Some thoughts on the D645... Pentax' strategy in MedF has all the time been to create robust, compact packages that would suit the outdoor photographer better than the competition. I would expect this tradition to be carried on into digital. For such a kind of camera, there are some quite specific challenges.
One challenge is power. Another is storage capacity for those huge files. A third is buffer capacity, and a fourth is ruggedness and portability combined. After thinking this over lunch today (yes, I did remember to chew...), I got very curious to see how eg. the Hasselblad H1D has approached these problems. The power solution is two-part. In the grip there are some pretty diminutive Sony CR123 batteries, which I assume will only provide power for the traditional camera logic, ie. sans chip power and storage. There is also mention of an optional battery called "Sony InfoLithium L series battery". This is a camcorder battery which looks rather bulky (6x7x4 cm), but will give 6600 mAh according to Sony: http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=NPF970 I'm quite curious about the file size. The H1D files can be up to 132 Mb in 16 bit, so a comparable file of 18 Mpx would probably be around a 100 Mb. Unless there's some compression involved. Hopefully Pentax will use compression. The storage capacity solution looks okay, an image bank capable of 850 full res images (probably 8-bit, but still). There probably aren't very many options around, but this is most likely a power hog. With 100 Mb files, changing microdrives or memory cards could become rather tedious. The H1D doesn't support continuous shooting at all. Buffer size is in other words down to one image. For outdoor photography, Pentax has to do better than that, imo. When it comes to ruggedness and portability, the H1D looks quite nice. Actually, inside a studio it handles quite well too, but I don't have any outdoor experience with it. Even if it looks rugged it has an air of a studio tool. The necessary camcorder battery would add 300g of weight to it, and make it rather more bulky. Pentax would have to ease in a much more elegant solution than that. Considering the pricetag on H1D, I don't think the D645 is going to be a camera below USD 10.000. Maybe even above USD 15.000. The price difference between 18,6 and 22 Mpx isn't going to be the driving factor here, IMHO. Finally, I don't think a comparison with Canon's D1sII is even worthwhile. When it comes to portability, power consumtion, ruggedness, etc, etc, the Canon will win hands down. At least if the Hassy in anythin to go by (and should be since it's built around a sensor of the same family). When a comparison was done in the film domain, Pentax 645 was on par weightwise with a comparable Canon system for 35mm, but a mere diffrence of 2 Megapixels is not going to tip the balance towards Pentax with increased image quality like the 645 negative could do compared to 35mm. I'm sure the D645 will find a place in the market, but not anywhere near me...:-) Jostein ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.
