Pentax 645D Release Date

So basically, the consumer is being dragged up the garden path by the short n curley's?

we should not forget that Pentax has promissed to release the 645D at PMA before. It will be interesting to see if it turns up this time.

Not at all. Pentax has provided its customers with the optimum platform for using their legacy lenses on (APS-C).

If they'd opted for a FF sensor that required new glass to give the best results then there would be a case for saying consumers were being dragged up the garden path. They didn't.

Pentax have consistently denied that they have any intention of ever releasing a FF sensor. While it's usually best to take manufacturers' claims with liberal pinches of salt I think they may well be telling the truth here - the only "rumours" of a FF sensor that you'll find are from wishful thinkers on forums such as these, certainly not from the company itself.

Don't forget they got the MZ-D as far as prototype stage before canning it. Whats the betting they discovered it didn't perform well with FA glass and that was part of the reason it never made it to production. If it had just been poor availability of the sensor (which I believe was a problem), they could have obtained a different sensor and put MZ-D back into production.

Bit of an issue topic for me I suppose, with only me to blame for hollow expectations. At the end of the day, I did buy into Nikon for the FF features so I should not really try to make a case against Pentax.

I'm happy with the K7, if I move my K10D on; I'll buy a second K7. Believe it or not, I'll still keep my istD. Just bought an istD from an honorable member here which is a gift for some one else.

The truth is that my 35mm glass, as you say is fine on cropped.

Got carried away with the thread, rather than engage logic and grey matter..


All inputs appreciated.

Best regards.

I understand completely how you feel! I had sleepless nights over the issue! I came within an inch of jumping ship and buying a 5D mk 2 and 3 lenses. It was only the appearance of the K7 that stopped me from doing so. I really love this little Camera but i still want a Pentax Full Frame! I began saving for one when the K20D was announced as a Mid Range Camera, So i thought a top of the range one would not be too long in coming! By this April i had over £6000 saved and more than 50,000 clicks on my weary old K10D but there were only delays of any announcement from Pentax. The K7 was launched as a mid range Camera too so my hopes are still high!( And i am still saving up!)
The 645D looks as though it would not be very much more bulky than a large DSLR but i could not afford to replicate the same range of lenses that i have for a 35mm equivalent size Camera.

Regards - Pete

I think it is unfortunate that nobody has explored the possibility I posted earlier...
an adaptor for the 645d to use your 35mm lenses.....
just imagine if such an adaptor kept infinity focus, af sdm etc. etc. etc. and if the camera utilized all of the lenses image circle, cropping in software for the lens used... so get the full 30 mp with the 645 lenses and maybe 20 mp with a ff 35 lens and say 12 mp with an apsc lens... all with square images that you crop in camera for horizontal or vertical format images....

Hell I'd buy it for sure.....

With so little firm information available about the 645D it may be the case that Pentax are ahead of you and have just such a system in mind. I wouldn't hold your breath though.

The K7 will be a mid range camera, it's just that the top-of-the-line model happens to be medium format rather than 35mm. To be fair to Pentax they've never pretended the arrangement would be anything other.

Older lenses for the 645 system aren't massively more expensive than those for the K-mount and I'm sure the 645D will soon have a selection of lenses at reasonable prices shortly after launch. Maybe they'll implement Don's suggestion above?