

.............. How did they do this with CCD, when Phase apparently can't?
....................

That my friend is called "secret sauce"....  

[Quentin]

Some sense in pricing for the MF market at last.  I doubt I'd buy the Pentax but its a compelling option compared to the remortage-the-house or sell a kidney alternatives.

Quentin

[eronald]

That my friend is called "secret sauce"....

Pentax make compacts and dSLRs so they can easily reuse the same LCDs. And the guys who make the SLRs can just donate the circuit design and drivers, including ready to run menu/window systems, file displaying code etc.

Edmubd

[deejjjaaaa]

feature set of the deprecated tethering application?

manual is available = http://www.pentax.jp/english/support/man-pdf/k20d_ra.pdf

[deejjjaaaa]

It will also be interesting to see what sort of performance it would have tethered (if it can tether) pushing 40 megapixel raw files down a USB pipeline without years and years of experience tweaking all parts of the process for high-resolution tethering (as is the case with Phase/Leaf/Hassy). Or how fast a generic program would render the 100% view - the difference in shot-to-render time varies a lot based on the program used to tether such that the same Phase One back renders an initial full-frame preview and a 100% view (to check focus) much faster now than in the days of version 3 for instance, largely because of optimization on the camera firmware and c1 software to get it up on the screen as fast as possible and because of the advantage Firewire has over USB for transmission of large continuous streams of data (as opposed to lots of little files).

HDMI Type C mini

[BJNY]

GREAT it's CCD quality without AA-filter

except CCD doesn't have Live View

[aaron]

That loud noise you just heard was dancing in the streets in Denmark and Sweden.

BC

They may well dance in the streets but i think its will be short lived, thats one big can of worms Pentax have opened.

I think it would be better for Hassy & Phase if this Pentax was available worldwide, It would bring a lot more preple into the MFD world.

Also the fact thats its available in Japan only 'initially', is going to have potential Phase & Hassy buyers holding off buying anything or upgrading in the short term.

I also seriously doubt that Kodak have any hold over where Pentax sell it, that would imply that they gave pentax a better price than Hassy & Phase, who would surely not be happy with that possibility either. I expect they simply want to satisfy demand in their home market first.  

[cyberean]

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1003/10031002pentax645d.asp

[rcdurston]

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1003/10031002pentax645d.asp

Still only 14 bit though.
 

rob

[Doug Peterson]

Good thing the Pentax can process JPEGs, so this won't be a worry.

Next FUD point?

JPG transfer to the computer for fast preview is a great tool for some workflows. I wish a Phase back could do so because more options are almost always better. However:
1) Not every camera that can process JPGs can be set to send the JPG to the computer and the RAW to the internal card (CF / SD) - see for instance the Leica S2 so until/unless the system ships and can do so the ability to process a JPG won't do much for tethered shooting (but would of course still be a useful feature in and of itself for some workflows)
2) not every workflow (e.g. high volume catalog shooting) will find that option appealing as it is one more step.

I don't like having my questions called FUD. It's very expected that there will be details not included in an initial press release. The camera has some great features listed so it's very possible that the answer to everyone of my questions will be a resounding "awesome".

I think you misunderstand my intention/motivations. We are a dealer and at various times have sold various camera brands (e.g. we used to sell Hasselblad and we recently picked up Leica). We don't fear a Pentax entry into MF (or any other brand) - we want the market to provide good options so we can sell them! I do fear that despite the myriad lessons of the past (including vapor/crapware from many manufacturers) that photographers will place too strong an emphasis on paper announcements. See the Mamiya/Phase 45-90 lens, Phase One wireless tethering, Hy6 lenses, H3D-60 available April 2009, or for that matter the multiple Pentax 645D rumors/announcements/prototypes since 2006. The ZD Camera in that category since it was announced and met with huge anticipation ("X megapixels for only $X) but took several years to be available in the US, and was fraught with difficulties to say the least.

The point is like any camera announcement - including from Phase or Leaf. I'll believe it and recommend it to clients when you show me a complete/shipping/working/proven/reliable system.

I hope it's awesome.

Doug Peterson
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[douglasf13]

Still only 14 bit though.
 

rob

  That may or may not matter.   link

[TMARK]

Still only 14 bit though.
 

rob

They are all 14 bit, the last two bits are empty.  Do a search here for Thierry Hagenauer, the fantastic and much missed Sinar rep.  He said on numerous occasions that the extra two bits are empty and therefore meaningless.

[hubell]

I expect they simply want to satisfy demand in their home market first.  

I suspect that they want to sort out the teething problems with the camera in the Japanese home market where the cultural stereotype is that consumers bow and smile no matter how much they get screwed. It's a very respectful culture. If you want to see the alternative reality, look at Sinar's and Leica's experiences with bringing the Hy6 and S2 to market. It's a tough audience out here in internet land where initial missteps can be the death knell for a new product. It is also possible that Pentax could not offer the camera at the indicated price point if it had to offer the level of after-market support and warranty service that would be expected of a professional level MFD camera in the US.

[TMARK]

I suspect that they want to sort out the teething problems with the camera in the Japanese home market where the cultural stereotype is that consumers bow and smile no matter how much they get screwed. It's a very respectful culture. If you want to see the alternative reality, look at Sinar's and Leica's experiences with bringing the Hy6 and S2 to market. It's a tough audience out here in internet land where initial missteps can be the death knell for a new product. It is also possible that Pentax could not offer the camera at the indicated price point if it had to offer the level of after-market support and warranty service that would be expected of a professional level MFD camera in the US.

Did the HY6 get slammed when it was introduced?  I remember wanting to buy one but couldn't find one to test that had batteries in it, and they never really had accessories for it.  The S2 got slammed because it can't tether well and is absurdly overpriced for what it is.  

In any case, the Japanese wedding market is big enough to support the 645D.  I don't think their plans rely on the US and European markets, although, I don't remember any big interweb flare ups over the launch of Pentax dslrs.  

[feppe]

The fact that it is (initially) Japan only will only whet the appetite for it more. I'm sure some LL member will stop by the local store in Akihabara to take photos with it to his own SD card and posts them on the internets to show the capabilities (no pressure, Bernard  ). And when the first westerner takes the plunge and buys a gray market 645D and (if) it delivers half what it promises it's going to be bedlam here.

Pentax might have licensing restrictions, but if the demand is big enough they will pay to get to the market. It might translate to higher prices outside Japan, but compared to the competition they could jack up the prices 50% or more and still stay ludicrously competitive - that's a technical term.

[BJNY]

I suspect that they want to sort out the teething problems with the camera in the Japanese home market where the cultural stereotype is that consumers bow and smile no matter how much they get screwed. It's a very respectful culture. If you want to see the alternative reality, look at Sinar's and Leica's experiences with bringing the Hy6 and S2 to market. It's a tough audience out here in internet land where initial missteps can be the death knell for a new product. It is also possible that Pentax could not offer the camera at the indicated price point if it had to offer the level of after-market support and warranty service that would be expected of a professional level MFD camera in the US.

This makes much more sense than licensing restrictions.

[cyberean]

They are all 14 bit, the last two bits are empty.  Do a search here for Thierry Hagenauer, the fantastic and much missed Sinar rep.  He said on numerous occasions that the extra two bits are empty and therefore meaningless.

hey! ... them two bits is certainly not meaningless ...

they mean plenty to all them marketeers ...
and the rest of them two bit chasers.  

[Doug Peterson]

Does someone have a link saying if the legacy leaf shutter lenses will work on the body with the leaf shutter? The press release only mentions the focal plane shutter and a flash sync speed of 125. My Japanese is not very good.

[hsmeets]

Pentax might have licensing restrictions, but if the demand is big enough they will pay to get to the market. It might translate to higher prices outside Japan, but compared to the competition they could jack up the prices 50% or more and still stay ludicrously competitive - that's a technical term.

Assuming it's the same sensor as in the H4D-40: I don't see why kodak would protect other brands like hasselblad by restricting pentax to the japanese market. HB trades in Japan too, or not?

What would have kodak to gain? HB not getting angry at them? But hey, if pentax agreed to source much more units and got a better deal then HB or Leica?

Would Pentax really let restrict themselves by a supplier.....? That would sound like Bosch, Delphi or any other supplier to restrict sales of a GM car in all counties except 1.  

And I, as private person, I would almost find this very offending from Kodak to enforce such restriction and not giving me access to this camera....

[asf]

By the way, what is the carry-on weight limit for flights out of Japan?

7kg