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Amateurphotographer hands on review of 645D

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Interesting, but " In this sense, by matching the menu systems of the 35mm style and medium format style DSLRs Pentax has made the first non-professional-orientated digital medium format camera." eh? So the 645D is not a professional medium format because the menusystem is similar to the K-7?
Oh so silly.

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Take care
R
http://www.flickr.com/photos/raphaelmabo
 
Roland Mabo said:
Interesting, but " In this sense, by matching the menu systems of the 35mm style and medium format style DSLRs Pentax has made the first non-professional-orientated digital medium format camera." eh? So the 645D is not a professional medium format because the menusystem is similar to the K-7?
Oh so silly.
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Your miss reading it.

Nowhere does it say the camera is not professional , It mentions target audience nothing else.!
Roland Mabo said:
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R
http://www.flickr.com/photos/raphaelmabo
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My PPG

http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/home#section=ARTIST&subSection=1471087&subSubSection=0&language=EN
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What a cursory review. It reads as though they devoted the absolute minimum in time and effort to examining the camera.
 
Saying that target audience is consumers when the camera costs more than the professional high end 24x36 cameras is silly. Pentax made the 645D for those coming from smaller format and those may be unfamiliar with medium format handling so Pentax wanted to ease the transition. There are many professionals out there using smaller formats than medium format so to design a medium format with elements from smaller format DSLR/SLR's doesn't mean the camera is aimed at consumers or entry level photographers.

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Take care
R
http://www.flickr.com/photos/raphaelmabo
 
Roland I have great respect for your contributions here. Yet I think the author might just have meant it as a compliment to Pentax, by implying the user will find it easy to make the transition, which should, I think, be good for sales. I do not think it is a comment on the camera as a whole.

Here's a fuller version of the quote which I believe helps to set the context fully.

"It would be an inaccuracy to say that the choices in the menu system are the same as those offered by the K7, but it takes no small measure of searching and concentration to spot what the differences are. In this sense, by matching the menu systems of the 35mm style and medium format style DSLRs Pentax has made the first non-professional-orientated digital medium format camera. If you are a current K7 user you will feel at home immediately, and even those endeared to the K100, K10, K20 and K-x (and even Samsung's GX cameras) will find the transition pleasingly comfortable. "

Best regards
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'Art is not for the cultivated taste. It is to cultivate taste.' (Nikki Giovanni)

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Well yes, but by writing so the author implies that smaller formats are not used by professionals. Sure the 645D is designed to make transition from smaller formats to medium format easier, but this has nothing to do with being professional or being a consumer. It is just that smaller format cameras has certain functions and modes of operation that medium format cameras usually doesn't, and Pentax tried to make a medium format that users of smaller format cameras should feel comfortable with - it has nothing to do with being professional or not.

So I do question the statement in the article "non-professional-orientated digital medium format camera" since professional / not professional was not the issue here, not the reason for Pentax to design the 645D as it is designed.
Smaller format users can be as much professionals as medium format users.

--
Take care
R
http://www.flickr.com/photos/raphaelmabo
 
I get the feeling it was more a 'preview'

"Poor image quality could completely alter my current view of this product, but for now, anticipating that all will be well, I am extremely enthusiastic about the Pentax 645D." - this would imply that a full review with usual image tests etc will follow.

I feel bad for some reviewers re Pentax - no matter what they say, Pentax people are often not happy. If its easy to use and thus easier to move to for the non professional, then we complain. If they where to state its hard to use, buy clearly designed for the professional user, then we would no doubt complain with the argument that its a professional camera, of course its complicated... everyone always bashes Pentex etc....

Reading the review, it felt positive, and everything that the reviewer wrote seemed to be done in a positive way.

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http://www.photographiclife.co.uk
===

K10D, K7, DA* 16-50, FA 50 1.4, Tamron 70-300, Sigma 135-400, Cosina 100mm Macro.
 
ManuH said:
Roland I think the author was saying that the 645D was maybe the first digital MF accessible to amateurs. And Pentax themselves seem to target this camera to advanced (and wealthy) amateurs. And Pentax did not promise any pro service with this camera unlike Canon/Nikon high-end 24x36 cameras.
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Pentax, in their press release, say the camera is targeted at 'serious photographers'.

Although I think this is a clever definition, many have by implication, read this to mean 'non professional'

Of course 'serious photographer' is a broad definition including amateurs and professionals.
Peter
 
labnut said:
Pentax, in their press release, say the camera is targeted at 'serious photographers'.

Although I think this is a clever definition, many have by implication, read this to mean 'non professional'

Of course 'serious photographer' is a broad definition including amateurs and professionals.
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The other day me and fellow coworkers were commenting about different companies and their messages & slogans, (false) promises, jargon language, worn out vs meaningful phrases, etc. and I underscored a line from a Pentax ad I saw few months back.

Pentax does have a way with words in their ads and market approach. It flows very naturally, seriously and sincerely. No pretensions. Down to Earth calmness. Same as their cameras, it challenges common wisdom and expectations, which is a good example of someone living comfortably and relaxed in its field.
 
Roland Mabo said:
Saying that target audience is consumers when the camera costs more than the professional high end 24x36 cameras is silly. Pentax made the 645D for those coming from smaller format and those may be unfamiliar with medium format handling so Pentax wanted to ease the transition. There are many professionals out there using smaller formats than medium format so to design a medium format with elements from smaller format DSLR/SLR's doesn't mean the camera is aimed at consumers or entry level photographers.
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I think you have misinterpreted what they are saying. and what Pentaxs goals are.

To me it sounds like you do not have to be a professional to get to know the camera....and by that they mean that there are extras not found on other pro models. or modes that simplify the ease of use. Many digital back users make do with a clumsy menu....simply because the tool is deemed professional.

Also, I doubt its made specifically for people coming from a smaller system, its more common sense and I would argue that its for people already familiar with MF.
 
Thanks for the link, it was an interesting read.

The 645D looks even smaller than I thought, which is a good thing. I like that photos with the flash attached especially.

I agree with others here that the comment about the menu system was pointless. The K-7 was likely a product of 645D development that they pushed down the line to give their APS-C line a boost. I've never touched a medium format camera, but I assume their menu systems are designed to be as useful/simple as possible regardless of who is their target user.

I'd like one... now where to get $10,000 + the cost of lenses, haha :)
 
Try not reading into things too much. I read that article twice and did not get the same impression.

It just means, MF camera easy enough for non-pro to aspire to.

Whether or not it's what the author meant, professionals are professionals and they'll evaluate gears regardless of what one author says.

I think it's smart for Pentax to make the 645D not entirely marketed towards professionals, because currently, a lot of buyers of "pro" bodies are actually better-off amateurs, anyway.
 
Exactly what I think! :)
photolife said:
I get the feeling it was more a 'preview'

"Poor image quality could completely alter my current view of this product, but for now, anticipating that all will be well, I am extremely enthusiastic about the Pentax 645D." - this would imply that a full review with usual image tests etc will follow.

I feel bad for some reviewers re Pentax - no matter what they say, Pentax people are often not happy. If its easy to use and thus easier to move to for the non professional, then we complain. If they where to state its hard to use, buy clearly designed for the professional user, then we would no doubt complain with the argument that its a professional camera, of course its complicated... everyone always bashes Pentex etc....

Reading the review, it felt positive, and everything that the reviewer wrote seemed to be done in a positive way.

--
http://www.photographiclife.co.uk
===

K10D, K7, DA* 16-50, FA 50 1.4, Tamron 70-300, Sigma 135-400, Cosina 100mm Macro.
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