Pentax 645D Review vs. Nikon D3x

Introduction

In this article we review the flagship model from Pentax, the Pentax 645D medium format camera. We contrast it to Nikon's top model, the Nikon D3x, and discuss which areas of photography the two cameras excel in. The Pentax is a medium format camera with a 33 x 44 mm sensor with 40 megapixels, and the Nikon has a 24 x 36 mm sensor with 24.5 megapixels. It may seem odd to compare these two cameras but since they represent the top model of each manufacturer and since they both are aimed at the professional market we find the comparison relevant for photographers considering parting with this sort of money, particularly photographers specializing in landscape, architecture, studio, or portrait photography.

Table of Contents

Background

PENTAX introduced the medium format PENTAX 645D digital SLR in March, 2010 in Japan. It was later introduced in USA and Europe. The camera boasts a 40MP Kodak sensor with an image area of 44mm x 33mm, is weather resistant, and specified to work down to -10 degrees C. It is fully compatible with the film era Pentax 645 A and FA lines of medium format lenses (listed in our lens database). It can also use the PENTAX 6x7 lenses in Av and M exposure modes with open aperture metering. The camera won the “EISA European Professional Camera 2011-2012” award in August 2011.

Pentax has introduced two new lenses for the camera, a 25mm F4 and a 55mm F2.8, both are weather sealed and have built-in auto-focus motors. None of the new lenses were available for our review, however, so we had to resort to some of our 645 FA and 645 A lenses.

In the Box

Camera Body with Body Cap, Standard Eye cup, Hot-shoe cover FK and Triangular Rings with Protective Cover

Battery D-LI90

Battery Charger D-BC90

Power Cord (Country Specific)

USD cable I-USB107

Large Eye cup O-EC107

Strap O-ST107

CD with Pentax Digital Camera Utility 4

Manual

Menu Reference

Serial Number Card

Specifications

The complete specifications of the 645D can be found in our camera database so in this article we will just present the main specifications and with a comparison to the Nikon D3x:

Feature Pentax 645D Nikon D3x Sensor 40 MP CCD 24.5 MP CMOS Sensor size 33 x 44 mm 24 x 36 mm Image size 33 x 44 mm 24 x 36 mm, 24 x 30 mm,

16 x 24mm (with APS-C lenses) ISO (expanded) 200 - 1000 (100 - 1600) 100 - 1600 (50 - 6400) Shutter speeds 1/4000s - 30s, B 1/8000s - 30s, B Flash synch 1/125s 1/250s Continuous shooting 1.1 fps up to 13 frames (RAW) 5 fps up to 28 frames (RAW 14 bit) Dimensions (W x H x D) 156 x 117 x 119 mm 159.5 x 157 x 87.5 mm Weight w/o battery and cards 1,400 g 1,240 g

Comparable Focal Lengths

The table below shows focal lengths with approximately the same field of view for three formats of interest (note that the Nikon D3x can use APS-C lenses as well as full-frame lenses). When the Nikon is used with APS-C lenses, a frame is displayed in the viewfinder outlining the edges of the smaller recorded image.