Today, digital FF is more than enough for at least 99% of the pro market.
For that reason I think of digital MF as a niche.
To me, I don't find FF to be essential, and I'm even less interested in
645D. Despite that, I think that the 645D will show up next year, and it
makes some sense for Pentax, due to their existing MF customer base.
However, the MF market is shrinking a lot while turning to digital, due to
the raise of 24x36 digital SLR's, hence digital MF is becoming a niche, like
large format film was.
As soon as a film manufacturer introduced a new film, it was so easy to cut
it wider than 35mm and load some MF rolls, and packing LF film plates too,
thus keeping their edge over smaller formats.
It won't be the same with digital, as large sensors should be developed at
the same pace of smaller sensors, and that's rather unlikely to happen.
So I expect the quality difference between small formats (APS and FF) and
large ones (MF and LF) to narrow, thus making MF and LF less and less
appealing.
The most clever strategy is to offer two sensor formats (APS and FF) and a
wide range of lenses with different quality levels and prices, all within a
single mount, so that any customer can see the largest possible update path.
That's more or less what Canon (and no one else) is currently doing.
Dario
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jens Bladt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2005 10:29 AM
Subject: RE: Pentax DSLR future
Cotty and Dario
So, what you are saying is that it's been to late/not very clever for
Pentax
to release a D645? Will it ever emerge, do you think? Or was the D645
mock-up's just a way to say: Dear Pro Pentax users - please stay with us,
we
aim to catch up anytime soon! Or did they simply aim to keep selling MF
film
gear as long as possible, abandoning MF later all the same?
The development of a MF Fuji sensor, the Kodak MF sensors and the rather
successful Hasselblad/Imacon and Rolleiflex digital cameras certainly do
point in another direction. Or does it?
Regards
Jens Bladt
Arkitekt MAA
http://hjem.get2net.dk/bladt
-----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
Fra: Cotty [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sendt: 21. oktober 2005 09:27
Til: pentax list
Emne: Re: Pentax DSLR future
On 21/10/05, Jens Bladt, discombobulated, unleashed:
As sensors get better and better it seems to me it's a matter of time,
when
there's really no need for medium format anymore.
That time has already passed.
Cheers,
Cotty
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