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News › Pentax
The last few months have been a bit lonely for Pentax's flagship K-5 digital SLR. As the company has focused on its second mirrorless product line with the launch of the designer K-01, the K-5 has had to hold fort by itself as the only currently-produced Pentax digital SLR. The entry-level K-x has been discontinued for quite a while now, and although the K-r is still available in...
Earlier this year, Pentax Ricoh Imaging revealed new lens roadmaps for its K, Q, and 645 lens mounts. On the map for the K-mount--which is used by the company's DSLR models and its mirrorless K-01 compact system camera--was a new portrait prime lens, tentatively named the smc PENTAX-DA 50mm f/1.8.
Today, the name and the lens itself are tentative no more, as Pentax prepares for...
Pentax released its new 40mm f/2.8 XS SMC DA "pancake" lens with the K-01 mirrorless camera, making for a very small and portable camera-lens combination. With its K-mount, the lens is compatible with other Pentax cameras, so we took the opportunity to put it through its paces in our test lab. Does smaller become better? Check out the results for yourself in our full review of...
The Pentax Q is a camera that instantly polarizes opinion more than most.
Some love it for its incredibly compact design: there is truly no other interchangeable-lens camera that comes close to the size and weight of the Q, especially when one takes into account the optics. Others decry its smaller-than-average image sensor, and the limitations that brings in a number of areas....
Over the last few years, there's been something of a revolution in the interchangeable-lens camera world. Since the Nikon D90 introduced photographers to the concept of shooting video with a camera primarily designed for still imaging, almost the entire industry has taken the idea onboard, and it's now the rare interchangeable-lens camera indeed that doesn't offer some form of...
With Pentax now firmly established as a part of Ricoh, the company's US branch has taken on responsibility for marketing and distribution of its new parent's camera lineup in the US market. In an announcement yesterday, Pentax Ricoh Imaging Americas Corp. detailed the move, which applies to all Ricoh consumer cameras but excludes Ricoh's business-to-business image solutions and...
We've just posted our Still Life ISO/NR series test shots from the bold new Pentax K-01 compact system camera, straight from the lab!
The controversial Pentax K-01 is based on a 16-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor similar to the one found in the excellent K-5 DSLR, and is compatible with almost every K-mount lens ever made. Other features include sensor-shift shake and dust...
![The smc Pentax DA 645 25mm f/4 AL [IF] SDM AW lens. Photo provided by Pentax Ricoh Imaging Americas Corp.](http://www.imaging-resource.com/ee.php?ACT=44&fid=17&d=482&f=da645-25mm-f4.png)
Pentax Ricoh Imaging Americas Corp. has today announced the launch of a new weather-sealed ultra-wide prime lens for its medium format Pentax 645D digital SLR.
The smc Pentax DA 645 25mm f/4 AL [IF] SDM AW lens replaces the D FA variant that was listed on the 645 Mount roadmap revealed shortly after the CP+ tradeshow in Japan, a design that was announced a little over a year...
If you've been waiting to get your hands on one of Pentax's new cameras for 2012, your wait might be over. The company has today announced the debut of two--or depending upon how you look at it, perhaps three--new models announced last month.
The Pentax K-01 is a boldy-designed mirrorless camera, styled by industrial designer Marc Newson. Bearing much of the DNA of the...
Pentax Ricoh Imaging Americas Corp. has today announced its latest limited-edition digital SLR, the Pentax K-5 Silver Special Edition.
Available in just 1,500 sets worldwide, this new model takes the standard Pentax K-5 body, but changes the color scheme to predominantly silver with black trim, much like the Pentax K-5 Limited Silver that was announced last year. However, it...
If you're shooting with one of Pentax's recent single-lens reflex digital cameras, chances are that there's new firmware available for you today.
Firmware updates have been issued for the medium-format flagship 645D model, as well as four APS-C cameras. These include both the Pentax K-5 and K-7 enthusiast SLRs, the mid-range K-r, and the entry-level K-x.
In all cases, the...
PK_Tether--the unofficial tethering solution for Pentax SLRs--has just been updated to a new version, we hear today.
Created by Polish programmer Tomasz Kos, and originally known as 'Pentax Kx Periodic Shooting', PK_Tether has been on the scene for a little over a year now.
As its earlier name suggests, PK_Tether was first created specifically with the Pentax K-x in mind....
Things are becoming increasingly exciting in Pentax land lately, as new owner Ricoh gets the ball rolling on plans to make its acquisition a major contender.
At the recent CP+ trade show in Japan, the company had no less than seven new optics on display for its various interchangeable-lens cameras, all but one of which are expected to hit retail later this year. The Pentax...
As camera brand Pentax was acquired from then-parent Hoya Corp. by Ricoh Co. Ltd. last year, some in the Pentaxian community acted with alarm, broadcasting fears that their beloved brand might disappear, absorbed into that of its new owner. Ricoh moved quickly to make clear that the Pentax brand was here to stay, alongside the formation of Pentax Ricoh Imaging Co. Ltd.
Signs...
Rounding out its announcements for the day, Pentax has revealed two closely-related cameras that update follow in the footsteps of last year's WG-1 series models.
The Pentax WG-2 and WG-2 GPS, like their predecessors, differ only in whether they include a GPS receiver for location awareness, and how they're labeled externally. Both cameras are otherwise pretty-much identical,...
In a reassuring show of its commitment under new owner Ricoh, Pentax has revealed no less than six new lenses and a mount adapter to be previewed at the upcoming CP+ tradeshow in Japan. Five of the six lenses are scheduled to ship this year, and all three of the company's mount types receive attention.
For the 645D mount, there's a new 90mm f/2.8 prime, tentatively known as...
Shortly after Pentax launched its impressive Pentax 645D medium format SLR, the company stated that it was working on creating software that would allow 645D owners to shoot with their camera tethered to their computer. It's a capability that earlier Pentax SLR models up to the K20D offered, but one that has since been absent from the company's newer products.
Rumors swirled...
Pentax Ricoh Imaging Co. has today announced its latest limited-edition camera variant, this time based around the tiny Pentax Q.
The Pentax Q Limited Silver continues the company's long-standing tradition of releasing silver-bodied cameras that offer a retro aesthetic. With the Pentax Q, the limited edition should prove handsome indeed, given that all of the available lenses...
For more than a year now, rumors have swirled, suggesting that Pentax was planning to launch not one, but two mirrorless camera products with differing lens mounts. Some pooh-poohed the idea, perhaps understandably, but today the believers are vindicated, with the launch of the Pentax K-01.
It's a bold move from Pentax, to be sure. Last summer, they showed a willingness to go...
Most photos are portraits, according to conventional wisdom, but most cameras are designed to be used in landscape orientation. In fact, one of the hardest things for a beginning to remember is to turn the camera 90 degrees to frame a better portrait.
Pentax is riding to the rescue with its VS20. The VS stands for Vertical Shooting (we think). With a second shutter release on...
