Advertisement feature PENTAX 645Z THEMAGIC OFMEDIUM-FORMAT
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SPECS
PRICE £6800 body only CONTACT www.ricoh-imaging.co.uk SENSOR 51.4 megapixels, 14-bit 44x33mm, 8256x619 pixels CMOS IMAGE PROCESSOR PRIME III ISORANGE 100-204,800 SHUTTER 30secs-1/4000sec MAX FRAME RATE 3fps continuous shooting AUTOFOCUSING 27 AF sensors CREATIVE FEATURES Fully featured with PASM modes plus three metering methods including spot and multi-segment VIDEO Full HD BODY DESIGN Weather and dust sealed, freeze proof to -10°C BATTERY 650 shots capacity MONITOR Articulating 3.2in STORAGEMEDIA Dual SD card slots DIMENSIONS (WXHXD) 156x117x123mm WEIGHT 1.55kg Up to 2000 multiple exposures on a single frame EXPOSURE SYSTEM
With a 51.4-megapixel resolution, a top ISO of 204,800, excellent handling and supported by a system of first-class lenses, the Pentax 645Z has rocked the world of medium-format digital imaging so let’s take a closer look
Image quality
The 645Z’s 51.4-megapixel resolution comes into its own when you need to capture every nuance of a detailed scene in a file that can be enlarged for big prints. Assuming a working resolution of 300ppi the sensor’s size equates to a print size of 27.5x20.6in – without any interpolation. Of course the file size means little if the detail is poorly defined, but as you can see from the enlarged section here, that’s not a concern. Also, the original DNG Raw file was processed with no software sharpening so there’s potential for even better results.
Digital medium-format capture came of age when the Pentax 645Z was launched last year. It offers the key benefits of a bigger imaging sensor and very high megapixel count and has slick handling and impressive high ISO performance too. All that might not sound like a great deal, but in a market where cameras were prohibitively costly, with some models costing £20k plus, the Pentax 645Z is in the shops at £6800 body only. Truly game- changing cameras are few and far between but without doubt the Pentax 645Z is one of them. The Pentax 645Z’s heritage is long established with the original filmmodel coming out more than 30 years ago. Since then Pentax has continued to innovate and add lenses and accessories to the system so 645Z buyers have a good choice of optics to deal with almost every need. Imaging performance of the 645Z is exemplary, as you can see from the images featured here, but one aspect that’s less easy to quantify is handling. Until now, medium-format cameras could be slow to use and combined with poor battery capacity meant they were most at home in the studio. By contrast, the Pentax 645Z is great in the studio but equally happy in the great outdoors with a battery that can deliver more than 600 shots from a full charge and weather-sealing that means it’ll happily continue to perform even in poor weather conditions. Add an articulating monitor for convenient shooting and the option of shooting up to 3fps, and the Pentax 645Z is a camera to be reckoned with. Let’s take a closer look at its performance, in particular its resolution and high ISO capability.
Ultimate image quality Shot at Dungeness using a Pentax HD DA 645 28-45mm f/4.5ED AW SR zoom at 43mm with the camera mounted on a tripod. The exposure was 1/80sec at f/11 and ISO 100, the resulting DNG Raw file was processed in Adobe Lightroom.
ISOperformance With a 44x33mm CMOS sensor and PRIME III processor under its bonnet, the Pentax 645Z’s 51.4-megapixel sensor is very impressive at high ISO settings. Few situations will need ISOs in the order of ISO 12,800 or 25,600, but if they are required, you can shoot with the knowledge that the 645Z will produce highly detailed files that will stand considerable enlargement. The examples here have not been put through any noise reduction processing, so you could consider its potential too. Of course, should you need even more sensitivity when light levels are poor, the camera can be used at up to ISO 204,800, although image quality naturally falls away. Nevertheless, a sharp-but-noisy image is still preferable to one that’s blurred but clean.
ISO 12,800
ISO 25,600
ThePentax 645Z is great in the studiobut equallyhappy in thegreat outdoors
Awesome ISO performance The Pentax-D FA 55mm AL (IF) SDM AW standard lens, again with the 645Z mounted on a tripod, was used for this low-light scene. The base ISO 100 exposure was 2secs at f/5.6. The DNG Raw files were processed in Adobe Lightroom with no noise reduction applied.
π To find out more about the Pentax 645Z, go to www.ricoh-imaging.co.uk.
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Issue 18 | Photography News
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