The Pentax MX-1, which was announced in January at the CES Trade Show, is now available from leading camera retailers in Australia at an RRP of AU$499.
Angled front view of the Pentax MX-1 with silver finish. (Source: Pentax Ricoh Imaging.)
Offered in black and silver, the MX-1 has a classic design reminiscent of traditional film cameras, with a textured rubber grip and brass top and bottom panels. A metal lens ring and dedicated mode and exposure compensation dials complete the ‘retro’ effect. A pop-up auto flash and a large tilt-able high-definition (920,000 dot) LCD monitor complete the package.
Rear view of the Pentax MX-1, showing the tilting LCD monitor. (Source: Pentax Ricoh Imaging.)
The 4x optical zoom lens covers angles of view equivalent to 28-112mm in 35mm format and has a maximum aperture of f/1.8 to f/2.5. An ‘intelligent zoom’ extends the range up to 8.7 times (218mm in 35mm format equivalent). Dual shake reduction combines sensor-shift and digital compensation and a dual-axis digital level gauge is available to ensure horizontal and vertical alignment.
Internally, the MX-1 boasts a 7.6 x 5.7 mm back-illuminated CMOS sensor with 12-megapixel resolution and a powerful imaging engine that supports Super Resolution technology and ISO settings to 12800. Raw file capture is supported, along with in-camera raw file development. The camera is supplied with SILKYPIX Developer Studio 3.0 LE for PENTAX RICOH IMAGING RAW data development software.
A dedicated movie button provides quick access to Full HD movie recording employing efficient H.264 compression. Time-lapse movies can be recorded and a new High-speed Movie mode records movie clips for slow-motion playback, both of which are recorded at VGA resolution (640 x 480 pixels). Remote control sensors are located on the front and back panels.
Creative functions include 15 digital filters, image processing tools such as Stretch and Small Face filters and a Collage function, a choice of four aspect ratios and compatibility with Eye-Fi cards. The MX-1 measures approximately 122.5x 60 x 51.5 mm and weighs around 363 grams (without battery and SD memory card).
Details are available at http://pentaximaging.com/digital-camera/MX-1_Silver.
