Mamiya Offers Two Shutters for Greater Versatility

Want ultra-fast flash synch coupled with truly professional image quality? Mamiya delivers with the DM56 medium format digital camera.

The DM56 is designed to work with two sutters. The camera has a built-in focal plane shutter that operates with more than 30 mamiya lenses. But for demanding situations, the company has introduced three new Schneider-designed lense with built-in leaf shutters. The leaf-shutter lenses come in 55mm, 80mm and 110mm focal lengths and allow flash synch speeds up to 1/1600th second.

That's the speed. Now for the image quality...

The DM56 features a 56mm x 36mm image sensor. That's 2.3 times larger than the "full-frame" 24mm x 36mm sensors available on high-end DSLR cameras. And it delivers 56 MP images.

As with other top-of-the-line digital cameras, the DM56 comes with a hefty price tag. Mamiya estimates the street price will be around $32,490. The camera should be available in November 2009.

For pros on a budget, Mamiya is introducing the DM33, with a smaller 33 MP sensor, but the same dual-lens technology. The DM33 is expected to sell for under $20,000.