pentax

DL Cade

A Basic Lens Intro for Beginners

For beginners in the world of photography, getting a good grasp on the types of lenses available and when you might want to use them is an important step. So, given that there's a lot of glass out there, we thought we'd share this basic lens intro from Pentax.

Michael Zhang

Pentax Unveils a Cheap Body Cap Lens of Its Own for Its Q System

Olympus isn't the only camera company toying around with the concept of cheap body cap lenses. At the CP+ show in Japan, Pentax took the wraps off a body cap lens of its own for its Q system line of mirrorless cameras. Officially called the "Mount Cap Lens," the accessory is a pint-sized hyper-focal lens that will reportedly produce toy-camera-style photographs.

Michael Zhang

Pentax Announces Special Edition Q10 Designed for Evangelion Anime Fans

It seems camera companies are trying to target Japanese anime fans these days. In September 2011, we wrote about how Leica had teamed up with the designer of Gundam (not to be confused with Gangnam) for a limited edition mech-themed V-LUX 30 digital camera.

Now Pentax, the king of bizarre special edition cameras, has forged an anime partnership of its own. The company has announced a limited edition line of Q10 mirrorless cameras that carry Neon Genesis Evangelion branding and colors.

Michael Zhang

Pentax Announces Its Own Retro-Styled Camera, the MX-1

More and more camera companies are giving their products vintage camera-inspired designs these days, and Pentax wants to join in on the fun. The company announced its own retro-styled camera earlier today called the MX-1.

It's a fixed lens compact camera that features a sleek metal body, a fast lens, and a 12-megapixel sensor.

DL Cade

Pick a Color, Any Color: Pentax Offers 100 Custom Color Options for the Q10 ILC

Pentax newest goal is, and we quote, "Heightening Individualized Photographic Expression." So if that just happens to be one of your New Years resolutions, and you also happen to be in the market for the "world’s smallest and lightest interchangeable lens camera system," you're in luck -- you can now pick from 100 different color combinations for the Pentax Q10.

Michael Zhang

Spotted: A Leica-Branded Pen and Coffee Cup, and a Pentax Q10 Watch

Canon started quite a fad back in 2010 by handing out novelty lens mugs at the Vancouver Olympic games. Within two years, it seems like everyone is making and selling lens-shaped coffee mugs now. If you thought Leica had stayed out of the craze, think again. Leica Rumors spotted the pen and coffee cup above being sold on eBay last week. The luxury Caran d'Ache pen carries the familiar red dot, while the cup features Noctilux lens markings.

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."