Pentax 645Z

Are you referring to the blemishes on her skin or the couple of dead/hot pixels :

I'm beginning to wonder whether you or I will crack first and take the plunge

Here is an interesting comparison between the Pentax 645Z and the two other cameras that share the same Sony 50MP sensor (Hasselblad and PhaseOne):

link

The ISO upper range of the Pentax is quite extraordinary

Maybe I'll have to sell my car, and take the plunge...

Regards
Bjørn

Extraordinary is the word. Given that the core use of MF is studio and landscape, both usually on a tripod, I'm struggling to understand the advantage of high ISO levels on a camera of this spec. More useful, perhaps, would have been the ability of the shutter to time longer exposures (?).

I guess by it's nature (large size, Sony Exmor design) it's bound to perform well at high ISO. So why not enable high ISO exposures? They are trying to tempt users away from FF cameras after all. And those usually have ultra-high upper ISO limits.

But by the same token, why did they not bother to enable longer exposure times (without needing an external timer/shutter release cable). Perhaps there's some technical reason.

Agreed that these are the most likely uses but if you look at the photos of some sporting events taken by Ron Hendricks ( he's active on the US forum, and I think I've got his name right) with the existing 645D, then the higher ISO levels will expand the potential for the "Zed"

maybe the other medium format cameras didn't have the k3's processing power to cut costs.. or maybe they don't have the metal on metal chassis design that works as a heat sink to dissipate the heat ...

I suspect the video will have a crop factor for the lenses and be susceptibale to moire and jello shutter limiting the pro video use for some applications... Clean hdmi out would have been nice..

either way this is a winner... and unfortunately I can't afford it... if they go the K-01 on steroids route with interchangeable lensmounts for every lens ever made by any brand (which they might do AFTER they start selling a boatload of 645 lenses) before they retire the 645z then I'll likely be able to make the jump THEN as I suspect a 645 mirrorless would be a great camera at a rediculous price for medium format... maybe 2 grand less than the new Z

Apparently not!

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/pentax-645z/pentax-645zA.HTM

But there will probably still be a lot of jello effect, with that big sensor?

so you don't use it for moving camera & action shots..just sweeping panoramas and stunning close-ups....

I'm looking forward to seeing what it can do!

This is a much more significant camera than a 'me too' FF (135) DSLR would be, not least because it has the serious potential to grab users from a bunch of other systems that a FF wouldn't have.

As someone who has used (and still uses) medium format film gear, including a Mamiya 645 outfit, I could easily (cost aside) see me using a 645Z as my only 'proper' camera system. Although bigger (not that much though) and more expensive than a FF DSLR, now that there's no film to worry about the handling is going to be very similar to a DSLR.

While the camera & lenses are more bulky than a FF DSLR, if you're sensible on lens choices, the bag the outfit fits in isn't necessarily much bigger. Once you've added K-3 type technology & handling into the mix, the differences are much smaller and the benefits seem more more enticing.

Of course it is something special, that goes without saying. As for "unsettling with loyalty to other brands" why should it?

A colleague of mine uses a D800 plus top glass for landscape only. He has said he will buy a 645Z with two lenses.

He will keep the D800. Nothing unsettling.

Others who shoot birds/wildlife with a D800 and 400, 500 or 600mm lenses are not unsettled at all as the 645Z can't compete on level terms there.

Will it widely accepted, an emphatic yes. Will I own one in 2014, yes. Having been using the 645N II quite a lot recently, the 645Z couldn't have arrived at a better time.

Do I still want a Pentax FF D, of course I do, but I do want the flash on it to be as good as my Nikon kit.

Kudos to Ricoh.

Best regards

I wonder why none of the manufacturers have not looked at the various forums to see what the end user considers as the must have best point of all the cameras out there, and build one. Who would buy a Penikcanson.

Some musings here from Ming Thein:
http://blog.mingthein.com/2014/04/18/pentax-645z-preliminary-thoughts/#more-8563

Personally, I'm pretty excited by it. Even though I won't be buying one, I'm pleased Ricoh has put something like this into their range.