645Z Specifications

• 52.99MP CMOS without AA filter (51.4Mp effectively, 8265 x 6192 pixel)
• ISO 100 - 204,800
• SAFOX11 AF system, 27 point (25 cross type), LW -3 - +18
• 3.2" LCD screen: 3:2 ratio, 1,037,000 dots
• LiveView, contrast AF, focus peaking
• TTL metering with 86k RGB sensor
• 3fps in JPEG L up to approx. 300 frames
• Full HD video (1920x1080), 4K in intervall mode
• USB3.0
• Official announcement on April 14th
• US price: $8,496.95

Via: Photo Rumors

645Z Appearance

Via: Digicame Info (in Japanese)

A pair of stereo built-in microphones can be seen. So, it must have the video recording function.

645Z to Come in Twelve Days

http://www.camera-pentax.jp/new2014apr/en/pc/

and http://www.us.ricoh-imaging.com/645z/

Very possibly using the new Sony 50MP CMOS sensor in 44 x 33mm, with the following key specifications:

• High sensitivity  ISO100 to ISO6400 (compared to max ISO 800 for most digital backs so far).
• 14 f-stops dynamic range
• 50 megapixel CMOS sensor – 44 x 33mm (68% larger than a 35mm sensor).
• Responsive Live view (20-24 fps).
• 1.2 fps (interestingly not much faster than CCD based products).

According to the above counter, the announcement will be made in 12 days counting from tomorrow. It will possibly be named as the 645Z. However, Z is not a lucky name for Pentax as it usually meant the last thing that existed right before the whole lineup disappeared, like their Z and MZ families of the K-mount film AFSLRs! :-o

Well, the outlook of this "new" camera:




Read Also: 

What is/are the Meaning(s) of a Cropped Digital System Now?

645D II is Coming! :-o

And also with a new 645 digital lens, an ultra-wide angle zoom:



Via: Photo Rumors.

As for the sensor, it will not be a CCD one anymore. This is a good news for me, as I may be able to get an old and "useless" 645D I cheaply, to use my old 645 film glasses! :-D


Related:

I've Cropped My Pentax 645 Lenses Myself, in 1.6X! :-o

The PENTAX Name is Gone! >:-[

Via Photo Rumors.

Almost Official: 645D Replacement Model is Coming!

In a recent interview by the Japanese Impress photo magazine (Issue No. 1 of 2014) with the Chief Sales and Marketing Manager of the Japanese Ricoh Imaging, it is hinted that the 3.5 years old 645D will possibly be replaced in 2014 in due course:

http://www.impressjapan.jp/pdf/271401/1113110212free.pdf
(in Japanese, Warning: Very Large File in 30MB!)

It is asked by the editor that if something more concrete would be disclosed as early as CP+, the Ricoh official refused to respond and didn't tell anything (but just laughed). Btw, it is guessed by the magazine editorial that the 645D replacement should have a change in sensor format and they even predict that it could use a Full Size 645 sensor! Oh really?! :-o

New Pentax Rumours: FF and 645DII Coming

The Pentax "rumourizer" OGL has made a post about an alleged interview with Pentax Ricoh Russia as cited from another Russia forum post:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/240639-pentax-ricoh-russia-answers-ff-ricoh-future.html

So, the following are rumoured:

1. FF will be next year. Not later than Photokina 2014. Maybe, on spring or summer, 2014.
2. New DFA lenses will be offered. New 2.8 zooms will be made.
3. New Limited Zoom will be real.
4. New WR lenses will be launched.
5. K-01 is failed because of design. Mirrorless cameras - Ricoh will offer something new.
6. New 645D will be later. It will be different from 645D. It was plans to launch 645DII this year, but the situation is changed.
7. SMC DA LIMITED are discontinued.

If the first rumour is true, then there is just no reason to buy a K-3 now, which is really a true stop-gap product. So, I believe in that rumour and will keep using my K-5 and wait just for a few months longer! ;-p

What is/are the Meaning(s) of a Cropped Digital System Now?

In a recent interview with the Pentax Ricoh China Japanese Head, it was told that the 645D was just a completely different product than the 135 FF Nikon D800E, which is far more differentiated.

However, this reminds me of the fact that the 645D, like all other K-mount Pentax DSLRs, is actually also cropped for its sensor. So, I just wonder, how is the 645D different from those 135 FF DSLRs and how "large" is the difference? And besides, what are the trade-offs?

Here we go, for the factual data:-

Camera	Sensor (Film) Type	Sensor (Film) Size (in mm x mm)	Diagonal Length (in mm)	Crop Factor A	Crop Factor B	Crop Factor C
645 Film	120	56 x 41.5	69.7	1X *	0.79X	0.62X
645D	Cropped 120	44 x 33	55	1.27X	1X *	0.79X
D800/E	135	36 x 24	43.3	1.61X	1.27X	1X *
K-5II/s	APS-C (Cropped 135)	23.7 x 15.7	28.4	2.45X	1.94X	1.52X

* Reference

Is everything much clearer now? The myth has been resolved!

In fact, the 645D is the "APS-H" of the original 120 film with a crop factor of nearly 1.3X. The same applies when the 135 FF is compared to the 645D, which has the exact crop factor in 1.27X. So, how much advantage does it give?

And, *suppose* that there is a Full Frame 645D which exists, the 135 FF will then become a 1.6X "Canon APS-C" cropped machine in comparison, then this difference would be more significant!

On the other hand, the truly APS-C sized K-5IIs for its sensor, when compared to the 645D, is really sympathetic! It is almost in 2X, just like when the micro-4/3 sensors are compared to the 135 FF. Actually, the APS-C sensor is much smaller than the 135 FF, its total area of the sensor is just only in 43%!

Well, what are also in return with that cropped sensor in the old 645 form factor for the 645D then? A big, heavy, slow but rather expensive camera, but which is actually NOT having a significantly larger sensor, and thus no big edge in IQ as a result!

Indeed, cropping an old sensor/mount format is always stupid in the digital era, unless new lenses with a smaller image circle which fits more tightly into that smaller image sensor are re-designed and made!

This is the end of case and the case is closed! The 645D now is a meaningless offer after all! If Pentax is listening, please give us Full Frame DSLR bodies soonest, no matter for the K or 645 mounts!! >:-(


Related:-

Search Articles about "Sensor Size" in this Blog

Yet Another Recent Rumour from Japan: K-3/3s April, 645DII June

Read this:-

http://bbs.kakaku.com/bbs/K0000416049/SortID=15794099/
(in Japanese)

This rumour is actually a few weeks earlier than what Photo Rumors told us about five new Pentax/Ricoh cameras are to come just on the day before. The Japanese OP seems to know something. Btw, it is said that the K-3/3s is an APS-C body with 24MP pixel count, just! >:-|

Edit: Thanks to "phoenix15" for his/her reply in the Comments section (the 1st one), we have another latest post found at the kakaku forum by the same OP:-

http://bbs.kakaku.com/bbs/-/SortID=15883682/
(in Japanese)

It is told that a lower entry level DSLR model than the K-30 with a 16MP sensor (APS-C of course) will be marketed also, and that the K-3/3s will replace the K-5II/IIs.

So, the above have already made up the four new Pentax cameras that will appear, whilst the remaining new camera I guess would be in the Ricoh brand name.

The 9 Things That Are To Be Announced (Updated!)

The New Item	Characteristics	RH's Certainty Level
1. K-300	16MP old CMOS sensor used in K-01 and K-30, re-using the K-r body, i.e., penta-mirror at 0.85X and 96% coverage.	Close to 100%!
2. K-5N	16MP new CMOS sensor technology, new image processor, APS-C of course, 100% penta-prism finder at 0.92X, articulated screen, new 21-point (9-crossed, 12 linear) SAFOX X AF system, improved continuous tracking and zone focusing, 8 fps, improved video functions (with manual control and continuous AF option during video recording, very possibly).	Close to 100%!
3. K-3/K-3S* *Name Tentative	24MP APS-C flagship, Sony IMX096 CMOS sensor, new image processor, newly designed 100% coverage 1X magnification penta-prism (equivalent to 0.65X at 50mm for 135), articulated screen, 21-point SAFOX X AF system, 6 fps, enhanced white balance detection, enhanced video functions, stereo microphone built-in. Version without AA filter to be marketed later in early 2013, targeted/suggested price set at 1,400 Euros. The K-3 Super will be the highest resolution APS-C camera body ever on Earth and would put almost all the existing Pentax lenses to death! ;-p	Close to 100%!
4. 645DII*/645DN* *Name Tentative	New top-of-the-line Truesense (formerly Kodak) KAF-50100 51.6MP CCD sensor in 49.1 x 36.8mm (active pixels 50.1M), 645 film equivalent crop factor 1.1X (old 645D sensor was in 1.3X), improved image processing, SAFOX X, increased 60,000 shutter actuations/life (rated), other minor improvements, no video function, of course! :->	Close to 100%!
5. DA 18-200/3.5-5.6 WR DC	Product is self-explanatory for its name, kit lens option with the K-3.	90%+
6. DA560/5.6	3 sections dividable, simplified weather resistant, new-type in-lens motor with quick-shift manual focus overriding capability, built-in astro-tracking, set price at US$3,800, manufactured only upon special ordering.	90%+
7. DFA645 90/2.8	Its name is self-explanatory, for portraiture.	90%+
8. AF600FGZ	New flagship flashgun, finally, simplified Weather Resistant!	80%+
9. O-GPS2	Updated/improved version of the O-GPS1	75%

The next generation K-0x camera system and concept with retracted rear lens element/greatly shorten/reduced back focus register distance will be on display at the Photokina. Besides, minor revisions to the current Pentax lens roadmaps will be provided.

As for the Pentax Full Frame body, it is yet under development and some old FA*/FA lenses are being re-worked (with a new design of the kit zoom, too). Ricoh has also been quite cautious to decide whether it should be launched earlier or not, i.e., to be later. But it is planned that the FF DSLR should be ready to come within 2013, in about one-year's time. Give them some time, for users like me that have been waiting for nine years since the *ist D (and that I still have 14 original Pentax full-frame lenses ready and just missing ONE K-mount FF body alone!), why not just wait for another one more year? >:-| ;-)

For those who are saying/thinking that they have urgent and essential need for a Full Frame body and system right now, my suggestion is to switch to or additional invest on a Canon (just like me) or Nikon system (and their "cheap" FF bodies are coming also), or even Sony for their upcoming A99 SLT, as you will not see a Pentax FF in the foreseeable near future!


Read Also:-

Pentax/Ricoh Announcement by the Next Week (for 9 New Products)

DA560/5.6: New Type Built-in Motor, Astro-tracking, US$3800

Monday Dreaming: Pentax Strikes at Photokina!

What If When a Pentax FF Body Really Comes (My Own Case Study)

When the Sensor Outresolves the Lens.. (How Meaningful is a 24MP APS-C Sensor?)

Compatibility of DA Lenses on Full Frame