Nikon D4 vs Pentax 645Z

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon D4 and the Pentax 645Z, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon D4 was introduced in January 2012 and Pentax 645Z was introduced in April 2014. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon D4 over Pentax 645Z.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Pentax 645Z over Nikon D4.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon D4 and Pentax 645Z have 3.2" screens with 921k dot and 1,037k dot resolutions respectively. Nikon D4 has a Fixed screen Pentax 645Z has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting.

Viewfinder

Cameras have built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinders. Nikon D4 has 100% coverage with 0.70x magnification and Pentax 645Z has 98% coverage with 0.56x (0.71x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Nikon D4 features a 16.2 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 36.0 x 23.9 mm and a total area of 860.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 12,800 and expands to 50 - 204,800 in boosted mode. Pentax 645Z features a 51.4 megapixel Medium format CMOS sensor with dimensions of 44 x 33 mm and a total area of 1089 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 204,800.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Nikon D4 is equipped with EXPEED 3 processor and can take pictures up to 4928 x 3280 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4096 x 2720, 4096 x 3280, 3696 x 2456, 3200 x 2128, 3072 x 2456, 3072 x 2040, 2464 x 1640, 2400 x 1592, 2048 x 1360, 2048 x 1640, 1600 x 1064 with 5:4, 3:2 aspect ratios. Pentax 645Z is equipped with PRIME III processor and can take pictures up to 8256 x 6192 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 6912 x 5184, 5376 x4032, 1920 x 1080 with 4:3 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Nikon D4 has Nikon F lens mount and Pentax 645Z has Pentax 645_AF2 lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Nikon D4 its crop factor is equal to 1x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length. Due to Medium format sensor in Pentax 645Z its crop factor is equal to 0.79x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 0.79.

No Low-Pass Filter on Pentax 645Z

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Pentax 645Z. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

No Image Stabilization

The cameras do not have image stabilization. On Nikon D4 it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Pentax 645Z nothing can be done. On Pentax 645Z it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Nikon D4 nothing can be done.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Nikon D4 has a Type C HDMI and Pentax 645Z has a Micro Type D HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon D4 comes with EN-EL18 battery pack with battery life of 2600 shots and Pentax 645Z comes with D-LI90 battery pack with battery life of 650 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon D4 has Dual CompactFlash (Type I, compliant with UDMA) or XQD card slots. Pentax 645Z has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slots.

Shutter

Nikon D4 has Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter. Pentax 645Z has Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon D4, and up to 1/4000 sec on Pentax 645Z. Nikon D4 can shoot continuously up to 11.0 fps. Pentax 645Z can shoot continuously up to 3.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon D4 has 51 (15 cross-type) focusing points and Pentax 645Z has 27 focusing points. Nikon D4 has detection range from -2 to +19 EV and Pentax 645Z has detection range from -3 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Pentax 645Z ranges from -1 to +21 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon D4 and ±5 EV range on Pentax 645Z. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon D4 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Pentax 645Z.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal or Wireless connection to Nikon D4 and via Hot Shoe or X-Sync Terminal to Pentax 645Z. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Nikon D4 and 1/125 sec on Pentax 645Z.

Nikon D4 body has dimensions of 160 x 157 x 91 mm (6.3 x 6.18 x 3.58") and Pentax 645Z body has dimensions of 156 x 117 x 123 mm (6.14 x 4.61 x 4.84"). Nikon D4 weighs 1340 g (2.95 lb / 47.27 oz) and Pentax 645Z weighs 1550 g (3.42 lb / 54.67 oz).

Nikon D4

Pentax 645Z

160 mm

157 mm

156 mm

117 mm

157 mm

117 mm

91 mm

123 mm