Pentax Announces New DSLR

September 10, 2010: Pentax has made a pre-Photokina announcement of a new DSLR camera, the 12.4-megapixel K-r.
Compact and lightweight, the Pentax K-r comes in three colours: black, white and red. It sports a large 3-inch LCD with 921,000 dots of resolution for responsive Live View and detailed image/video review. Video clips can be recorded with sound at 720p and 25 FPS, using any Pentax lens. The 11-point SAFOX IX autofocus system includes a dedicated AF assist lamp and the viewfinder includes a focus point indicator that confirms the area of focus in an image. The K-r provides a top shutter speed of 1/6000 second and a maximum burst rate of six frames/second. The supplied lithium-ion battery can be replaced with AA batteries providing flexibility for both field use and travel.

Front view of the new Pentax K-r in red. (Source: Pentax.)

Back view of the new Pentax K-r in black. (Source: Pentax.)

Top view of the new Pentax K-r in white. (Source: Pentax.)
In addition to the standard P, A, S and M shooting modes, the Pentax K-r provides a wide range of automatic shooting modes, including Auto Picture mode and various scene modes to assist novice users. The extended sensitivity range of ISO 100 to ISO 25,600 is aided by improved noise performance even in challenging lighting. The K-r also features improved in-camera HDR image processing, which includes a Night Scene HDR mode, more blending options and better pixel registration for easier hand-held shooting.
A wide range of in-camera image processing and special effects filters is also provided. The K-r also comes with IrSimple infrared data transfer and a special camera-to-camera image comparison mode. The camera records to SD cards and is compatible with SDHC media, along with SDXC cards via firmware update.
The Pentax K-r will go on sale in Australia in late October for a recommended retail price of approximately $999 for the single-lens kit. Full product details can be found at http://www.pentaximaging.com/slr/.

SPECIFICATIONS:
Image sensor: 23.6 x 15.8mm CMOS sensor with 12.9 million photosites (12.4 megapixels effective)
A/D processing: 12-bits/channel
Lens mount: Pentax KAF2 bayonet
Focal length crop factor: 1.5x:
Image formats: Stills: RAW (PEF, DNG), JPEG (EXIF 2.21), Movies: AVI (Motion JPG)
Image Sizes: Stills – 12M (4288 x 2848), 10M (3936 x 2624), 6M (3072 x 2048), 2M (1728 x 1152); Movies (resolution/FPS): 1280 x 720p / 25 (16:9), 640 x 480p / 25 (4:3)
Image Stabilisation: Sensor-shift Shake Reduction (4 stops max)
Shutter speed range: 30 seconds to 1/6000 second plus Bulb
Exposure Compensation: +/- 3 EV in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps
Exposure bracketing: Auto Bracket (+/- 3 EV in 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps), HDR Capture (+3, 0, -3 with 2 blend settings),
Self-timer: 2 or 12 seconds delay
Focus system: SAFOX IX TTL phase-matching, 11 point (9 cross) wide autofocus system
Focus modes: AF Auto, AF Single (w focus lock), AF Continuous (available in Action modes), Manual Focus point adjustment: 11 point auto, 5 point auto, AF point select, center/spot
Exposure metering: TTL open aperture, 16 segment metering with multi-segment, centre-weighted average and spot modes
Shooting modes: Auto Picture (Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Action, Night Scene Portrait, Standard Flash Off), Picture (Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Action, Night Scene Portrait, Standard Flash Off), Scene (Night Scene, Surf & Snow, Food, Sunset, Kids, Pet, Candlelight, Museum, Stage Lighting [JPEG], Night Snap [JPEG], Night Scene HDR [JPEG]), Program, Sensitivity Priority, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Metered Manual, Bulb (available in Metered Manual), Movie Custom Image Modes: Bright, Natural, Portrait, Landscape, Vibrant, Muted, Monochrome. Colour modes include gamut radar and fine adjustment for saturation, hue, key, contrast, sharpness (regular and fine adj). Monochrome mode includes adjustment for film filter effects (green, yellow, orange, red, magenta, blue, cyan, infrared), toning (sepia warm/cool), key, contrast, sharpness (regular and fine adj). Cross Processing mode available for creative random effect generation. Green simplified mode available: n/a P/A/S/M/B: P, A, S, M, B (in Metered Manual), Sv (Sensitivity Priority) Date stamp: n/a Digital filters (capture): Toy Camera, High Contrast, Soft, Starburst, Retro, Color Extract (6), Fisheye, Custom (8)
Colour space options: sRGB, Adobe RGB
Custom functions: 12
ISO range: Auto: ISO 200-12800 (in 1, 1/2, 1/3 EV steps), expandable to 100-25600 (up to 1600 in Bulb mode)
White balance: Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent (D, N, W, L), Tungsten, Flash, CTE Manual; WB fine adjustment available in all modes
Flash: Retractable P-TTL auto/manual popup flash Guide number: 12 (100/m), Coverage: 28mm wide angle; Flash modes: On, off, redeye, slow sync, slow sync w redeye, slow sync w trailing curtain, wireless
Flash exposure adjustment: – 2 to +1 EV (in 1/2 steps)
Sequence shooting: Cont. Hi: Max. 6 fps (25 JPG, 12 RAW); Cont. Lo: 2 fps (unlimited JPEG, 36 RAW)
Storage Media: SD/SDHC memory cards
Viewfinder: Pentamirror with 96% FOV coverage, approx 0.85x magnification, Natural-Bright-Matte II focusing screen; Dioptre adjustment of -2.5 to +1.5 dpt
LCD monitor: 3-inch TFT colour LCD monitor with adjustable brightness, wide viewing angle; 921,000 dots
Video Capture: Yes
Data LCD: No
Playback functions: One Shot (no data, basic data, full data, color channel histogram), Multi Image Display (4, 9, 16, 36 or 81 thumbnails), Calendar Filmstrip, Folder, Magnification (quick zoom available), Select & Delete, Movie Playback (no data, basic data, full data), Bright/Dark Indication Mode pallet: Image Rotation, Digital Filter, Resize, Cropping, Slideshow, Image Comparison, RAW Development, Index Print, Protect, DPOF Magnification: Up to 16X, scrollable Digital filters (playback): Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Extract Colour (6), Watercolor, Sketch, Pastel, Miniature, Base Parameter Adj, Monochrome (filter effects, toning), Colour (6), Soft, Starburst, Fisheye, Slim, HDR, Posterization, Custom Filter
Interface terminals: USB 2.0 hi-speed, AV out Video out: NTSC, PAL; Infrared Connection: Infrared Connection in/out (IrSimple)
Power supply: D-LI109 Rechargeable Li-Ion battery; CIPA rated for approx. 1600 shots/charge without flash
Dimensions (wxhxd): 124.5 x 96.5 x 68.6 mm (body only)
Weight: 544 grams (body only)