Pentax Medium Format - Not Dead Yet - But No Love for USA

[bmattock]

Freaky. It's back again - the digital MF that would not die...

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.u..._digital_camera_plan_news_278069.html?aff=rss

Pentax has revived plans to launch its long-awaited 645 Digital medium-format camera, four years after a mock-up was first shown.

The camera will go on display at the Photo Imaging Expo show in Tokyo later this month, said John Carlson, product marketing and support manager at Pentax USA.

He told Amateur Photographer that the 645 Digital is expected to go on sale in Japan.

However, it is unclear whether the camera will be sold in Europe.

And Carlson told us that it will not be marketed in the United States because Pentax predicted it would only sell 200 units there.

 

[charjohncarter]

Just guess for me what the price will be?

 

[bmattock]

Just guess for me what the price will be?

No idea. When it was first being bruited about, they were saying around 1,000,000 yen, or (at that time) $8500 USD. No idea now.

 

[aizan]

awesome! i knew it would happen one day.

 

[ferider]

2009 will be the year of MF digitals .... 🙂

Hopefully the prices will come down.

 

[photogdave]

2009 will be the year of MF digitals .... 🙂

...not with the demise of the Hy6 system!

 

[furcafe]

IIRC, Pentax has always had a somewhat ambivalent (or is it simply realistic?) relationship w/the U.S. market, e.g., I read somewhere that they didn't sell their excellent binoculars & sport optics in the U.S. (don't know if that's still the case).

I guess it's not really a big deal nowadays since it's so easy to buy from other countries & those 200 potential U.S. buyers could order from Yodobashi or through a 3rd party like Japan Exposures, etc.

 

[photogdave]

IIRC, Pentax has always had a somewhat ambivalent (or is it simply realistic?) relationship w/the U.S. market, e.g., I read somewhere that they didn't sell their excellent binoculars & sport optics in the U.S. (don't know if that's still the case).

I guess it's not really a big deal nowadays since it's so easy to buy from other countries & those 200 potential U.S. buyers could order from Yodobashi or through a 3rd party like Japan Exposures, etc.

You can certainly buy their sport optics in Canada. I have a nice pair of 8x42 waterproof binos that I bought locally for a very good price.

 

[crawdiddy]

IIRC, Pentax has always had a somewhat ambivalent (or is it simply realistic?) relationship w/the U.S. market, e.g., I read somewhere that they didn't sell their excellent binoculars & sport optics in the U.S. (don't know if that's still the case).

I guess it's not really a big deal nowadays since it's so easy to buy from other countries & those 200 potential U.S. buyers could order from Yodobashi or through a 3rd party like Japan Exposures, etc.

Well, I have a pair of Pentax 10x50 binoculars, purchased new in the U.S. Excellent for astronomy.