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06-18-2010, 09:27 PM   #1
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If Pentax goes full frame, will they promote 645 lenses to fill the lens gap?

With an adapter of course. It may be a viable, yet expensive option. Thoughts?

06-18-2010, 10:25 PM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by turbosaturn Quote
With an adapter of course. It may be a viable, yet expensive option. Thoughts?
I think 645 lenses would be too expensive to make. Not to mention that MF doesn't go hand in hand with FF since making lenses with aperture of or bigger than f/2.8 for Medium format extremely expensive. Just doesn't make sense IMO
06-20-2010, 07:52 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by turbosaturn Quote
With an adapter of course. It may be a viable, yet expensive option. Thoughts?
Do you mean, introduce a new camera and say, in effect, "We have no lenses for this camera, but you can go to the used market and buy 645 lenses"?

I don't think that they would do that. First of all, it would make them a laughing stock of the industry.

Secondly, there aren't all that many 645 lenses around. Those that are, seem to be going to people actually still using film, or to people waiting for the 645D.

A more likely scenario would be to downplay the notion that 35mm film lenses don't work well on digital. K-mount lenses would be a more logical fit. First of all, they're a lot cheaper than 645 lenses, and they're a lot more plentiful. Secondly, they don't need an adapter.

Personally, I don't think that Pentax is going to release a FF camera any time soon. That segment of the dslr market is very, very small, compared to the APS-C dslr market. Nikon and Canon have that market just about sewn up. Even Sony, with all their deep pockets, is finding it very difficult to compete against C & N in that market segment. And Sony has a reputation for not settling for anything less than second place. Right now, they're a very distant third.

I think that Pentax is more likely to release a mirrorless aps-c camera. Its possible that they might join the 4/3 consortium, but I doubt it. I think that, if they did release a mirrorless camera, they would go on their own. This is, IMHO, an easier market segment to penetrate.

Their problem is one that they would also have with FF; no lenses. A mirrorless k-mount camera would be DOA. There's little point if you don't reduce the registration distance. Some lenses, particularly the pancake lenses, could be the same optical formula, repackaged in a lens mount for the shorter registration, but then they wouldn't be quite so "pancake" and the camera/lens package wouldn't be very small.

But then, I could easily be wrong...
06-20-2010, 10:21 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by noblepa Quote
Do you mean, introduce a new camera and say, in effect, "We have no lenses for this camera, but you can go to the used market and buy 645 lenses"?

I don't think that they would do that. First of all, it would make them a laughing stock of the industry.

Secondly, there aren't all that many 645 lenses around. Those that are, seem to be going to people actually still using film, or to people waiting for the 645D.

A more likely scenario would be to downplay the notion that 35mm film lenses don't work well on digital. K-mount lenses would be a more logical fit. First of all, they're a lot cheaper than 645 lenses, and they're a lot more plentiful. Secondly, they don't need an adapter.
K-lens for FF are just an handful; 645 lenses in productions are many, many more.

That said, there is the same problem with APS-C at the beginning: there are no wides; and MF lenses are too slow, compared to the FF lenses of other makers.


Last edited by eurostar; 06-21-2010 at 06:27 AM.
06-21-2010, 02:49 AM   #5
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There are more autofocus full-frame K-mount lenses than digital lenses. Pentax will just have to start producing them again
06-21-2010, 01:18 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
There are more autofocus full-frame K-mount lenses than digital lenses. Pentax will just have to start producing them again
The main difference between "optimized for digital" lenses and classic "film" lenses is a stronger need for antireflection measures (coatings, flocking) inside the lens. Some older lenses from some manufacturers just didn't make the grade, and "digital optimized" just raised the bar for minimum quality. Pentax, however, has used their SMC process on nearly every lens they ever made, and so far, SMC lenses consistently perform well on digital Pentax bodies.

I think Pentax shot themselves in the foot when releasing the DA* 200 and 300 and marking them as such - in the event that they ever release a FF body, it'll make identifying FF compatibility a nightmare. The 200 and 300 are, based on most reports I've seen, FF-capable, but are marked as an APS-C lens. (As opposed to Sigma and Tamron who take care to distinguish between "digital optimized" FF lenses and "APS-C or smaller only" lenses.)
06-21-2010, 11:20 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by turbosaturn Quote
With an adapter of course. It may be a viable, yet expensive option. Thoughts?
If Pentax goes full frame, they'll probably come up with an updated version of the 645 to K-mount adapter, but only as an accessory for the serious photographer, not as a temporary solution while waiting for FF lenses to be released.

Because if Pentax goes full frame, they will launch a few new FF lenses along with the new FF body. There are not enough FF lenses (especially zooms) in the Pentax line-up to launch a new FF body alone, IMHO.

(It would probably be a couple of all-around, high quality zooms (24-70mm and 70-200mm F/4 or F/2.8) and a few F/2.8 or faster ultrawide primes (like a 20mm). Add these to the FF compatible and already available FA and DFA lenses (but also some DA lenses), and you got a very good starting point for a new FF body.)

Pentax has been quiet for quite a long time now, and my guess is that they're up to something "big", like the release of a new format system and its own lens line-up.

I think Pentax would have more success with a new Micro APS-C or Micro 4/3rds system and I guess this is where they'll be heading if they come up with something new.

But personnally, I'd rather have a new full frame system instead.

Ultimately though, the next Pentax DSLR will probably be... APS-C!


Last edited by tigrebleu; 06-21-2010 at 11:26 PM.
06-21-2010, 11:30 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by tigrebleu Quote
If Pentax goes full frame, they'll probably come up with an updated version of the 645 to K-mount adapter, but only as an accessory for the serious photographer, not as a temporary solution while waiting for FF lenses to be released.

Because if Pentax goes full frame, they will launch a few new FF lenses along with the new FF body. There are not enough FF lenses (especially zooms) in the Pentax line-up to launch a new FF body alone, IMHO.

(It would probably be a couple of all-around, high quality zooms (24-70mm and 70-200mm F/4 or F/2.8) and a few F/2.8 or faster ultrawide primes (like a 20mm). Add these to the FF compatible and already available FA and DFA lenses (but also some DA lenses), and you got a very good starting point for a new FF body.)

Pentax has been quiet for quite a long time now, and my guess is that they're up to something "big", like the release of a new format system and its own lens line-up.

I think Pentax would have more success with a new Micro APS-C or Micro 4/3rds system and I guess this is where they'll be heading if they come up with something new.

But personnally, I'd rather have a new full frame system instead.

Ultimately though, the next Pentax DSLR will probably be... APS-C!
all I can say is, they should hurry up.
06-22-2010, 12:55 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by tigrebleu Quote
Pentax has been quiet for quite a long time now, and my guess is that they're up to something "big", like the release of a new format system and its own lens line-up.
Pentax has not been quiet, it just released the 645D. Is that "big" enough?
06-22-2010, 11:56 AM   #10
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Big enough for sure, and hopefully will be a success.

Not kind of success we ( as in FF crowd ) want however.
06-28-2010, 08:01 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by eurostar Quote
Pentax has not been quiet, it just released the 645D. Is that "big" enough?
Well, the 645D is pretty much a speciality camera and although a it is indeed a "big" thing, its price puts it in a category of its own that is far away from my budget and as such, fails to be the "big thing" I'm expecting.

When I say "something big", I'm thinking about something in the realm of my budget (under $3000), like a new 4/3rd or APS-C EVIL camera, a APS-C DSLR or even a FF DSLR for that matter.
06-28-2010, 10:10 PM   #12
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Wait.... A couple weeks
06-29-2010, 11:33 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by thibs Quote
Wait.... A couple weeks
WHAT


Are you serious?

I've been dreaming of a Pentax FF the size of the M9.......I will sell as many lens as I need to get that camera. Which lenses do I have to sell? (more than 3k worth ?)
06-29-2010, 12:15 PM   #14
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For the moment a full-frame Pentax i think is a dream (unfortunately).
06-30-2010, 12:41 AM   #15
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for the love of god, that brought you to that conclusion? most 645 lenses are larger when compared to most 35mm lenses. And in case you haven't noticed pentax has a preference for making rather diminutive lenses, especially when compared to the competition. Nikon makes an 14-24mm f/2.8 zoom and it is massive, and then they make a 16-35mm f/4 lens that is basically the same size, that's just brilliant nikon. Granted, those two zooms offer superlative image quality but yikes. Nikon; are all nikon lens designers body builders or something?!?
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