pentax

Michael Zhang

Pentax Q10 Now Official, Still Packs the Same 1/2.3-Inch Sensor

Pentax has officially announced its pint-sized followup to the Q mirrorless camera: the Q10. Although it shoots 12.4 megapixel images, the CMOS sensor size remains at 1/2.3-inches, the same size as the Q and a boatload of other company cameras on the market. The camera allows the Q system to hold onto the title of "the world's smallest and lightest interchangeable lens camera system."

Other specs include a 3-inch LCD, RAW mode, an ISO range of 100-6400, 1080p HD video recording, faster autofocus, a built-in pop-up flash, built-in HDR, 5fps continuous shooting, manual exposure modes, and in-camera image stabilization.

Michael Zhang

Pentax Announces Its New Flagship K-5 II and K-5 IIs DSLRs

After leaking onto the web late last week, the Pentax K-5 II and K-5 IIs have now been officially announced. The cameras succeed the K-5 as Pentax's flagship DSLR, and feature a 16.3MP APS-C CMOS sensor, an ISO range of 100-12800 (expandable to 80-51200), an 11-point autofocus system, a 3-inch LCD screen, 1080p HD video recording, in-camera stabilization, RAW shooting, a 100% FOV viewfinder, full weather sealing, and 7fps continuous shooting.

Michael Zhang

More Pentax Q10 Photos and Specs: Tiny and Colorful with Interchangeable Lenses

New details about Pentax's upcoming Q10 interchangeable lens camera have emerged. The tiny camera -- which likely has a tiny sensor -- is the followup to the Pentax Q, the world's smallest interchangeable lens compact. It'll be available in a number of colors, and will feature a 12.4 megapixel CMOS sensor, an ISO range of 100-6400, 5fps continuous shooting, AF face detection, 1080p HD video recording, in-body image stabilization, manual exposure modes, and a built-in flash.

DL Cade

Pentax Pulling Out of the Compact Game, Will Focus on DSLRs and Mirrorless

Last October Ricoh sealed the deal with Pentax, buying out the company for a sizeable $124-million. Since then we haven't seen any major changes as Pentax has gone about its business as usual. That, however, isn't going to be the case for much longer. According to the President of Pentax Imaging Ricoh, Noboru Akabane, there is a major change on the way: Pentax will be dropping compact, fixed lens camera development all-together, leaving all of that to Ricoh.

DL Cade

Pentax Crowned Best In DSLR Online Buyer Satisfaction

You'd think the biggest name in DSLR online buyer satisfaction would be someone like Nikon or Canon, but according to J.D. Power and Associates, it's actually Pentax. J.D. Power and Associates released their 2012 DSLR Online Buyer Report a couple of days ago, and it was Pentax that took the crown, scoring 899 our of 1,000. The runners up, in case you're interested, were Nikon with an 891 and Canon with an 888.

DL Cade

Pentax To Announce the K-3 Full Frame DSLR At Photokina

There's been a lot of talk about new full frames making their debut in the next year, Nikon and Canon monopolizing most of the news with their rumored entry-level offerings, but one company that might slip in under the radar is Pentax. Rumors of Pentax's K-3 full frame have been circulating for some time, but Photo Rumors recently reported on a few updates including possible announcement and release dates.

Michael Zhang

Pentax Announces the K-30: A Weather-Sealed Mid-Level DSLR

Pentax has officially announced its new K-30 DSLR, a mid-level weather-sealed camera that's geared towards active outdoor photographers. In addition to its durable build, the camera features a 16MP APS-C sensor, 6fps burst mode, speed autofocus with 9/11 cross-type points, in-camera stabilization (4 stops), 60fps Live View, an optical viewfinder with 100% coverage, a 3-inch LCD screen, dual electronic diables, 1080p HD video recording, ISO 100-12800 (expandable to 25600), and three body colors (white, blue, and black).

Michael Zhang

Quirky Camera Head Photographs

Japanese photographer kiyoshimachine has a quirky set of photographs titled Monster67 that features people wearing the "67 Head", a giant Pentax SLR.

Michael Zhang

Pentax K-01 Now Official with The World’s Thinnest Interchangeable Lens

Pentax officially announced its new K-01 mirrorless camera today after leaked photos emerged yesterday. The system features the world's thinnest interchangeable lens: a 40mm lens that's just 1cm thick. The body, on the other hand, isn't exactly the sleekest camera we've seen. It's designed by "acclaimed and influential" designer Marc Newson, who hadn't designed a camera before this one (he spends much of his time designing airplanes). The camera features a 16.28MP sensor, an ISO range of 100-25600, 1080p video recording at 30/25/24fps, and an aluminum body available in yellow, black, and white. The system starts shipping next month, with the body priced at $750, the lens priced at $250, and the combo priced at $900.

Michael Zhang

Leaked Photos and Specs of the Pentax K-01 Mirrorless Camera

Pentax is on the verge of announcing a new mirrorless camera called the K-01. It'll be a K-mount camera with the same 16.3MP sensor as the K-5, and will come with a crazy 40mm lens that's less than 1cm thick (it looks more like a body cap). It'll feature a 3-inch LCD screen, HD video recording, a pop-up flash, and a design by famous industrial designer Marc Newson. The camera will reportedly be unveiled officially tomorrow at a launch event in London.

Michael Zhang

Man Disguises Digital Camera as 70-Year-Old Vintage Camera to Troll Strangers

John (AKA knife141) loves turning junk into unusual creations, and one day came up with idea of building a camera for the sole purpose of confusing strangers. He took a $15 digicam and transformed it into a Argus C3 from the mid-1900s:

My goal was to install a modern digital camera inside the housing of an old, obsolete camera. I thought it might be fun to pull this camera out in a crowd of people and make them wonder why in the world an old man would continue to use a camera that was obviously as old as he was, as opposed to something more modern.

[...] I've had a lot of fun with this camera, taking it places and watching people's puzzled looks as I appear to be using an old beat-up camera that was made about the time I was born! I have even had people approach me and ask if I can still get film developed -- with no idea that the heart of my camera is actually digital! I have also had people ask me how many pictures I can take with the camera, and they always look puzzled when I tell them, "Oh, around 4,000 or so."

Michael Zhang

Pentax Q is the World’s First “Point-and-Shoot” with Interchangeable Lenses

Pentax has just announced the Q, the world's smallest interchangeable lens camera (ILC). Unlike existing ILC cameras, which have large sensors despite their tiny bodies, the Q has a tiny 1/2.3-inch sensor that's more comparable to the sensors in point-and-shoot cameras. Thus, the Pentax Q can be considered the world's first interchangeable lens point-and-shoot camera, though it is packed with the features and manual controls found on ILCs and DSLRs.

The camera shoots 12.4MP JPEG or raw stills at up to 5fps, records 1080p video at 30fps, and offers the traditional shooting modes found on DSLRs (i.e. P, Av, Tv, M). ISO goes up to 6400, there's a 3-inch LCD on the back, and a funky onboard flash pops up in a strange way to help illuminate your photos.

Michael Zhang

Pentax Spotmatic F SLR Completely Disassembled and Laid Out

What would it look like if you tripped and with a Pentax Spotmatic F camera in hand, and it somehow smashed neatly into its most basic components? Artist Todd McLellan gives us an idea by taking one apart, neatly arranging it on a table, and photographing it in a style similar to Carl Kleiner's IKEA baking book shots.

Michael Zhang

Pentax Announces the K-5 DSLR

Pentax has announced its new K-5 DSLR camera as Photokina is getting underway in Cologne, Germany. The new 16.2 megapixel CMOS sensor camera has nice but pretty standard specs and features: 11 autofocus points, an HDR mode, 7fps burst shooting, a 3-inch LCD screen, an ISO range of 100 to 12800 (expandable to 80 to 51200 via custom functions), 100% viewfinder coverage, 1080p video recording at 25fps, and a magnesium alloy body. The K-5 will be available starting in mid-October at around £1200 (~$1875) with a kit lens.

Michael Zhang

Pentax Embraces Customizability with LEGO-Style Blocks and Skins

Pentax is trying all sorts of ways to differentiate its cameras from the 800-pound gorillas in the camera market, and apparently thinks customization is the best way to go. After allowing customizer the colors on traditionally boring-looking DSLRs with their K-x, they've just announced two new compact cameras that allow users to choose their own style.

Michael Zhang

New Pentax K-r Replaces the Rainbow-Friendly K-x DSLR

Pentax has just launched a new color-happy DSLR to replace the K-x: the Pentax K-r. If you remember, the K-x was offered in a bajillion different body colors -- up to 100 in Japan. The company looks like it's aiming for the same eye-candy loving market with this new camera, unveiling it in red and white in addition to the standard black DSLR body.

Michael Zhang

A Ragdoll for Your Camera Lens Cap

Here's the latest innovation from Pentax: a puppet body for your lens cap! The "Cameraman" is a handmade puppet body that comes with a 52mm lens cap showing a smiley face. It costs ¥2,914, or about $32, and is only available for a limited amount of time.