Pentax Imaging Company — Picture Soup

New Camera Gear from Pentax

Pentax today announced a new DSLR camera, lens and two P&S cameras, one of which we’ll be discussing later. Now onto the DSLR body and interchangeable lens.

K-r DSLR

New on the DSLR front is the Pentax K-r DSLR offering a wide range of automatic and manual features sure to appeal to most DSLR shooters. This 12.4MP camera is being offered in three colors: traditional black, classic white and Pentax red.

The K-r is the newest DSLR introduced by Pentax. It will be available in black, white and red.

Features of the K-r include a large 3-inch LCD, widescreen HD video capture (720p HD video at 25fps), maximum 1/6000 of a second shutter speed, large ISO range of 100 – 25600, and 6 fps framerate that can capture 25 images in a single sequence. Other features of the camera include a viewfinder focus point indicator, improved in-camera HDR mode including a Night Scene HDR mode, and improved noise performance.

Pentax offers two options to power the camera: a rechargeable lithium-ion battery or four AA-size batteries which means that if you’ve forgotten your charger or suddenly find yourself with a dead battery on vacation, you will be able to power the camera with four AA batteries using the optional AA Battery Holder (D-BH109).

The K-r also features infrared data transfer compatible with the IrSimple high-speed IR data transmission system for transfer to the web or other IrSimple-compatible devices. The K-r DSLR is packed with features. The K-r utilizes Pentax’s own shake reduction mechanism and dust removal mechanism.

The new smc Pentax DA 35mm f/2.4 AL lens.

Creative types will love the addition of a wide-range of in-camera image processing and special effects filters. These include custom image functions, digital filters and cross processing modes. The camera ships with the Pentax Digital Camera Utility 4 software package that includes a RAW processor.

Pentax will be shipping the K-r in October. MSRP for the K-r body is $799.95, MSRP for the K-r with the 18-55mm lens kit is $849.95, MSRP for the K-r double lens kit including the 18-55mm lens and 50-200mm lens is $899.95, and the MSRP for the K-r double lens kit with the 18-55mm lens and 55-300mm lens is $999.95.

35mm Lens

Pentax also announced the smc Pentax DA 35mm f/2.4 AL standard lens. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 0.3 meters. The new 35mm lens is also expected to ship in October with an MSRP of $219.95.

Optio RS1000

Although we usually feature DSLRs here on the Picture-soup.com blog we wanted to mention the new 14MP Pentax Optio RS1000 P&S camera.

The Pentax Optio RS1000 on the left and some of the included skins on the right (note, skins are not to scale).

This compact P&S model is unique in that it comes with 11 different skins that allow users to customize the camera to their own personality. In addition to the included skins, Pentax is also including a Skinit gift card so users can order a high quality, pre-cut 3M vinyl skin from www.skinit.com. Other ways to personalize these compact cameras include using the included stencil on printed photos or other unique printed pieces to use as skins; or download the Pentax personal skin designer software that lets you import a photo and save the skin as a PDF for printing.

For more information, go to www.pentaximaging.com.

Pentax medium format digital camera is now a reality

The Pentax 645D, just announced, is a 40MP medium format digital camera. Pentax had long been in the medium format film business, but this is the first medium format digital for the company.

For years, photographers, journalists and rumor mills have been mulling over whether Pentax would be reentering the world of medium format cameras with their first digital model. Well, debate no longer, because Pentax has joined the digital medium format game. Yesterday, Hoya Corp. Pentax Imaging Systems announced the Pentax 645D, a 40MP medium format digital camera.

The camera will be utilizing a 40MP CCD sensor with a physical size of 44mm x 33mm, and no low-pass filter. The camera will be compatible with the majority of existing smc PENTAX 645 interchangeable lenses. Processing of images will be done by Pentax’s proprietary Prime (Pentax Real Image Engine) II.

The camera was designed to be durable, a feature seen in many of the Pentax 35mm DSLRs. The 645D is made with a main frame created out of magnesium-steel alloy with a diecast aluminum chassis; the two LCD panels, (one on the back panel, one on the camera’s top) are covered with tempered glass plates for extra protection. The camera’s 70 seals will keep dust and other nasties out. A newly designed shutter is said to withstand as many as 50,000 shutter releases. On the inside, the camera will utilize the Pentax DR (Dust Removal) II mechanism to keep dust off the image sensor.

Other features of the camera include the ability to shoot RAW (PEF/DNG), JPG, and RAW + JPG, (for a 40 megabyte 14-bit RAW file size); a newly designed 11 point Safox IX+ wide-frame AF sensor, 77-segment multi-pattern metering system, dual SD/SDHC memory card slots, ISO range of 200 – 1000 expandable to 100 – 1600, TTL, exposure compensation +/- 5 f/stops, shutter speeds from 1/4000 of a sec. to 30 seconds plus bulb, self timer, interval, multiple exposure and other modes, custom image function, HDR functionality, dynamic range expansion, digital level, automatic compensation of distortion and lateral chromatic aberration with the D FA 645- and FA 645- series lenses, copyright credit attachment on image files, compatabiltiy with the SDM (Supersonic Direct-drive Motor) autofocus mechanism inside SDM lenses, and much more.

The camera features a 3-inch LCD and HDMI terminal. PENTAX Digital Camera Utility 4 software package will come with the camera. To see the full press release, go to www.pentax.jp/english/news/2010/201008.html.

We can’t wait to get our hands on this baby, however at this time, there are no plans to bring the camera to the U.S.

—Diane Berkenfeld