Monthly Archives: January 2017

4 posts

K-1 Pentax Full Frame DSLR

The K-1 has is the first Pentax full-frame DSLR, featuring a 36.4-million-pixel sensor.

Main features:
36.4-million-pixel, full-frame sensor
Prime IV 14-Bit Image Processor
3.2inch Flextilt gapless screen, 1037K dots
SRII: In-built Shake Reduction sensor, 5-axis, 5stops
ISO100 up to 204,800
300,000 shutter rating, 1/8000s shutter speed
Pixel Shift Resolution with Motion Correction
AA (OLP) Filterless with AA Simulator
100% Field of View Pentaprism Viewfinder, 0.7x magnification
4.4fps full-frame JPEG L (70 frames, 17 raw)
6.5fps APS-C JPEG L (100frames, 50 raw)
33-AF points -3 EV, 25cross type
Weather Resistant with Magnesium Alloy Body
Wi-Fi connectivity built in
FullHD Video 60i,50i,30p,25p,24p, built in stereo mic
GPS, Electronic Compass, Astrotracer
Operation assist light
Lightroom plugin for tethered shooting (Image transmitter 2 is optional extra for live view tethered shooting)

Review: http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/reviews/digital-slrs/pentax-k-1-review

Pentax KP DSLR Announced

Pentax have announced the KP DSLR, a 24.32 megapixel APS-C camera with a compact body and a max ISO of 819200. The Pentax KP will be available at the end of February 2017 with an RRP of £1099.99/$1,099.95 for the body only, in black or silver.

Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation today announced the PENTAX KP, an ultra-compact and highly portable DSLR with features and controls that facilitate capturing outstanding images, even in the most demanding conditions. The PENTAX KP packs many of the advanced capabilities of the award-winning PENTAX K-3 series into a modern, slim-body design that lends itself to applications from casual snapshots to serious outdoor photography while mountain climbing or trekking. The PENTAX KP also adds a new generation of innovations including a new, highly sensitive APS-C CMOS sensor and is the first PENTAX APS-C camera to incorporate Shake Reduction II (SR II), which features a five-axis mechanism to compensate for camera shake up to 5 steps.

The new 24-megapixel CMOS sensor enables shooting in extremely low-light conditions, with sensitivity to ISO 819200, making the camera ideal for night photography. The PENTAX KP features an electronic shutter option in live-view to enable high-speed shooting up to 1/24,000-second, which greatly broadens shooting capabilities when using large aperture lenses to achieve a shallow depth of field on a bright sunny day.

The PENTAX KP’s compact body is the result of a complete internal re-design to produce an advanced DSLR camera with an extremely slim profile for optimal comfort and handling. The KP’s rugged exterior is dustproof and weather-sealed to enable use in the most challenging outdoor conditions. The camera will perform in temperatures as low as 14 degrees F (-10 degrees C).

The PENTAX KP incorporates additional advanced technologies and ease-of-use features that have long been the hallmark of PENTAX cameras and enable them to be used comfortably and reliably in a wide range of conditions. These include:

5-Axis Shake Reduction System: The PENTAX KP is the first PENTAX APS-C DSLR to offer the new generation SR II system, which uses a five-axis mechanism to compensate for camera shake caused by horizontal and vertical shift (often generated in macro photography), roll (difficult to handle by lens-installed shake reduction mechanisms), as well as pitch and yaw. The SR II unit is controlled with great precision as soon as the camera’s power is turned on, providing a wide compensation range—as much as five shutter steps—to further expand the limits of handheld shooting. With the addition of an optional accessory GPS module (O-GPS1 GPS unit), the PENTAX KP, simplifies astro-photography, making it possible to record stars as points of light rather than star trails during extremely long exposures.
Pixel Shift Resolution: This acclaimed PENTAX technology enables producing color-accurate still-life subjects with the highest resolving power. The technology uses the KP’s in-body Shake Reduction System to move the image sensor in single-pixel increments, to capture four separate images that are subsequently combined into a single, high-definition image.
A vertical-tilt LCD monitor that facilitates high- and low-angle shooting.
A grip replacement system that lets photographers choose their preference of grip based on shooting style or lens choice. In addition to the standard grip that comes with the PENTAX KP, accessory grips include medium (M) and large (L) grips (these will come packaged with KP bodies sold in North America), as well as the optional D-BG7 Battery Grip.
Control panels, button settings and dial controls that can all be customized, based on a user’s preference.
“We designed the PENTAX KP to appeal to the world’s most discerning outdoor photographers, who will appreciate its rich and powerful feature set and rugged, compact design, whether they are shooting a landscape on a trek in Patagonia or capturing an eclipse,” said Kaz Eguchi, president, Ricoh Imaging Americas. “From Pixel Shift Resolution to our new generation of Shake Reduction, PENTAX proudly continues to lead the way in photographer-friendly innovation.”

For further information, visit www.ricohimaging.com

Pentax-DA 55-300MM F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE Lens

Pentax have launched the Pentax-DA 55-300MM F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE Lens.

The new lens features a pulse motor (PLM) and adopts a ‘rear-focus’ system – both of these changes result in faster autofocus acquisition times (8.3x at wide angle and 1.7x at telephoto), as well as quieter overall autofocus performance when compared to its predecessor. Ricoh also claims that, when the lens is mounted on the new K-70 DSLR, a new autofocus algorithm ensures greater precision and faster operation with dimly lit subjects.

The lens is 10% lighter than the old 55-300mm, is fully weather-sealed and focuses down to 0.95m/3.1ft Rounding out the key specs and changes is an electromagnetic diaphragm control system, which, according to Ricoh, will provide smoother aperture control during video recording.

The HD Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4.5-6.3 ED PLM WR RE lens list price is $399.95/£399.99.

Full features: https://www.dpreview.com/news/8852527391/affordable-reach-ricoh-announces-pentax-55-300mm-f4-5-6-3-lens

PENTAX K-70 weatherproof digital SLR camera

Ricoh has launched the PENTAX K-70 digital SLR camera, with a compact, dustproof and weather-resistant body designed for all types of outdoor photography.

The PENTAX K-70 is designed to be an all-weather camera, thanks to its outstanding dustproof, weather-resistant construction and dependable cold-proof performance down to temperatures as low as -10°C. It incorporates a newly developed accelerator unit, which performs high-level noise processing in collaboration with the PRIME MII imaging engine and allows super-high-sensitivity photography at a top sensitivity of ISO 102400. It also features a new Hybrid AF system, which harmonizes the advantages of both the image-plane phase-matching AF system and the contrast detection AF system, in order to assure the maximum speed and accuracy of AF operations during Live View shooting. It even provides a range of advanced, upper-class-equivalent features, including the PENTAX-developed Pixel Shift Resolution System; an innovative AA (anti-aliasing) filter simulator with the same moiré reduction effect as an optical AA filter; an optical viewfinder with nearly 100 percent field of view; and an in-body shake reduction mechanism with a shake reduction effect equivalent to approximately 4.5 shutter steps. For remote shooting operation and easy transfer of captured images to smartphones and tablet computers, it also features a built-in wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) module.

Main features: http://news.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/rim_info2/2016/20160609_011731.html

Pentax K-70 Review: https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentax-k-70

Pentax 55-300mm WR Review: http://www.kenrockwell.com/pentax/55-300mm-wr.htm