Darren Addy
EF5
Forget "35mm full frame" DSLRs???
Pentax appears to be on the verge of introducing the (long awaited) most affordable medium format digital system. A countdown has begun on the Pentax Japan page (which is halfway over) and it is doing a sloooow reveal of the camera (which began as a silhouette). For a look at the real deal (perhaps), one can look at a screw-up in the image gallery of the newegg.com K7 page. Check out the 2nd picture. Hint: It's NOT a K7.
Rumors ahead of the official announcement are rampant, but some expect it to use the Kodak 31MP sensor used in the Hassy. Others speculate that it will be the newer 39/40MP which is in the same 44x33mm format that Pentax has been talking about all along but now with the new, improved 6 micron TrueSense pixels.
If Pentax continues the philosophy seen on its APS-C DSLRs, it will be backwards compatible with the older Pentax film 645 lenses, but again all this is speculation... as are rumors of the price: $6500. If true, it would be remarkably cheap, considering it would share the same sensor as either a $16K or $22K Hasselblad. And it could represent some competition at that price point for other manufacturer's 35mm "full frame" cameras.
This is a revival of a camera Pentax planned to build almost 3 years ago, before the company was bought by Hoya. It looks as if it is finally (almost) here.
Pentax appears to be on the verge of introducing the (long awaited) most affordable medium format digital system. A countdown has begun on the Pentax Japan page (which is halfway over) and it is doing a sloooow reveal of the camera (which began as a silhouette). For a look at the real deal (perhaps), one can look at a screw-up in the image gallery of the newegg.com K7 page. Check out the 2nd picture. Hint: It's NOT a K7.
Rumors ahead of the official announcement are rampant, but some expect it to use the Kodak 31MP sensor used in the Hassy. Others speculate that it will be the newer 39/40MP which is in the same 44x33mm format that Pentax has been talking about all along but now with the new, improved 6 micron TrueSense pixels.
If Pentax continues the philosophy seen on its APS-C DSLRs, it will be backwards compatible with the older Pentax film 645 lenses, but again all this is speculation... as are rumors of the price: $6500. If true, it would be remarkably cheap, considering it would share the same sensor as either a $16K or $22K Hasselblad. And it could represent some competition at that price point for other manufacturer's 35mm "full frame" cameras.
This is a revival of a camera Pentax planned to build almost 3 years ago, before the company was bought by Hoya. It looks as if it is finally (almost) here.
