Pentax Imaging Company will showcase the first Pentax 645 Digital medium-format camera at the Photo Imaging Expo (PIE) in Tokyo, which opens tomorrow.

 

March 16, 2005: Pentax Imaging Company will showcase the first Pentax 645 Digital medium-format camera at the Photo Imaging Expo (PIE) in Tokyo, which opens tomorrow.
The new camera will be compatible with existing smc PENTAX 645 interchangeable lenses and will have a Kodak developed extra-large CCD image sensor with 18.6 total megapixels. No release date is currently available.
Pentax has also added another compact, lightweight, interchangeable zoom lens to its range for exclusive use with the *ist D and the *ist DS digital SLRs. The smc Pentax-DA 12mm-24mm F4 ED AL [IF] is the sixth DA-series lens is an ultra-wide angle optic and features 2x zoom coverage with an angle of view from 99 to 61 degrees (equivalent in focal length from 18.5mm to 37mm in 35mm format). It consists of 13 elements in 11 groups and includes ED (Extra-low Dispersion) and aspherical optical elements. The new lens measures 87.5mm in length and has a diameter of 83.5mm. It features a responsive “Quick-Shift Focus System” that allows photographers to instantly switch the focus mode from auto to manual with a slight twist of the focus ring. The new design also contributes to a drastic reduction in size, weight and production cost, compared to 35mm-format counterparts with similar specifications.