The Pentax 645D Japan is being produced to celebrate Pentax's receipt of the "Camera of the Year" award at the recent Camera GP Japan 2011 awards, the company's fourth model to receive this honor. The 645D Japan is identical to the existing camera in terms of specification, but features a handsome Bordeaux-red lacquer finish, rather than the textured black of the standard 645D. The Pentax logo and indications on the Mode dial, meanwhile, are gold-plated, and the black rubber portion of the handgrip has a glossy finish.

The 645D Japan also replaces the DF-80 Natural-Bright-Matte focusing screen that ordinarily ships with the 645D, instead including a special DS-80 Center-Spot-Matte focusing screen. There's also a custom body mount cap with a glossy black coating. Additionally, the regular black O-ST107 fabric neck strap is replaced with a limited edition red synthetic leather strap, the O-ST123, which includes the camera model name and the phrase "Camera GP 2011 Camera of The Year" in gold lettering. Finally, the top-panel LCD has a white backlight, rather than the standard green, and the Pentax 645D Japan ships from the factory with the latest firmware already installed.

The process of creating the lacquered finish for the 645D Japan is, we understand, rather involved. First, a black lacquer base is applied to the camera body, and then a variety of silver leaves are applied by hand, followed by finally supplementing the previous layers with a Bordeaux-red overcoat. The process -- known as urushi-e -- results in each 645D Japan body being unique from its siblings, and is also said to offer enhanced durability. The technique used was developed by Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima-based Sakamoto Urushi Manufacturing Co. Ltd., the same company that was responsible for another of Pentax's historic limited-edition models from the early 1990s, the 645 Japan.

The Pentax 645D Japan comes in presentation wood packaging whose top surface includes a laser-engraved 645D logo alongside a recognition of the Camera GP Japan award. The box itself is crafted from the wood of the paulownia, or princess tree, a species native to Asia. Each 645D Japan camera body is marked with a limited edition serial number, although Pentax has yet to reveal the camera's planned production run, nor pricing for this special model. Pentax 645D Japan camera bodies will be built to order, with delivery expected to take at least four months from the date the order is placed.

Unveiled in early 2010, with a development history stretching all the way back to 2005, the Pentax 645D is based around a 40 megapixel Kodak KAF-40000 CCD image sensor, and includes a fully sealed body that resists dust, weather and cold to -10° celsius / 14° fahrenheit, complete with tempered glass plates over the top and rear-panel LCD screens. Other features include a Pentax 645AF2 bayonet lens mount, PRIME II image processor, piezoelectric Dust Removal II system, 3.0-inch LCD panel with 920,000 dot resolution, and a dual-axis electronic level. Exposures are determined using a 77-segment metering sensor, and shutter speeds range from 1/4,000 to 30 seconds plus bulb, while an 11-point SAFOX IX+ autofocus system handles focusing. ISO sensitivity ranges from 200 to 1,000 equivalents by default, and may be expanded to encompass a range of 100 to 1,600 equivalents. Burst shooting is possible at 1.1 full-resolution frames per second, with a buffer depth of up to 15 JPEG or 13 raw photos. Images are stored on Secure Digital cards, including the newer SDHC and SDXC types, and the Pentax 645D includes dual slots that can be configured to allow either automatic overflow, simultaneous backup or segregation of images by file type.

The standard Pentax 645D began shipping in the Japanese market from May 2010, and arrived in the US market from December 2010. More details on the Pentax 645D Japan can be found in the official press release below, or click here to see our test shots from the standard version of the 645D.