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Pentax 645Z

Reviews	Views	Date of last review
4	63,011	Sat October 6, 2018

Recommended By	Average Price	Average User Rating
100% of reviewers	$6,817.13	9.25

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Description:

The successor to the 645D medium format DSLR was unveiled at the CP+ in February 2014. It was officially announced on April 15th, 2014 with a launch price of US $8499. It started shipping in June, 2014.

The 645z is targeted at professional landscape and studio photographers.

This camera takes image quality to another level by offering increased resolution and sensitivity compared to its predecessor. It features a low-noise 51.4-megapixel CMOS sensor and various hardware improvements, modernizing its capabilities and performance over the 645D. The physical dimensions of the sensor is approximately 33 x 44 mm like for the 645D.

The key changes in the 645Z compared to the 645D include the improved sensor, a faster burst framerate of 3FPS (up from 1.1), and the very presence of a video mode/live view, which the 645D lacked. All things aside, the main thing this camera is designed to deliver is superior image quality. The 645D struggled at higher ISOs, but with a CMOS sensor with sensitivity going all the way up to ISO 204,800 (a new high for Pentax), those problems are history.

Pentax 645Z © www.pentaxforums.com, sharable with attribution
Year Introduced 2014	In Production Yes	Current US Price $3996	In-Depth Review Click to Read
Sensor
Sensor Format 645 Digital	Sensor Type CMOS	Megapixels 51.4	Resolution 6192 x 8265 pixels
AA Filter No	Super Resolution No	Bit Depth 14
Minimum ISO 100	Maximum ISO 204800	ISO Range 100 - 204,800
Imaging
Exposure Modes HyP, Sv, Av, Tv, TAv, HyM, X, B	Program Modes Auto, Normal, Action, Depth of field (deep/shallow), MTF	Maximum FPS 3	Continuous Shooting Hi: 3 fps up to 30 JPG or 10 RAW frames Lo: 1 fps up to 300 JPG or 25 RAW frames
Shutter Speeds (Auto) 30s - 1/4000s (stepless)	Shutter Speeds (Manual) B, 30s - 1/4000s	Shutter Life 100000	Exposure compensation +/-5 EV (+/- 2 EV in movie mode)
Auto bracketing Exposure (2, 3 or 5 frames), one-push EV bracketing	Expanded dynamic range Highlight (auto, on, off), Shadow (auto, high, medium, low, off)	Exposure lock Yes	Self timer 2 s and 12 s
Metering Sensor 86K Pixel	Meter range -1 to 21 EV	Meter pattern Multi-Segment,Center Weighted,Spot	Mirror lock-up Yes
Interval shooting Up to 2000 frames, 2 sec to 24 hours interval	HDR mode Yes	Multiple exposures Yes, average, additive and bright, 2 to 2000 shots	Pixel mapping Yes
Scene Modes None		Restrictions
Lens Mount
Mount 645 AF2	Composition Adjustment No	Stabilization No (select lenses stabilized)	Power zoom Not supported
Supported Lenses All Pentax 645 lenses. Pentax 6x7 lenses with adapter (retains open aperture metering)		Lens correction Distortion,Lateral Chromatic Aberration,Vignetting,Diffraction
Focusing
Autofocus (viewfinder) Yes (SAFOX 11, 27 focus points (25 cross type))		AF Points 27	Autofocus sensitivity -3 EV
Front/back focus correction Yes (adjustment for up ro 20 lenses)		Autofocus with SDM Yes	Autofocus assist N/A
Viewfinder/LCD
Viewfinder 0.62x (with 55mm lens), 0.85 (with 75mm lens), 98%	Viewfinder type Trapezoid prism	Diopter adjustment -3.5 to +2.0	AF Points in viewfinder Yes
Exchangeable screen Yes	Depth of field preview Yes	Digital preview Yes (with image magnification)	Live View Yes
Top LCD Yes	Focus Peaking Yes	Back LCD 3.2 in., 1,037,000 dots, tilting
Body
Weather resistant Yes	Control wheels 2	Battery grip No	Card slots 2
Dust removal Yes, Ultrasonic DR II		Dust alert Yes	Memory card type SD, SDHC, SDXC (UHS-I Compatible), Eye-Fi, Flucard
Size (W x H x D) 156mm x 117mm x 123mm		Weight 1550 g	File format PEF (RAW),DNG (RAW),JPG,TIFF,MOV
Battery life 650 images		Battery D-LI90 lithium-ion rechargeable
Flash
Built-in flash No		Sync speed 1/125s	P-TTL flash Yes
Flash functions On (leading curtain sync), Redeye reduction, Slow-speed sync, Trailing curtain sync, High-speed sync, Manual, Wireless, Contrast control * Requires an external flash ** Requires two (or more) external flashes		TTL flash No	Flash exposure comp -2 to 1 EV
Video
Resolution / Framerates 1920x1080 (16:9 Full HD) at 60, 30, 25 and 24 fps, 1280x720 (16:9 HD) at 60, 30, 25 and 24 fps, MPEG4 AVC/H.264, Interval Movie (4K, Full HD, HD)		Exposure Modes P, Av, TAv, M	Movie mode restrictions
		AF During Recording On-Demand	Sound in Movie mode Stereo (external mic), Stereo (built-in mic), Adjustable sound level
Interfacing
GPS Via Accessory	Tethering Wired (native),Via O-FC1 FLUcard	Connectivity USB3, HDMI out, X-Sync, head phones, microphone, cable release, DC in	Latest Firmware Link to Download Page
Notes
User reviews In-depth review Electronic level, Embed copyright information in EXIF, High ISO NR can be customized for each major ISO value, Image plane indicator, In-camera RAW development, Save last JPG as RAW, Save JPG from movie, The RAW button is customizable
Special Editions
645Z IR

Megapixels:

51.4

ISO Range:

100-204,800

Weight:

1550g

FPS:

LCD:

3.2" (1,037,000 dots, 3:2 aspect ratio)

In Production:

Type:

Professional Medium-Format DSLR

Weather-Sealed:

Yes

In-Depth Review:

Price History:

Author:

Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Descending) Showing Reviews 1-4 of 4

Sandy Hancock

Moderator
Site Supporter

Registered: February, 2012

Location: Adelaide Hills, South Australia

Posts: 10,792

5 users found this helpful

Review Date: October 6, 2018

Recommended | Price: $4,000.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	The files! Ergonomics. High ISO performance
Cons:	Limited lens selection

Some guy gives this camera 5/10 because it doesn't have tethering? Who blows this sort of cash without knowing that first?

Even with the new mirrorless MF offerings, this old fella still deserves a 9/10.

postnobills

Forum Member

Registered: July, 2017

Posts: 51

3 users found this helpful

Review Date: October 3, 2017

Recommended | Price: $4,800.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	intuitive DSLR like interface, excellent sensor performance
Cons:	WAY too many amateur features, lack of proper lenses

Bottom line, I really, really like the camera. And with the Oct 2017 price reduction it looks even better.

It does, however, have a number of negatives. The worst of which appears to be the total absence of service/support in the USA. It's hard to imagine a professional photographer using equipment that has to be sent to another country for service.

Another issue is the lack of modern world class lenses. Fuji and Hasselblad have some modern world class lenses. Leica has some world class MF glass and great lenses for their MF bodies. Modern world class Otis and various Art lenses are available for FF bodies.

As of early 2017 Pentax has lots of pretty good legacy glass, a modern 90, a great WA zoom, and that's about it.

Some of the legacy glass is pretty darn good, but not up to 2017 standards for true excellence on MF. Which is a shame because the body is really nice.

Another negative is the user interface was lifted from a consumer camera. Crap like scene modes, in camera jpeg creative filters, and low end video have no place on a professional body.

Having all the focus sensors clustered in the middle of the frame, since they too are lifted from and APS-C consumer body, is also a serious negative.

The degree of button customization is just enough to say they have it, but not enough to be of any real use.

But the image results with the best available lenses are outstanding. Using the camera hand held is not just possible but easy. The body is well shaped to be used hand held. On my sample and with my 6 lenses, AF Fine Tuning was required only on my 45mm.

As an aside, I just returned from humping this thing and 3 zoom lenses around the State Fair for 6 hours. This was not fun. My back, neck, and shoulder all hurt, and I had pretty much decided not to carry all this stuff into the field again.

And then I got back and looked at the resulting raw files.

I'm now looking forward to my next all day field excursion

. Actually, I'm seriously considering taking the body and one lens to Mexico in a couple of months. My back can get better while I edit the exceptional raw files

Rating the camera a 5 for lack of tethering strikes me as ill considered, although I believe the complaint about tethering may have been addressed, although since I seldom use a tripod for me it doesn't really make a ratsazz

iridedaily

New Member

Registered: September, 2014

Location: Sydney

Posts: 4

6 users found this helpful

Review Date: October 25, 2014

Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: 10

Pros:	Ease of use, cmos sensor, file size, quality of build, excellent raw images
Cons:	None

A user's review, not a comparison against benchmarks or other makes.
I wan't to begin by saying I'm a professional photographer but as an engineer I believe I understand what a great machine is, the Pentax 645Z fits very well in this category.
As a none pro the purchase of a camera of this value is a big decision. Then you have to consider lenses to go with it. Thankfully I have a Pentax 645 film unit from another era and the lenses to go with it. I also have two 67 lenses with adaptors. Have no fear these lenses all work beautifully with this camera.
This camera is a technical achievement and to have the peace of mind that all your old equipment works seamlessly with it makes the purchase decision a lot easier. Keep in mind that the FA lenses are autofocus and many are not. I have been a Canon and Carl Zeiss user for years therefore using a camera in manual mode is second nature.
Within 5 minutes I was up and away with the 645Z. That was the first 5 minutes, be prepared to spend a week or two to really start getting some incredible shots from this medium format camera. Digital Medium Format has a lot to offer but unless you can borrow one then the difference in technique between it and a full frame 35mm camera is quite a bit.
Firstly it's a big camera and hand holding isn't difficult for a male but be prepared to use a tripod far more often as it will pay big dividends. Having a 51 megapixel file size means you can crop a lot more than smaller files and because of this you may choose to fit small lenses than you may have done before, ie a 100mm instead of 200mm. There's nothing wrong with this and it does save you quite some time as well as less equipment to carry. If you're taking shots for the web a no brainer. However you may at first be disappointed that you're not getting the sharpness you thought you should be getting with these cropped images. It's a 51 megapixel file and you can crop a long way but to get the best out of working this way you will get a dramatic improvement by tripod mounting.
The dynamic range of the 645Z sensor is equally incredible. For landscape work, use a spotmeter ( mine is 25 years old ), get your highs and lows set the camera accordingly and you'll find you won't be doing as much HDR work as you may have done before. You'll be taking less shots and when you upload your files the recovery potential you have along with the time saving will leave a smile on your face.
It's early days for me but I'm very pleased I've outlaid the money for the 645Z and my passion.

itshimitis

Pentaxian

Registered: May, 2011

Location: All over the place

Posts: 3,438

11 users found this helpful

Review Date: July 15, 2014

Recommended | Price: $11,651.40 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Ergonomics, Dynamic Range, Sharpness, Amazing ISO
Cons:	Fairly weighty.

I don't know how the previous reviewer can take 5 marks off for the lack of tethering. Either he has the camera and should have researched better or is reviewing something he hasn't owned.

For me the camera is a major step up from the 645D. The high ISO performance is amazing.

This is in a dimly lit pub at 12,800 ISO with no NR applied - look on Flickr for full size

Double Hop no NR by singingsnapper, on Flickr

The Dynamic range has taken major leap forward, and having used the D, the camera is a cinch to use. Any DSLR user will have no problems using this camera. Auto focussing is pretty snappy and the new addition of Live View with focus peaking will make manual focussing a doodle.

Tethering? Not something I use, but then the original 645D was pitched as a landscape camera - this one too when you look at the fact that it is weather sealed. Fashion isn't its primary use in my opinion, though it can be used for this of course.

For me, the 645Z is not simply a cheap version of other medium format digital cameras. It is a different form of camera that happens to be cheaper.

The camera is robust, easy to use and jumps to the top of the heap in my pack - I have D800E also, and in the last 2 weeks in trips to Scotland and Lake District, the Nikon has stayed in the bag.