M9 backup. Pentax 645D 40mp

[eleskin]

Or will the M9 be a backup to the new Pentax 645d 40mp? Maybe it will be an S2 backup. Or maybe it will give Canon and Nikon a HUGE HEADACHE! I own an M8, but I am glad I held on to my Pentax 645N lenses!!! This is big news, even if we do use rangefinders! Price will be lower than the top Nikon and Canon offerings! Way to go Pentax!!

 

[jamato8]

Very interesting. Looks like digital is starting to fly.

 

[aizan]

this camera changes the equation. pros will never look at the 1dsmkiii or d3x the same way again.

 

[imokruok]

There's the new Mamiya too (although everyone knew that was coming...) Hot time for digital with BIG sensors.

 

[Jamie123]

this camera changes the equation. pros will never look at the 1dsmkiii or d3x the same way again.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I suspect the new Pentax will not have a big effect on Canon or Nikon sales. The next batch of pro DSLRs will have around 30mp. Pair that with useful ISO up to 12800, excellent 45 point AF, an extensive line up of excellent lenses and you have something the Pentax can't compete with. Also, most pros have years of experience with the top Canon or Nikon cameras.

 

[swoop]

this camera changes the equation. pros will never look at the 1dsmkiii or d3x the same way again.

For people who work in a studio. But if you work in the field, there is no way I would ever bring that Pentax with me. Most days I find it hard to justify lugging around my Nikon. The M9 is so much easier to bring along for 90% of assignments and gets the job done just the same.

 

[jamato8]

For FF I don't really want anything larger than the 18mega pix of the Leica. I can get excellent images with my 5D and wish the 5DII I have was more around the 18 pix just for workability. The Pentax will no more take away from Canon or Nikon than it ever has, as they are two different animals with different purposes. I always shot weddings on MF but did some with 35 but the Pentax, for me, would be more what I would like for weddings and so on but I no longer shoot them. Maybe it is old practice from having used the 6X7 Graflex XL but I just like the results of MF for that type of shooting.

The M9 is a dream come true for me. This camera is killer and I couldn't be happier with the results for "intended" purpose. Even the battery is doing better as it has formed now. It holds a charge much better and is more where I would like it to be.

 

[Andy Kibber]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I suspect the new Pentax will not have a big effect on Canon or Nikon sales.

I agree. I don't think the new Pentax is really competition for the flagship Canon and Nikon SLRs.

It may take a bite out of the digital medium format market though.

 

[j_fletcher]

I thought they shelved this idea a while back (maybe im thinking of something else though...). Glad it a reality, it looks an absolute monster!
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/31972/pentax-645d-dslr-digital-camera

 

[aniMal]

I just wonder if all the old 645 lenses will work - I got a set of 55-80-150 and a faulty 645 for the ridiculous sum of 1000 Nkr, about the same as $250...

I will not buy it, though, until it comes cheap second hand 2-3-5 years from now. Like the M9... 🙂

 

[jaapv]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I suspect the new Pentax will not have a big effect on Canon or Nikon sales. The next batch of pro DSLRs will have around 30mp. Pair that with useful ISO up to 12800, excellent 45 point AF, an extensive line up of excellent lenses and you have something the Pentax can't compete with. Also, most pros have years of experience with the top Canon or Nikon cameras.

But there is no substitute for square centimeters for color and contrast transitions. Just like the film days. The cheapest medium format outperforms the best 135 class camera in image quality.

 

[aizan]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I suspect the new Pentax will not have a big effect on Canon or Nikon sales. The next batch of pro DSLRs will have around 30mp. Pair that with useful ISO up to 12800, excellent 45 point AF, an extensive line up of excellent lenses and you have something the Pentax can't compete with. Also, most pros have years of experience with the top Canon or Nikon cameras.

the 1dsmkiv and d4 might have 30+mp, but nobody will think the image quality is the same as medium format digital. similarly, the more advanced features of 35mm dslrs and broader lens systems will always be there.

the fact that we can compare tradeoffs between 35mm dslrs and medium format dslrs that are in the same price range is what i was talking about.

 

[Keith]

40 megapixel MF camera as a backup for an M9 ... that's a laugh!

That's like having a Hummer as a backup for the Volvo! 😀

 

[eleskin]

I am laughing too!

I am laughing too!

I just posted the stuff about the Pentax being a backup to have some fun and not being really serious (I have an M8 and will have an M9 and alot of money invested in used M lenses that I will never give up - I am into street photography, so the M will always rule in many situations). It did get everyones attention though!

Seriously, even if I own an M, or any rangefinder for that matter (I also have the GSW690, Mamiya Press), I found the Pentax 645N very useful for certain types of work, and I could see this camera not as a replacement for any M at all but as a medium format workhorse that is more affordable (the S2 makes me gasp at the price as well as the other Medium format offerings). I always had a soft spot for the Pentax in that their lenses were always more rationally priced for the average photographer who is not a millionaire! I hope Pentax does well (Just as I hope Leica does well with the M9) and is taken more seriously as a pro tool. I am sick of Nikon and Canon being the be all and end all!!!

 

[bwcolor]

I want my 40MP Mamiya 7IID at $9K. please.

 

[sevres_babylone]

I want my 40MP Mamiya 7IID at $9K. please.

I'll take 20MP at $4.5k 🙂

 

[alecgold]

Mhhh, the pentax is impressive, but as a non-professional, I have no interest other than "ooooh, nice, 40mp".
And then I wonder how severe will my M8 get the digital rot in the next few years when the sensors for the 35mm format will go further up in pixel density?

 

[Jamie123]

But there is no substitute for square centimeters for color and contrast transitions. Just like the film days. The cheapest medium format outperforms the best 135 class camera in image quality.

Except that it's not like the film days. Digital 35mm is much closer to 44x33mm mf digital than 135 film is to 6x4.5 film. With film the capturing medium was/is a constant, with digital it's a variable (to a certain degree).

Believe me I know the advantages of digital mf but there are still certain trade offs when compared to 35mm DSLRs.

 

[Jamie123]

the 1dsmkiv and d4 might have 30+mp, but nobody will think the image quality is the same as medium format digital. similarly, the more advanced features of 35mm dslrs and broader lens systems will always be there.

the fact that we can compare tradeoffs between 35mm dslrs and medium format dslrs that are in the same price range is what i was talking about.

All I'm saying is that, while digital mf is certainly improving in cameras and price, so is 35mm FF. And while we're talking about the price, the Canon 1Ds III is a bit over $6k which means that the Pentax is still 50% more expensive. With Canon you can have a cheaper model as a back-up while there's no such option with the Pentax.
Price aside, don't underestimate the appeal of 35mm DSLRs. There are many professionals who can easily afford the more expensive digital backs but still prefer to use 35mm DSLRs most of the time.

What the Pentax does is introduce some healthy competition to the digital medium format market. It does not ''change the equation'' at all. It might steal a bit of market share from the entry level Hasselblads and maybe even other digital medium format systems but it won't have any significant effect on Canon or Nikon sales.