Dare you be tempted? The new Pentax 645Z is already available for pre-order:

Pentax 645Z Medium Format DSLR Camera (Body Only) 16599 B&H
Pentax 645Z Medium Format Digital SLR Camera Body 16599 Adorama

According to Adorama, if you pre-order now the estimated shiping date will be around July 22nd.

[ElJamoquio]

Yay!!!!


...but no.

[SyncGuy]

I would go for this if I have the cash!

[Tanzer]

And then there is the issue of building up a lens collection .... another one ....

[ziscwg]

Oh man, 3 fps second.....................I guess this won't work for sports photography

[disco_owner]

Same here , Syncguy , Im seriously considering re-morgadging my house to get this and 2 lenses .

[rawr]

Im seriously considering re-morgadging my house to get this and 2 lenses .

It's not that expensive. To buy all 16 available 645 lenses, plus the body, would 'only' put you back about $50 grand. Not any more expensive than a base-model Toyota Prado locally. If you stick to just buying 2 or 3 lenses, you may only end up spending less than $15k USD. For a pro (or a corporate), those aren't scary numbers.

$1196 D FA 645 55mm f/2.8 AL[IF] SDM AW
$4496 90mm f/2.8 D FA 645 Macro ED AW SR
$4996 SMC DA 645 25mm f/4 AL (IF) SDM AW
$839.00 SMC-FA 645 75MM F2.8
$1,319.00 SMC-FA 645 45MM F2.8
$1,679.00 SMCP-FA 645 150mm f/2.8(IF)
$5,759.00 SMCP-FA 645 300MM f/5.6 ED(IF)
$3,479.00 SMC-FA 645 400MM F5.6 EDIF
$2,879.00 SMC-FA 645 ZOOM 45-85 F4.5
$1,679.00 SMCP-FA 645 120mm f/4 MACRO
$1,319.00 SMCP-FA 645 200MM f/4 (IF)
$2,519.00 SMCP-FA 645 80-160/4.5
$3,239.00 SMCP-FA 645 33-55 f/4.5 AL
$3,239.00 SMCP-FA 645 ZOOM 150-300MM F/5.6 ED
$1,919.00 SMCP-FA 645 35mm f/3.5
$2,039.00 SMCP-FA 645 55-110 f/5.6

$42,595.00 Sub-total (USD)

$8500 645Z Camera body

$51,095.00 Grand total (USD)

[disco_owner]

It's not that expensive. To buy all 16 available 645 lenses, plus the body, would 'only' put you back about $50 grand. Not any more expensive than a base-model Toyota Prado locally. If you stick to just buying 2 or 3 lenses, you may only end up spending less than $15k USD. For a pro (or a corporate), those aren't scary numbers.

$1196 D FA 645 55mm f/2.8 AL[IF] SDM AW
$4496 90mm f/2.8 D FA 645 Macro ED AW SR
$4996 SMC DA 645 25mm f/4 AL (IF) SDM AW
$839.00 SMC-FA 645 75MM F2.8
$1,319.00 SMC-FA 645 45MM F2.8
$1,679.00 SMCP-FA 645 150mm f/2.8(IF)
$5,759.00 SMCP-FA 645 300MM f/5.6 ED(IF)
$3,479.00 SMC-FA 645 400MM F5.6 EDIF
$2,879.00 SMC-FA 645 ZOOM 45-85 F4.5
$1,679.00 SMCP-FA 645 120mm f/4 MACRO
$1,319.00 SMCP-FA 645 200MM f/4 (IF)
$2,519.00 SMCP-FA 645 80-160/4.5
$3,239.00 SMCP-FA 645 33-55 f/4.5 AL
$3,239.00 SMCP-FA 645 ZOOM 150-300MM F/5.6 ED
$1,919.00 SMCP-FA 645 35mm f/3.5
$2,039.00 SMCP-FA 645 55-110 f/5.6

$42,595.00 Sub-total (USD)

$8500 645Z Camera body

$51,095.00 Grand total (USD)

Body + D FA 645 55mm f/2.8 to start with , Then I will slowly build up on my kit.

-----

[6BQ5]

That's more than 2x what my car is worth on a good day. Maybe in another life....

[mikeSF]

i've presently used up all my marital credits, so no.
BUT, watchful waiting shall ensue...

[narual]

It's not that expensive. To buy all 16 available 645 lenses, plus the body,

Plus a second body, plus a second copy of whatever lenses you're most likely to need backups of, plus a much stronger tripod and so on if you don't have one that can handle the weight.

[SyncGuy]

It's not that expensive. To buy all 16 available 645 lenses, plus the body, would 'only' put you back about $50 grand. Not any more expensive than a base-model Toyota Prado locally. If you stick to just buying 2 or 3 lenses, you may only end up spending less than $15k USD. For a pro (or a corporate), those aren't scary numbers.

$1196 D FA 645 55mm f/2.8 AL[IF] SDM AW
$4496 90mm f/2.8 D FA 645 Macro ED AW SR
$4996 SMC DA 645 25mm f/4 AL (IF) SDM AW
$839.00 SMC-FA 645 75MM F2.8
$1,319.00 SMC-FA 645 45MM F2.8
$1,679.00 SMCP-FA 645 150mm f/2.8(IF)
$5,759.00 SMCP-FA 645 300MM f/5.6 ED(IF)
$3,479.00 SMC-FA 645 400MM F5.6 EDIF
$2,879.00 SMC-FA 645 ZOOM 45-85 F4.5
$1,679.00 SMCP-FA 645 120mm f/4 MACRO
$1,319.00 SMCP-FA 645 200MM f/4 (IF)
$2,519.00 SMCP-FA 645 80-160/4.5
$3,239.00 SMCP-FA 645 33-55 f/4.5 AL
$3,239.00 SMCP-FA 645 ZOOM 150-300MM F/5.6 ED
$1,919.00 SMCP-FA 645 35mm f/3.5
$2,039.00 SMCP-FA 645 55-110 f/5.6

$42,595.00 Sub-total (USD)

$8500 645Z Camera body

$51,095.00 Grand total (USD)

I'm not sure about you but i'm at the stage where i pretty much need 3 lenses only.
Basically a wide, normal and tele...

Therefore, with the 645z, i would settle for the A35 or A45, A75/2.8 and A120 macro..
Wouldn't buy the newer lenses (i'm a Pentax fanatic, backward compatibility, remember?) and neither do i need AF.

I dunno about you, but i'm pretty much sure most people just need ONE comfortable lens ~50% of the time, another one with a different purpose ~35% of the time(wider or narrower) and the remaining ~15% of the time on a special purpose lens or a "fun" lens (macro, birding or something like that..)

[normhead]

Meanwhile the original is on sale at Henry's...
PENTAX 645D MEDIUM FORMAT BODY 17971
I was hoping for more than $500 off. That's peanuts on a $7k item.

[mikeSF]

...
I dunno about you, but i'm pretty much sure most people just need ONE comfortable lens ~50% of the time, another one with a different purpose ~35% of the time(wider or narrower) and the remaining ~15% of the time on a special purpose lens or a "fun" lens (macro, birding or something like that..)

[Heie]