Pentax K-X DSLR Leaks, Due to Launch Tomorrow

Photorumors has a few pictures and a complete list of specs for Pentax's K-X DSLR, which they claim is going to set to launch tomorrow. Looks like it'll pack a 12.4MP CMOS sensor, 720p video and 2.7-inch LCD. More »

Pentax P80 Is Less Than an Inch Thick, but Has 12 Megapixels, Rapid Face Detection and 720p Video Recording

Pentax's P80 camera doesn't really do anything that original or spectacular for its time—the 12.1 megapixel sensor, 720p, 30 fps video recording, face detection and 0.8-inch thickness are all pedestrian compared to other cams—BUT it is $200. More »

The Pentax K-7 Shoots 720P Video and HDR

Sure, there's a chance RiceHigh's Pentax Blog has painstakingly fabricated shots and details of the upcoming Pentax K-7, but let's go ahead and list the dSLR's unconfirmed specs anyway. More »

What Ho! A New Pentax DSLR Looms, Coming May 21

Pentax's "K7D"—the supposed name of an upcoming DSLR that hopefully includes HD video capture—is on the way, and it looks like on May 21 we'll know more. Because right now, we know very little. More »

Pentax Rebate Knocks $100 Off Entry-Level K2000 DSLR Kits

A nice little $100 rebate and a two-year warranty boost are being applied this month to the Pentax K2000 entry-level DSLR and the K20D, respectively. This Dealzmodo expires February 22. More »

Limited Edition Pentax K2000 DSLR is $800 For Black, $680 For Black and White

That slick-looking white limited edition Pentax K2000 DSLR we previewed and drooled all over in December got official pricing and availability info this weekend, and it was much less than we anticipated it would be. More »

Pentax's Entry-Level K2000 DLSR, aka K-m, Now Official

Pentax's upcoming entry-level DSLR, that we brought you news of on the weekend, is now official. It's actually named the K2000 inside the US and K-m outside. The sensor is indeed 10.2-megapixels and it does have a 2.7-inch LCD and lacks live-view, just as we'd heard. With an auto scene-detection mode, it's also aimed squarely at amateur DSLR users, though it has the "Shake Reduction" tech found on higher-end K-series. Press release below. More »

Pentax Leaks Affordable New K-m DSLR

There've been lots of rumors floating around about Pentax's Photokina lineup, and it looks like the German Pentax site leaked some images and details about the K-m, an entry-level DSLR. Specs are a little bit sketchy, but it's using the same 10.2MP Sony sensor as the K200D, and retains the 2.7-inch screen and the sad lack of Live View. But the iso gets a boost to 3200 and the fps to 3.5, and the pricing seems extremely competitive, at only 500 euro for the 1-lens kit and 600 for the 2-lens kit. The K line has been solid so far, so we'll be watching out for it at Photokina. [1001 via Crunchgear]

Pentax Optio W60 Extreme Weather Cam Good for Dips, Not Dives

The Optio W60 is the most waterproof Pentax cam yet. A step up from the W30, it's a 10MP point-and-shoot that will survive at depths up to 13 feet for two hours, good enough for the pool, beach and most non-competitive snorkeling. It also handles freezing temps (14°F) and is certified dustproof against dirt, sand and dust. The Optio features 5x optical zoom, 28mm wide-angle shooting, and HD video recording. It comes in silver and blue and will be out in July for $330. Maybe this summer I'll test it against the Olympus 1030SW and others in a Bathtub Battlemodo. Additional picture after the jump. [Pentax] More »

Optio V20 from Pentax has 5x Zoom, Smile Recognition and Blink Detection

Six months after Pentax released the Optio V10, the japanese company has upped the stakes with the V20. The slimline point-and-shoot has upped the zoom from 3x to 5x, as well as increasing Digital SR mode to ISO 3200 and ISO 6400. With a nice, big 3-inch LCD screen on the back, smile recognition and blink detection, (Earl Hickey, this one's for you) the V20 will be available in Japan next month for the equivalent of $288 Bonus shot of the V20 after the jump. More »

Problem: Waterproof Rugged Cameras Are Too Easy to Lose!

Rugged and waterproof cameras are great, but they've got a lot of improving to do in general design before they'll be good in the outdoors. I mean, someone just keep me from losing these things. More »

Samsung Developing Full-Frame Pro DSLR

The new horserace for DSLR cameramakers is in full-frame (equivalent to 35mm) pro cameras, formerly a Canon-dominated market. Nikon's stunning D3 was its first full-frame DSLR (after years of saying it's unnecessary) and Sony unveiled its own 25MP whopper in January (they're trying to quickly build technical prestige). Now Samsung has let on it's cooking its own full-frame sensor for a pro camera. They're probably co-developing with Pentax (again) since the exec that slipped the plans re-emphasized their coziness, so we'll likely see the same sensor in cameras from both makers, with differentiation in the body and software. Digital Camera Review says that the Pentax K20D's "image quality is among the best I've seen in the sub $2,000 price range," and Pentax usually delivers a nice price-to-performance ratio, so this could make the full-frame DSLR market a lot more interesting. [Amateur Photographer via Electronista]

Pentax Optio M50 Comes in Pink, Silver and Blue But Mostly Vanilla

Here's what $230 will buy you in the point-n-shoot world right now, as embodied by the pleasantly mainstream Pentax Optio M50: a sleek little body (under 4" wide and just over 2" high), a 5X optical zoom lens, an 8-megapixel sensor, and a choice of pink, blue or silver. Little perks like "Smile Capture" make this fun at parties, but no one is going to murder you for it in some dark alley. Come to think of it, depending on where you live it might be a really smart buy. Detailed specs after jump. [Pentax] More »

Pentax Optio S12 Is the Tiniest 12-Megapixel Around

We're not saying pixel count matters anymore, or that anyone can tell the difference between an 8-megapixel shot and a 10-megapixel shot anyway, but if you want something unusual to brag about, the Pentax Optio S12 is certainly unique. The $280 camera has a 12-megapixel sensor not a whole lot else—that tiny little 5-oz. body measures 3.6" x 2.2" with a thickness of just under an inch. As you can expect, it's got just a 3x optical zoom lens and a rather nice 232,00-pixel 2.5" LCD, but sadly, in spite of its massive image sensor it only records VGA movies. I'm still trying to guess what it would be best for, besides cocktail party conversation, besides making massive poster-sized images of close-up subjects on the fly. Detailed specs and another picture after the jump. [Pentax] More »

Pentax K20D and K200D Digital SLRs Rumored

Rumors fly about a couple of shiny new Pentax digital SLRs, possibly rolling out January 24th just in time for the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) convention. The Pentax K20D will allegedly replace and look a lot like the $799 K10D (pictured above) that shipped over a year ago, and the K200D is due to replace the aging K100D. If the rumors are true, this is going to be good. More »

Time to Upgrade: The Best DSLRs for Under 600 Bucks

Laptop Mag's running a roundup of "the best DSLRs under $800," but all of them actually go for around $500 (w/ lens), Sony's A100 excepted, which is just under $600. Of the group—Canon Digital Rebel XT, Nikon D40, Pentax K100D and Sony Alpha A100—they ultimately side with the D40, but truth be told, there isn't a world of difference between them all. They're all great cameras for the money, really—it comes down to personal preference. More »

Pentax Optio V10 Slim Camera

The other Pentax launched today is this 8MP slim that is about 2cm thick. Not bad, but a quick Google search shows that Sony's had thinner Cybershots, even if at lower MP ratings. (Not sure if that's counting the big lens cover slides that most T series cams have.) The back has a 3-inch LCD. More »

Pentax Optio A40 Camera Records in DivX

The medium-sized A40 has a 3x zoom, a 12MP rating and digital and mechanical shot stabilization. Coolest is its ability to record in DivX, which I guess is neato for distributing your home movies on BitTorrent, but maybe won't result in high quality movies once you run 'em through iMovie or Windows Movie Maker for a second pass of squishing. Ah, like many of the cameras in this tier, it has face recognition with Natural Skin Tone mode (which turns your skin into the tone of a band-aid, regardless of race), and Half-Length Portrait mode which uses the spare pixelage above to autocrop a photo to shoulder length. More »

Pogue Reviews Waterproof Cams, Sanyo Xacti E1 Floats Above the Competition

Pogue takes a a few waterproof cams down to the local waterpark for testing and finds Sanyo's 6MP Xacti E1 to be of better image and video quality than the rest. I've always found the Xacti cam's nice, but the low light performance to be lacking. That doesn't matter when you're talking about beach and pool time, however. I believe its image quality is better than the other cams in this roundup, but it's only rated to 5 feet of depth. More »

Pentax Optio A30 Boots Up, Shoots and Focuses Quicker

Pentax goosed its Optio A series with the A30, a 10-megapixel point-and-shoot camera with a 3x optical lens and a 2.5-inch LCD. Besides a newfangled gyro system to reduce shakiness, the big update on this one is speed, where it's ready to use in 1.8 seconds and has a quick .02-second shutter delay. If you take lots of shots of kids or sports, you know how important it is to have a quick reset, and its faster focus helps, too. More »

Pentax Optio W30 Waterproof Shooter Dives Deeper Than Ever

Pentax has been dabbling in waterproof point-and-shoot digital cameras for a while, and now its Optio W30 is even more waterproof than its W20 predecessor. This one can be submerged to 9 feet for two hours (besting the 5 feet and 30 minutes for the W20) and still keep on clicking away. More »