Pentax Shows Off New 645D Medium Format Camera with CMOS Sensor at WPPI

Pentax pulled the curtain back (slightly) on its forthcoming 645D medium format camera at the WPPI show in Las Vegas this week. The company put a mock-up of the new camera, which will use a CMOS sensor, on display under glass, at the Ricoh booth at the show, giving photographers a better idea of what the model will look like. (Ricoh is the parent company to Pentax.)

Tentatively called the Pentax 645D 2014 (we’re told the name will change), the new camera is expected to use the same Sony-made, 50-megapixel CMOS sensor featured in the Phase One IQ250 medium format back, and in the Hasselblad H5D-50c.

In the past, medium format cameras were equipped with CCD sensors prone to producing excessive noise in photos when shooting in low light at high ISOs. Our test of the Phase One IQ250 proved that a medium-format system with a CMOS sensor can capture high ISO images that look as clean and crisp as those from some full-frame DSLRs.

Other details about the Pentax 645D 2014 are scant. As you can see from photos of the mock-up, the new camera system will have a tilting LCD screen on back to help photographers compose shots from difficult angles. According to Ricoh, the Pentax 645D 2014 will be faster to use overall with “a high-speed response in a variety of photographic applications.”