Pentax's 30 megapixel 645 Digital camera

[Pugsly]

Got an itch that only a 30 megapixel shooter can scratch? Not really kosher on anything offered up by Hassleblad? For those odd, eccentric souls who somehow managed to answer "yes" to both of those inquiries, you'll be elated to know that Pentax's long awaited 645 Digital is on track to be released next year. According to an update on the company's Japanese website, the device will boast 30 megapixels and will play quite nicely with the FA645 55mm f/2.8 lens that should launch simultaneously. Start saving those tax credits right about now -- we can say with absolutely certainty that you'll need every spare dollar you can find to afford this sucker.

The Pentax 645 Digital camera looks like it will finally arrive in 2010. An official press release on the Pentax Japan website provides a target release date for both the 645D and the smc PENTAX-D FA645 55mm F2.8 lens. It also reveals that the 645 Digital will feature an image sensor with at least 30 megapixels. The Pentax 645 Digital has been shown in prototype form at various photography shows over the last few years.

[Pugsly]

Reference Products

Product type: Lens-interchangeable medium-format digital SLR camera
Model name (tentative): PENTAX 645 Digital
Product information:
Extra-large, super-high-megapixel CCD image sensor with more than 30.0 total megapixels (tentative)
Compatibility with existing smc PENTAX 645 interchangeable lenses
Market launch scheduled for 2010

Product type: Interchangeable standard lens for exclusive use with PENTAX medium-format digital SLR camera
Model name (tentative): smc PENTAX-D FA645 55mm F2.8

Product information:
A standard lens designed for exclusive use with the PENTAX 645 Digital (tentative name)
Advanced optical design with all properties of lens element groups, including curvature and lens coating, optimized for digital photography
Market launch scheduled for 2010 (Will be marketed simultaneously with the PENTAX 645 Digital camera body)

[tarang]

The sensor is twice the size of a "full-frame" dSLR like the Nikon D3 or Canon 1Ds-MkIII, so it has a huge mirror reflex element in the middle and mounts massive glass. Most of the image quality gains come from the huge sensor and marvelously huge glass that allows in more light captured, not the 30 megapixels.