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.

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?

Ricoh Imaging's Pentax 645Z is a "medium format" digital camera with a 43.8x32.8mm CMOS sensor, 1.66 times the size of a standard full-frame sensor. The sensor features a very high resolution of 51.4MP (8265x6192 pixels) and can record in JPEG and in Pentax's own Raw (PEF) or Adobe DNG format.

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On balance then, the Pentax 645Z simply can't be defined by its price tag alone because this pales into insignificance in the light of everything this camera offers for that money. By that test, nothing else on the market – in any sensor format – comes close.

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...

Let's face it, there aren't many of us out there who can afford to blow ￡7,699 on a camera and lens, but believe it or not, the 51.4MP Pentax 645Z is an absolute steal at this price.

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