September 20th, 2010

Pentax has today announced the Pentax K5 digital SLR camera, an update to the photo enthusiast oriented Pentax K7. In terms of body design there is little to distinguish the Pentax K5 from the K7. Apart from the name on the front and a 'Flex' label being added on the RAW button the two cameras are basically identical.

Most of the changes to the Pentax K5 are found inside the camera. The most noticeable upgrade is the new 16.3 megapixel CMOS sensor, compared to the 14.6 MP sensor found in the K7. The Pentax K5 now offers a high sensitivity setting of 51,200 ISO in expanded mode (ISO boost), features a faster continuous shooting rate at 7 frames per second versus 5.2 fps for the K7, and provides a 1080p full HD movie recording mode.

Additional minor updates include enhancements to the Pentax SAFOX AF system with wider AF coverage and improved speed, and the addition of some new digital filters and custom image settings.

Pentax K5 SLR Major Features

Pentax K5 SLR Specifications

Pentax K5 Digital SLR Major Features

1. High-resolution, low-noise, true-to-life image reproduction: The Pentax K-5 incorporates a newly designed 16.3 megapixel CMOS image sensor with a wide image-sensitive area measuring 23.7mm by 15.7mm.

The K-5 also offers a wide sensitivity range between ISO 100 and ISO 12800. This range can be intentionally expanded by the user from ISO 80 to ISO 51200 via a custom function to accommodate applications intended for more creative expressions, such as open-aperture shooting using a large-aperture lens, and indoor and nighttime shooting with incident light only.

2. High-speed continuous shooting at approximately seven images per second: The K-5's high-speed continuous shooting mode records as many as 30 images (in the JPEG recording format) in a single sequence at a maximum speed of seven images per second, allowing the photographer to preserve sharp, crisp images of active, fast-moving subjects - such as sports players, stage performers and wildlife - with great ease.

3. Responsive, high-precision AF system: The Pentax K-5 features a new-generation, wide-frame SAFOX IX+ autofocus system with 11 sensor points (with nine cross-type sensors positioned in the middle). This sophisticated AF system has completely redesigned optics, and factors the light source at the time of shooting into its calculations to improve the accuracy of autofocus operation.

It also offers a choice of shutter-release options - between focus priority and release priority in the AF.S (single) advance mode, or between focus priority and speed priority in the AF.C (continuous) advance mode - to make the photographer better equipped for varying photographic requirements. The K-5 is also equipped with a spotbeam projector to assist the AF system in poorly lit locations.

4. Compact, solid, functional camera body: Despite its compact dimensions, the Pentax K-5 is built to be exceptionally solid and durable, with a body of sturdy yet lightweight magnesium alloy, and a chassis of highly-rigid stainless steel.

Thanks to the inclusion of 77 special seals in the body, it also boasts a dustproof, weather-resistant and cold-resistant construction, assuring reliable operation even under harsh environment and down to temperatures as low as -10°C.

The Pentax K5 also features a reliable shutter unit that provides a top shutter speed of 1/8000 second and the durability to withstand as many as 100,000 shutter releases. Despite all these features, the K-5 still offers an extremely compact, functional body, because PENTAX has applied all its years of experience and expertise in camera downsizing that it accumulated since the earliest days of film-format SLR cameras.

5. Bright, clear optical viewfinder with 100% field of view: The Pentax K-5 features a pentaprism finder with a nearly 100% field of view and at 0.92-times magnification (with a 50mm F1.4 lens at infinity) to provide a better view of the image field and improve the accuracy and speed of focusing and image composition. It also comes with the renowned Natural-Bright-Matte III focusing screen to assist the photographer with manual-focus operation.

The K-5's bright, clear viewfinder assures greater visibility in outdoor shooting - especially when using a telephoto lens - allowing the photographer to better concentrate on the subject and image composition.

6. Effortless Live View shooting: Thanks to a new image sensor and a more sophisticated algorithm, the Pentax K-5's Contrast AF mode assures better performance and greater focusing speed than before during Live View shooting. With the addition of a Golden Section display, the K-5 offers a choice of three different grid patterns to facilitate image composition.

7. PENTAX-original SR mechanism with user-assisting options: The K-5 features the PENTAX-developed SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism, which effectively compensates the adverse effect of camera shake by 2.5 to 4 shutter steps, to produce sharp, blur-free images. This mechanism works with almost all PENTAX interchangeable lenses - even those designed for film-format cameras.*

Thanks to the SR mechanism's flexible design, which tilts the image sensor unit in all directions, the K-5 offers several useful features to assist the photographer during shooting. These include an auto level compensation function to assure high-precision framing and effortless adjustment of horizontal alignment, and an image-composition fine-adjustment function to automatically compensate for the camera's inclination during handheld shooting - vertically, horizontally, and in the direction of rotation.

* Lenses compatible with this mechanism: PENTAX K-, KA-, KAF-, KAF2- and KAF3-mount lenses; screw-mounted lenses (with an adapter); and 645- and 67-system lenses (with an adapter). Some functions may not be available with certain lenses.

8. Recording of Full HD-proportion movies (1920 x 1080 pixels, 25 frames per second): The K-5 captures movie clips in 16:9 Full HD proportions (1920 x 1080 pixels) at a frame rate of 25 frames per second. This extends many of the benefits of high-quality SLR photography to the world of movie shooting: For instance, you can reduce the depth of field to make a subject stand out, or use different interchangeable lenses to create distinctive visual effects.

9. Innovative image-processing functions to produce distinctive photographic expressions, including;

• Custom image function for distinctive finishing touches: The Pentax K-5 features the custom image function, which allows users to easily select the desired finishing touch for a particular image, in order to more faithfully express their creative intention or emphasize the prevailing atmosphere. The K-5 offers a choice of nine custom image modes, including Bleach Bypass, which is designed to create a dramatic visual effect used in motion pictures.

In addition to the conventional Sharpness and Fine Sharpness modes, the Pentax K-5 also offers a new Extra Sharpness mode, which is designed to place extra emphasis on the outline of even the most minute details of the image to enhance its resolution.

• Versatile digital filter function: The K-5's digital filter function allows the user to process recorded images in a variety of creative ways and produce highly individualized visual expressions - without requiring a computer. The user not only has a choice of 18 different filters, including the newly added Sketch and Posterization, but can also apply different filters one after another to a single image to create more inventive visual effects.

• Cross process mode with three options: The K-5 features the unique cross process mode, in which the camera automatically shifts photographic parameters for each exposure to create eye-catching images with unique, dramatic colors - just like pictures treated with the cross process* in film photography. In addition to Random, where the results are unpredictable until the image has been processed, the user also has two other options: Preset, with three different sets of preset parameters; and Favorite, with user-selected parameters.

* A film development technique that uses unconventional film development to create a distinctive finish with dramatic, stylized colors.

• HDR (High Dynamic Range) function: The K-5 features the HDR (high dynamic range) function to create one composite image with an extra-wide gradation range from three images with different exposures, without requiring a computer. It offers a choice of auto, standard and expanded (at three levels) modes to accommodate different creative intentions. Thanks to the addition of an automatic composition correction function, the user can now take advantage of this creative tool even with handheld shooting.

10. Other features