Pentax 645D.

Though big and pricey, the Pentax 645D is surprisingly nimble and makes amazing pictures. We took the 645D for a few spins around town and ran it through our test lab and were amazed at the detail it captured.

PROS

Very high-resolution 40-megapixel sensor; Plentiful controls with great placement; Excellent optical viewfinder; Dual SDHC card slots; Infrared remote sensors front and back.

CONS

High price tag; Aliasing artifacts; Produces ~70MB RAW files.

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

The Pentax 645D is available from select retailers in the US market from December 2010, priced at around US$10,000. That's really not so bad when you consider that 1Ds Mark III or D3x body starts at around $8,000.

IMAGING RESOURCE RATING

4.5 out of 5.0

Pentax 645D Review

by Michael R. Tomkins, Zig Weidelich, and Shawn Barnett

December 3, 2010; Updated October 18, 2011

Pentax aroused quite some interest when it first announced that it was working on the design of a medium format digital SLR, dubbed the Pentax 645D, way back in March 2005. Harkening back to 1984's Pentax 645 film camera, the 645D would feature a high-resolution Kodak CCD image sensor, a 645 AF mount, and compatibility with existing Pentax 645 interchangeable lenses. The development process was lengthy, and the specifications were subsequently updated to keep pace with a rapidly developing digital camera market, before the company's merger with optics giant Hoya Corp. led to the project being placed on indefinite hold. In March 2010, Pentax revealed that it had continued development of the camera, which was now nearing launch after another overhaul had placed a 40-megapixel Kodak KAF-40000 image sensor at its heart.