Originally Posted by creampuff 
Hmm, digital Pentax 645...
Well it would be nice if Pentax ever brings it out but here are the hard realities:
1) So many portrait and studio photographers have given up their medium format film cameras in favour of a digital workflow because time is money and by going digital, they get quicker results. (Look at the number of MF film cameras for sale on eBay as your barometer). Many who have switched to top of the line digital SLRs like the EOS 1Ds are quite happy with the results.
2) Medium format remains expensive, more so digitally. How many people have put money in a digital back lately or a digital medium format setup like say the Mamiya 645ZD (22 Mpix) or perhaps a Hasselblad H3DII? Both cameras are already available, but how how many units are sold in relation to APS and equivalent DSLRs?
3) Many are drawn to Pentax for the comprehensive feature set and excellent value. That's a plus but here's a quick reality check. Would you fork out the kind of dough for a digital Pentax 645 system (it won't be cheap)? More importantly, would you be prepared to carry a heavier and bigger camera and the attendant issues associated with it (bigger tripod, bigger hard disks, a more powerful computer, etc.)
The digital Pentax 645 (if and when it is introduced) will remain a niche product for a select few- people who won't bat an eyelid on the price tag, and those top earning working pros where the camera will pay for itself.
As it stands, it remains a pipe dream for me and I believe for a lot of us. Forget digital medium format, if Pentax can introduce a FF camera, that will be an achievement by itself.
Agreed on all points. I'm not sure where the high cost of digital backs are coming from, but they (digital back manufacturers) are not doing themselves favors by servicing only the professionals, as well as the rich hobbyists.
In the meantime, Canon and Nikon (and soon, Sony) are making full-frame more and more accessible to pros (even hobbyists!), and delivering quality that could rival those digital backs.
I do think that full-frame and APS-C formats are now the new medium format and 135, respectively.
Pentax missed the boat on the 645D. Back then, people waited for it. By now, a lot of those who had need of such a camera moved on to other offerings. Especially now with new management that's seeking to get a bigger ROI on Pentax cameras, the 645D will remain in the labs of Pentax.
It need not be lost R&D, though. Whatever achievements they accomplished with that (I'm pretty sure it had good sensor technology) would probably be moved to future Pentax cameras (the K20D with its new sensor?).
