Well, almost medium-format and at a price that is affordable, $1799.95. This would be the Pentax K1, when used in Pixel-Shift Mode, often called SuperRes Mode. I found it hard to believe when I first heard about it, but very believable, because I had previously owned a Sony A7s, with its oversized photo-sites, and I know what gathering light in larger wells can do. Unfortunately, the A7s with a 12 Mpx sensor, while usable for video, is too small a sensor for the close-up work I do. I sent it back.
Now, here is a camera doing what amounts to the same thing as the Sony A7s, in this case gathering four-times as much information for each photo-site and then combining it. The contribution of purity of color (independent of apochromatic corrections) to what we perceive as “sharpness” is a topic I have been researching for some years. Here was an opportunity to put it to the test and the Pentax K1 (when in pixel-shift mode) passes with flying colors. While 36 Mpx may not quite be in MF-sensor territory, with the help of pixel-shift, there is no doubt that this technology makes MF quality accessible at a rate that most photographers can actually afford.
Over the years I have surprised myself at finding that I am not brand loyal, but rather I am “results-loyal,” and will gladly abandon my most favorite equipment in favor of something substantially better. For years I thought that the Voigtlander 125mm f/2.5 APO-Lathar was the best all-around macro lens on the planet. And then along came the Zeiss Otus lenses, which are not even macro or close-up, and (most of the time) the CV-125 APO-Lanthar now sits on the shelf, etc.
As for the Pentax k1, after stumbling around with its interface while holding my nose, I finally gave that up and settled into iguring out how to get what I want from this particular camera system. I will sometime write a longish blog about the pitfalls and work-arounds (as I see them) to learning to use the Pentax K1.
I have learned the basics of getting images that I need out of the K1 as regards its SuperRes mode, and while not yet pure MF-like, I can see that I will get there. Lloyd Chambers (Diglloyd.com) points out that he feels the overall effect of the Pentax K1 is similar to something like a 54 Mpx sensor. I can’t speak to that, but I continue to be impressed by this camera. Perhaps the most revealing thing I could share with you is that I, who only do close-up work, am seriously considering getting into landscape photography, solely because of the K1’s SuperRes mode.
So, here are a few images from the K1 in SuperRes Mode, taken with the Voigtlander 90mm APO f/3.5 lens that, while not that special, tell me that with a little work, I can make this little K1-engine do what MF cameras do, at least I think so. Zerene Stacker used.
