Mr.Lindy wrote:
According to your link Pentax is making only "4,000" 645D for Japan Market.
That's 3,000 more than silver paint K-7, also Japan Only sales.
But, this is all still fun to read about !
That number actually seems high to me for the very small niche market this is going into. It is smart of them to do a gradual introduction into their home market, drum up interest and excitement from other markets and work out any possible bugs/issues before market expansion. Looks like they are doing things right to me. If this camera delivers the goods, the other MF digital players are in some serious trouble.
I would take that with a large grain of salt... the FA 35 I owned had easily the worst corner performance of any lens, in any format, that I've ever seen. I guess it might be okay on a 24x36mm sensor, where you don't see most of the frame...
I can see Pentax selling all 4,000 645D in Japan in less than a year.
No need to re-create markets with support, parts elsewhere for this 645D limited production run, unless they don't sell out in a reasonable ammount of time.
Japan was last market to discontinue 645 and 6x7 film cameras which occurred early last year. Long after they were discontinued everywhere else years earlier.
Japan was/is the #1 market for Pentax 645 and 6x7 systems. Buyers of 645D likely already own an array of glass for it.
According to this March 2009 announcement of the end of 67 and 645 film body production, 645 lens production never stopped, see the last line of theGoogle translation (although all is entertaining); link: http://www.pentax.jp/japan/news/announce/20090324.html)
March 24, 2009
Hello
HOYA CORPORATION
PENTAX Imaging Systems Division
Medium-format film camera "PENTAX 67II" "PENTAX 645NII" End of News
Thank you for your patronage patronage of 賜Ri truly exceptional.
This time we are medium-format film camera "PENTAX 67II" "PENTAX 645NII" For, we will notify Since September 2009 we decide to stop production to sight the moon.
"PENTAX 67II" in 1998 in November, "PENTAX 645NII" in 2001 launched their 10 medium-format camera in January. Both excellent imaging performance and high mobility, robust professional body, and with more advanced systems, high-end amateur camera enthusiasts and professional photographer of many acclaimed to have been a favorite .
Orimashita have chosen to support still remains strong digital cameras became mainstream, making it difficult for procurement of electronic components, was forced to stop production.
2009 since April, production volume production until the end of the "PENTAX 67II" of about 250 units, "PENTAX 645NII" is expected to be approximately 450 units.
The interchangeable lens for the 645 found so production will continue in the future, look forward to continuing our beloved, We thank you.
molson wrote:
I would take that with a large grain of salt... the FA 35 I owned had easily the worst corner performance of any lens, in any format, that I've ever seen. I guess it might be okay on a 24x36mm sensor, where you don't see most of the frame...
Are You talking about the older FA 35 or the newer one FA 35 AL(IF)?
a friend and i speculated why Pentax went to 31MP and no higher back when that was the rumored sensor size. based on his experience with both Pentax and Mamiya 645D systems on film, his assessment was Pentax lenses were softer and much more flare resistant. his comparable Mamiya 645 lenses were much sharper but flared at the slightest excuse.
Herb...
mMontag wrote:
Does anyone know how sharp current 645 system lenses are? After looking at the keh link last page, I was flabbergasted how inexpensive they are. Are they sharp enough to resolve 40MP?
it is only a matter of time before i get a serious medium format digital system. 40 megapixels is the sweet spot in terms of price and performance right now and perhaps it will be 50MP by the time i am ready, which could be as soon as this time next year. the Hasselblad has the virtue of likely company longevity. Leica has a smaller and more rugged body with possibly higher lens and image quality. i do much my shooting in the field under all kinds of weather conditions and weather resistance is important.
Pentax doesn't enter into the picture even at half the price of the Mamiya and Hasselblads. they've tried lowballing the price on their cameras several times before and each time all they have done is gain a tiny amount of market share and have no money to develop a follow on product. once, way back when my S1a was brand new, Pentax had about 50% SLR market share and you didn't go to buy a camera, you went to buy a new Pentax. to fall to barely 3% DSLR market share and even less in compact digital cameras takes special management incompetence.
Herb...
Mr.Lindy wrote:
Herb, I wonder if you sold all your remaining existing pentax gear you could then buy the Leica S2 ?
Nice thing about Pentax is the lenses hold their value well, if bought right in first place.
Their dslrs become about worthless in 3 years time, so thats always a loss.
i'm pretty sure the white one is the A* 800/5.6, which makes it about a 20 year old release. i had a chance to touch one when i went looking for a rental lens in Calgary. this was in 2007 and Pentax Canada had at that time just finished clearing out their medium format lenses at fire sale prices to dealers willing to take them.
the 600/5.6 is a smaller lens and i don't remember it being available in 645, only in 35mm.
Herb...
surfotog wrote:
The white one looks like the 600/5.6 ED IF from the manual focus days. It will be interesting to see if they bring this back in AF form.
The 600/5.6 ED IF was indeed available in 645 mount. It looked identical to the picture shown, complete with caarrying handle. At almost 10lbs I wouldn't classify it as a "smaller" lens.
My memory was a bit off. The Pentax SMCP-A* 645 600/5.6 ED (iF) is listed at 176.4 oz, just over 11lbs.
To my knowledge, Pentax never made an A* 800/5.6. They made an M* 800/6.7 for the Pentax 67 which looks nothing like the photo in the earlier post.
They also made an A* 1200/8 for 35mm which is huge, and also not the pictured lens. I'd wager a tidy sum that the white telephoto in the photo is the 600/5.6 ED IF
i have a few shots taken with the 1200/8. there are a few situations where i wish i had been able to spring for it back when it was offered to me. anyway, almost all those lenses on the shelf there were introduced more than 10 years ago and some much older. the lens isn't white BTW, it's a light green. i had a couple of them in 35mm format before finally selling the A* 400/2.8 early this year.
Herb...
surfotog wrote:
They also made an A* 1200/8 for 35mm which is huge, and also not the pictured lens.
