Archive for the 'Pentax' category

With all this talk about existing Full-Frame photo cameras (Canon EOS 5D, Nikon D3) and about possibly upcoming new ones (Sony Alpha 900, Canon EOS 5D Mk II or some other similar name, etc.) many photographers happy with their existing digital equipment are wondering: “What’s all the fuss about?”

And it’s a good question to ask, but the answer goes with some of the comments about sensor resolution. About the same people who noticed that resolution is not all that counts (despite what is said or implied by some of the major brands on this market) also understand that going Full Frame is a possibly very important decision for the attentive digital photographer.

(more…)

OK! If it was not enough to expect a couple of major announcements from Canon and Sony for the tough market of high-end digital cameras, there is another competitor appearing in the image.

According to Amateur Photographer, Samsung is preparing a Full Frame D-SLR camera to compete with Canon EOS 5D (or future 5D Mk II), with Nikon D3, with future Sony Alpha 900. We know that Samsung has a very good technology (shared with Pentax) and that the high-end market is calling for Full Frame sensors.

Nothing is certain, and we will probably have to wait until 2009, but things are moving fast in Korea too.

It is pretty unusual for photographic equipment (to my knowledge) to have an educational discount program (a discount for students and teachers). We have seen this on software and computers. But, now, it’s time for Pentax to start such a discount program. And this is good news because most of the recent Pentax D-SLR cameras are pretty good bargains already without the 25$ to 100$ rebates.

Pentax student program

First, here comes the Pentax K20D at the high end of the market:

• DP Review
• DP Review brief hands-on
• PhotographyBLOG
• Photos K20D @ PhotographyBLOG
• PopPhoto

Then comes the Pentax K200D, for a less expensive price point:

• DP Review
• PhotographyBLOG

Simultaneously, they also announce a batch of high-end lenses to add to the already interesting line of Pentax lenses for their photo reflex cameras.

• Press Release
• 200mm f/2.8 (Specifications @ DP Review)
• 300mm f/4 (Specifications @ DP Review)
• 35mm f/2.8 Macro (Specifications @ DP Review)
• 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 (Specifications @ DP Review)
• 55-300 f/4-5.8 (Specifications @ DP Review

The new Samsung 14.6 mega-pixel sensor will be found in the new Pentax K20D. Probably a pretty good camera to be seen at the next PMA.

Source: DPR.

During the recent weeks, several web sites reported a rumour coming from a Chinese site about a possible announcement by Pentax in their line of Digital Single Lens Reflex (D-SLR) cameras. Currently, the K10D is one of the most impressive nearly-pro cameras on the market despite its low price. The K100D is also an impressively inexpensive DSLR.

Now, will Pentax replace them both (or announce replacements) with K20D and K200D? January 2008 would be right to prepare for major trade shows like the PMA in Las Vegas and CES.

The prosumer-oriented K20D would have a Samsung 14 megapixel sensor, with 14 bit A/D converter (the new kid on the block for image quality and color rendering), improved shake reduction and a 3″ LCD screen (a must for all new D-LSR cameras).

The K200D would have a 10 megapixel Sony sensor, 12-bit image processing, 11 AF points and 3fps continuous shooting. Low specs but right in line with the needs of today’s entry market.

Source: Chinese forum.

The already excellent Pentax K10D (a nearly pro digital SLR camera hiding under a ridiculously small price tag) just got even better: The Pentax K10D Super still has its 6.1MP sensor but adds ultrasonic dust cleaning, and the price is going down to $519.95 for the body only.

Imaging Resource is a web site with a low rate of publication, but its reviews are of the highest quality. Today, they publish a review of the Pentax K10D D-SLR (including anti-shake, dust reduction, 10MP, weather-proof body).

Reviewed cameras

Canon 30D, 5D, Digital Rebel XT (350D), Digital Rebel XTi (400D), 1D Mark III , 1Ds Mark II

Nikon D200, D2Hs, D2Xs, D40, D40x, D80

Fuji FinePix S5 Pro

Olympus Evolt E-510, E-500, E-410, E-330

Pentax *ist D, K100D, K110D, K10D

Samsung GX-1L, GX-1S, GX-10

Sigma SD-14

Sony Alpha DSLR-A100

This is not everyday that a web site makes the effort to compare 26 Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras in one single article/review. Nevertheless, this is what GearDigest (affiliated to the excellent Tom’s Hardware of good fame among PC enthusiasts) does today. This is an orgy of cameras between $600 and $7000 (around 600-7000€)! Are missing though: Panasonic and Leica for being late and the Fuji S3 pro that is -surprisingly- considered a specialty camera for infrared.

The guide contains several pages of explanations and of theory on the advantages of the specificities of the SLR and DSLR cameras (the journalist visibly does not expect its readers to know much about that photo technology and compensates with the clarity of his writing).

unfortunately (but this is understandable for a general public audience - rather than photo enthusiasts), the comparison is done essentially at the limited level of technical characteristics. Nonetheless, this is a very wide review of the photo DSLR landscape of available products and it will ease the initial sorting between the many offers.

Link.

Hoya and Pentax just announced that they reached an agreement on a merger between both companies that would result in the absorption of Pentax into the major glass manufacturer. Pentax shares will be exchanged against Hoya shares; Management will be shared between top brass coming from both companies.

The good news is that, even if Pentax needed some cash to keep operating at full performance, Hoya is a company that can well understand the photo market of Pentax. The photo activities (including the digital SLR) is kept and we can say that this is good news. Let’s hope that Hoya will make it much better than Konica when they purchased Minolta a few years ago.

Pentax finally let everything loose about its new high-end Digital SLR camera, the K10D. Summed up, the beast has enough to fight directly the Nikon D200, the Canon 40D and other Sigma SD14 or Sony Alpha A100 (the latter being somewhat left behind, but it is widely available since last July).

Of course, it got a 10 mega-pixel-paint job, but - more importantly - if receives a powerful 22-bit A/D conversion chip that would announce exceptional Raw image quality output from the CCD sensor (let’s wait for the tests, but it should be impressive). We also are eagerly waiting for the results of the quality evaluation tests at the highest sensitivity (the K10D sports no less than 3200ISO!). The ever-needed image stabilisation system is included in the camera body (as already seen in the K100D) to bring from 2 to 4 stops of margin (here go the blurred images!); And the CCD sensor is cleaned by shaking it regularly.

However, the most interesting part (comparatively) seems to be the mechanical quality: Pentax annonces protection against water that could go from droplets to splash. Very nice indeed for pro-users and those who like to be able to bring their camera everywhere (dust and rain are welcome!).

Last but not least, the back screen is a 2.5″ LCD with a very large viewing angle, but this is becoming more common nowadays. Nonetheless, some will be surprised to find SD memory cards on a high-end camera while most high-end users are still thinking “Compact Flash” for all their memory storage.

All in all, a very good camera indeed that will feed the competition race starting at the Photokina fair and rushing for the end-of-year buying spree.