Pentax 645Z Review

Main Features

51MP - Medium format CMOS Sensor

No Optical low-pass (anti-aliasing) filter

ISO 100 - 204800

3.2″ Tilting Screen

Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder

3 fps continuous shooting

1920 x 1080 video resolution

1550g. 156 x 117 x 123 mm

Weather Sealed Body

Replaced Pentax 645D

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Pentax 645Z Overview

First introduced in April 2014 , Pentax 645Z is a 51.0MP Pro DSLR camera with a Medium format (44 x 33 mm ) sized CMOS sensor. Pentax replaced the older 645D with this model. Follow the link to read our detailed comparison of these model:
Compare Pentax 645Z vs Pentax 645D

Pentax 645Z has an Overall Score of 86/100 and ranked #9 out of 200 in DSLR cameras (Top 10 DSLR), and ranked #27 out of 1171 in all Cameras (Top 10 Overall).

Pentax 645Z Type Scores

Imaging

Features

Value for Money

Portability

Overall Score

Check our Smart Finder Tool to filter, sort and compare all digital cameras

Pentax 645Z Compared to other DSLR Cameras

Now let's get in to more details of our Pentax 645Z review by analysing its specs and features and listing out its pros and cons compared to average competitor cameras in its class.

PROs

Articulating Screen

1920 x 1080 Max Video Resolution

Optical Built-in Viewfinder

Face Detection Focusing

51.0MP - High Resolution Sensor

204.800 Max ISO

27 Focus Points

Large 3.2″ Screen

1.037k dots LCD Resolution

Long Battery Life (650 shots)

External Microphone Port

Environmental Sealing

Timelapse Recording

Good Low Light ISO - 4505

2 Storage Slots

Top LCD Display

Wide AE Bracketing Range: ±5 EV

Flash Sync Port

AF Micro Adjustment (Fine Tune)

Dual-axis Electronic Level

Buy Pentax 645Z from or B&H PHOTO

CONs

No Wireless Connection

No Image Stabilization

No Touch Screen

Slow Continuous Shooting: 3.0fps

Heavy Body: 1550g

Pentax 645Z Lens Mount and Lenses

Pentax 645Z has a Pentax 645AF2 lens mount and currently there are 6 native lenses available for this mount. Pentax K mount has backward compatibility for all the K mount lenses produced since 1975 so Pentax users has access to a large selection of manual era native lenses in addition to the modern AF lenses.

Pentax 645Z doesn't have a sensor based image stabilization system but 2 of these lenses already comes with Optical Image Stabilization. There are also 3 lenses with weather sealing for 645Z that you can couple with its weather sealed body.

Here are some of the most popular Pentax 645Z Lenses on Camera Decision:

Popular Pentax 645Z Lenses

	Focal Length on 645Z	Max Aperture	Weight	Focusing	Price
Pentax smc D FA 645 25mm F4 AL IF SDM AW	20mm	F4.0	1070gr	AF	$0.00
Pentax smc DA 16-45mm F4 ED AL	12.8-36mm	F4.0	356gr	AF	$599.95
HD Pentax-DA645 28-45mm F4.5ED AW SR	22.4-36mm	F4.5	1470gr	AF	$4,496.95
Pentax smc D FA 645 55mm F2.8 AL IF SDM AW	44mm	F2.8	416gr	AF	$925.00
Pentax HD DFA645 Macro 90mm F2.8 ED AW SR	72mm	F2.8	1040gr	AF	$2,990.00

Check our Pentax 645Z Lenses page or use our Smart Lens Finder tool for more detailed lens search.

Pentax 645Z Sensor and Photography Features

Pentax 645Z has a 51.0MP Medium format (44 x 33 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features PRIME III processor. You can shoot at maximum resolution of 8256 x 6192 pixels with aspect ratios of and 4:3. 645Z has a native ISO range of 100 - 204800 and it can save files in RAW format which gives you a wider room for post processing.

Pentax 645Z is not the highest resolution Medium format camera. Fujifilm GFX 50R with its 51.0MP sensor is leading in this class. Check the comparison of Pentax 645Z vs Fujifilm GFX 50R or take a look at Highest resolution DSLR cameras list.

DxOMark Sensor Scores

DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. Pentax 645Z sensor has been tested by DxO Mark and got an overall score of 101 for its image quality. You can find the details of their analysis of Pentax 645Z here.

Anti-Aliasing Filter

Another important feature about Pentax 645Z's sensor is the lack of anti-alias (Low-pass) filter. Removing anti-aliasing filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but on the other side it also increases the chance of moire occurring in certain scenes.

Let's look at how the size of the Pentax 645Z's Medium format sensor compares with other standard sensor sizes.

Pentax 645Z Physical Specs

Pentax 645Z weighs 1550 g (3.42 lb / 54.67 oz) and has external dimensions of 156 x 117 x 123 mm (6.14 x 4.61 x 4.84″). Considering that the average weight of DSLR type cameras is 771g, Pentax 645Z is a significantly heavy camera for its class. With a thickness of 123mm, it is not small either, 46mm thicker than the average of its class.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

Pentax 645Z

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Average

Max

Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

Pentax 645Z

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Average

Max

Here is the front and top view image of Pentax 645Z with the dimensions:

In order to give you a better idea about the real life size of Pentax 645Z, we have added an image of how it looks next to a credit card and an AA type battery.

Now lets compare the weight and thickness of Pentax 645Z with its main competitors:

Pentax 645Z Size Compared to Main Competitors

Model	Sensor	Weight	vs 645Z	Thickness	vs 645Z
Canon 5DS R	51.0MP - Full frame	930g	620g lighter	76mm	47mm thinner
Nikon D810	36.0MP - Full frame	980g	570g lighter	82mm	41mm thinner
Pentax 645D	40.0MP - Medium format	1480g	70g lighter	119mm	4mm thinner
Fujifilm GFX 50S	51.0MP - Medium format	740g	810g lighter	91mm	32mm thinner
Hasselblad X1D	51.0MP - Medium format	725g	825g lighter	71mm	52mm thinner
Leica S2	38.0MP - Medium format	1410g	140g lighter	81mm	42mm thinner
Sony A7R II	42.0MP - Full frame	625g	925g lighter	60mm	63mm thinner
Canon 5D MIII	22.0MP - Full frame	950g	600g lighter	76mm	47mm thinner

Pentax 645Z has environmental sealings on its body which makes it a weather resistant camera. If you like outdoors photography and want to be able to use your camera in extreme conditions, Pentax 645Z will serve you well. If you attach one of these Pentax 645Z weather Sealed lenses to 645Z you will have a great all weather kit.

Pentax 645Z Other Features

LCD and Viewfinder

Pentax 645Z has a Tilting 3.2″ LCD screen with a resolution of 1,037k dots. The Pentax 645Z's 3.2″ screen is larger than average and its resolution is up to the class standarts.

645Z has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. The viewfinder has a coverage of 98% and a magnification ratio of 0.85x. 98% coverage means that what you see in your viewfinder while shooting will slightly be different from the actual image.

Max Shutter speed
Pentax 645Z can shoot continuously at max speed of 3 fps and has max shutter speed of 1/4000 sec.

Flash
Unfortunately 645Z doesn't have a built-in flash but it has a flash shoe for mounting external flashes.

Focusing
Pentax 645Z features both Contrast Detection and Phase Detection autofocus (AF) systems which ensures speed and accuracy of focusing in most situations. The AF system has 27 points to choose from.

Pentax 645Z also features Face detection AF where it intelligently detects the faces in the frame and locks the focus automatically.

Video Features
With Pentax 645Z, you can record your videos at a highest resolution of 1920 x 1080 at 60i,50i,30p,25p,24p fps and save in MPEG-4 and H.264 formats. Full HD resolution of Pentax 645Z will be adequate in most of the situations. But if you are after the highest resolution videos available, see our list of Top Cameras with 4K (Ultra-HD) Video.

645Z has a built-in Mono microphone and a Stereo speaker. Pentax 645Z also has a port for an external microphone so you can record high quality sound with the help of an external microphone.

Connectivity and Storage

You can connect 645Z to compatible devices via its HDMI port or USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec) port.

Battery Pentax 645Z is powered by battery which provides a shooting life of 650 according to CIPA standards. Considering that the average battery life of DSLR type cameras is 881 shots, Pentax 645Z has a short battery life for its class so we strongly recommend 645Z owners to buy some extra batteries.

Battery Life Comparison in Pro DSLR Cameras

Pentax 645Z

Min

Average

Max

Nikon D3X with its 4400shots is the model with longest battery life among Pro DSLR cameras. Check the comparison of Pentax 645Z vs Nikon D3X or take a look at Longest Battery Life DSLR cameras list.

Pentax 645Z Features Compared to Main Competitors

Model	Max Video	Battery Life	Wi-fi	Bluetooth	NFC
Canon 5DS R >>Compare to 645Z	1920 x 1080	700shots	No	No	No
Nikon D810 >>Compare to 645Z	1920 x 1080	1200shots	No	No	No
Pentax 645D >>Compare to 645Z	None	800shots	No	No	No
Fujifilm GFX 50S >>Compare to 645Z	1920 x 1080	400shots	Yes	No	No
Hasselblad X1D >>Compare to 645Z	1920 x 1080	shots	Yes	No	No
Leica S2 >>Compare to 645Z	None	1000shots	No	No	No
Sony A7R II >>Compare to 645Z	3840 x 2160	290shots	Yes	No	Yes
Canon 5D MIII >>Compare to 645Z	1920 x 1080	950shots	No	No	No

Lowest Price
Current Lowest price for Pentax 645Z is $4,996.95

What type of Photography is Pentax 645Z Good for?

In this section, we review and score Pentax 645Z in 5 different photography areas. This first spider web graph shows how the 645Z compares with the average DSLR camera.
Hover your mouse over the points to see the score details for each photography type.

Pentax 645Z for Portrait Photography

Pentax 645Z has a score of 100 for Portrait Photography which makes it an EXCELLENT candidate for this type of photography.

Large Medium format (44 x 33 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 51.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder

Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization

Read the details of how we scored Pentax 645Z for Portrait Photography

Pentax 645Z for Street Photography

Pentax 645Z has a score of 68 for Street Photography which makes it a GOOD candidate for this type of photography. If you are looking for a camera that is better suited to Street Photography, we recommend you to check our Top 10 DSLR Cameras for Street Photography list.

Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen

Large Medium format (44 x 33 mm) sensor
No Image Stabilization
Large Body

Read the details of how we scored Pentax 645Z for Street Photography

Pentax 645Z for Sports Photography

Pentax 645Z has a score of 78 for Sports Photography which makes it a GOOD candidate for this type of photography. If you are looking for a camera that is better suited to Sports Photography, we recommend you to check our Top 10 DSLR Cameras for Sports Photography list.

Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
27 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 650 shots
Good Low Light ISO

Good Ergonomics&Handling
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Slow Continuous Shooting: 3.0fps
No Image Stabilization

Read the details of how we scored Pentax 645Z for Sports Photography

Pentax 645Z for Daily Photography

Pentax 645Z has a score of 81 for Daily Photography which makes it an EXCELLENT candidate for this type of photography.

Environmental Sealings
Large Medium format (44 x 33 mm) sensor
Large Body

1550g
Body Thickness 123mm

Read the details of how we scored Pentax 645Z for Daily Photography

Pentax 645Z for Landscape Photography

Pentax 645Z has a score of 99 for Landscape Photography which makes it an EXCELLENT candidate for this type of photography.

Live-view
Large Medium format (44 x 33 mm) sensor

Very High Resolution Sensor: 51.0MP
Environmental Sealings

Read the details of how we scored Pentax 645Z for Landscape Photography

Pentax 645Z Alternatives

In this section, we analyse how Pentax 645Z compares with other DSLR cameras within a similar price range. In the Bubble chart below, you can see Overall Score vs Price comparison of 645Z and the top 10 contenders in the same range. Hover your mouse on the bubbles to see the details of the cameras.

Read a more detailed analysis of Pentax 645Z alternatives.

Popular Comparisons of Pentax 645Z

Here is the eight most popular comparisons of Pentax 645Z amongst Camera Decision readers.

Canon 5DS R

Compare

Nikon D810

Compare

Pentax 645D

Compare

Fujifilm GFX 50S

Compare

Hasselblad X1D

Compare

Leica S2

Compare

Sony A7R II

Compare

Canon 5D MIII

Compare

Pentax 645Z Alternatives in Mirrorless Cameras

It would also be interesting to compare Pentax 645Z with Mirrorless Cameras. Below we have listed 4 highest ranked Mirrorless cameras in Pentax 645Z's price range.

Fujifilm GFX 50S

Compare

Nikon Z 7

Compare

Panasonic S1R

Compare

Fujifilm GFX 50R

Compare

Sony A7R III

Compare

Nikon Z 6

Compare

Sony A9

Compare

Sony A7R II

Compare

Frequently Asked Questions about Pentax 645Z

Does the Pentax 645Z have Image Stabilization?
Does the Pentax 645Z have RAW support?
Does the Pentax 645Z have Weather Sealing?
Does the Pentax 645Z have built-in GPS?
What is the Max ISO of Pentax 645Z?
What is the Sensor Size of Pentax 645Z?
is the Pentax 645Z a Full Frame (FF) camera?
Does the Pentax 645Z have Touch Screen?
Does the Pentax 645Z have built-in Wireless?
What is the Max Continuous Shooting Speed (fps) of Pentax 645Z?

Pentax 645Z Detailed Specifications

General
Brand	Pentax
Model	Pentax 645Z
Announced	2014-04-15
Body Type	Large SLR
Price	$4,996.95
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	Pentax 645AF2
Number of Lenses	6
Focal Length Multiplier	0.8�
Macro Focus Range	n/a
Screen
Screen Type	Tilting
Screen Size	3.2″
Screen Resolution	1,037k dots
Live View
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Resolution	no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage	98%
Viewfinder Magnification	0.85
Photography Features
Min Shutter Speed	30s
Max Shutter Speed	1/4000s
Continuous Shooting	3.0 fps
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Exposure Compensation	Yes
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	no built-in flash
Flash Modes	Flash On, Flash On+Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Slow-speed Sync+Red-eye, P-TTL, Trailing Curtain Sync, contrast-control-sync, high-speed sync, wireless sync
External Flash
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Exposure Modes
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	101
DxO Color Depth	26.0
DxO Dynamic Range	14.7
DxO Low Light ISO	4505
	Report a correction

Sensor
Sensor Type	CMOS
Sensor Size	Medium format
Sensor Dimensions	44 x 33 mm
Sensor Area	1452.00mm²
Sensor Resolution	51 megapixels
Max Image Resolution	8256 x 6192
Max Native ISO	204,800
Min Native ISO	100
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points	27
Number of Cross Focus Points	Unknown
Video Features
Video Resolutions	1920 x 1080 (60i, 50i, 30p, 25p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (60p, 50p, 30p, 25p,24p)
Max Video Resolution	1920 x 1080
Video Formats	MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	None
HDMI
USB	USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Water Proof
Dust Proof
Shock Proof
Crush Proof
Freeze Proof
Weight	1550g
Physical Dimensions	156 x 117 x 123mm
Battery Life	650 shots
Battery Type	Battery Pack
Battery Model	D-LI90
Other Features
Self Timer	Yes (2 or 10 secs)
Timelapse Recording
GPS	Optional
Storage Type	Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC slots
Storage Slots	2

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