Among several other enhancements, this successor to the 645D is the first in the category to capture video as well as 51-megapixel stills.

Is there still life in medium format cameras? Pentax thinks so with the introduction of the 645Z, the second medium format model in its digital line. Replacing the 40-megapixel 645D, the 51-megapixel 645Z makes some critical changes, including a price drop. Does it fulfil the large-sensor dream?

I don't know how the previous reviewer can take 5 marks off for the lack of tethering. Either he has the camera and should have researched better or is reviewing something he hasn't owned.

Ergonomics; Dynamic Range; Sharpness; Amazing ISO

Fairly weighty

The Pentax 645Z is not only the most affordable 51.4 megapixel medium format digital camera available, it's also the world's first medium format camera to offer full HD video recording, and uses a new 51.4 megapixel CMOS sensor from Sony.

USB3 port; Excellent image quality; 51.4 megapixel CMOS sensor; Wide ISO range; 3fps continuous shooting - fast for medium format; Supports AdobeDNG raw file format; Weather sealed body; Good handling

Size; larger format results in the need for a much larger body and lenses than a full-frame DSLR; Default JPEG output has high levels of saturation and contrast

The Pentax 645Z is a medium-format DSLR camera with a 51.4-megapixel CMOS sensor with no low pass filter, offering an imaging area of 43.8mm x 32.8mm which is 1.7x larger than a 35mm full-frame sensor.

"The news about the new 645Z did pop up on the DPReview web site, and avidly read. It was then a matter of patience and obviously time till Henry's Exposure show, where there was a strong chance to get up close and personal with the new kid on the block.

As a medium format camera the Pentax 645Z has a sensor that's considerably bigger than the sensors in full frame cameras such as the Nikon D810 and Canon 5D Mark III . In fact, as it measures 43.8x32.8mm, it's around 1.68x their size.

As a medium format camera the Pentax 645Z has a sensor that's considerably bigger than the sensors in full frame cameras such as the

Large sensor with high pixel-count; Tilting; Live View enabled screen; Familiar control arrangement

High price compared to 35mm; Heavy; Bulky

Pentax 645Z review: our testing team took the medium format Pentax 645Z for a spin. Find out how it performed in their review video. The 51million-pixel Pentax 645Z has a CMOS sensor which measures 43.8×32.8mm (168% the size of a 35mm frame), so it can record a huge amount of detail.

Medium format digital cameras used to be essentially film cameras fitted with digital camera backs that contained an image sensor.In this way, professional photographers could keep using expensive gear that can cost as much as $50,000, and not have to buy a whole new system with an integrated camera...