Craig January 28th, 2008
The worlds largest annual photography trade show is set to start for another year. PMA 2008, held in Las Vegas from January 31st to February 2nd, has already seen a few announcements of the DSLR side of things.
In a widely expected move, Canon have announced the successor to the 400D, to be called the 450D (Rebel XSi). With 12 megapixels, a new 14-bit processor and Live View, it’s sure to be a big seller for Canon. DPReview has all the details.
Pentax have announced a couple of new cameras. As an entry level camera, the K200D replaces the K100D, and the K20D replaces the K10D.
The sensor technology in the Pentax was developed and made by Samsung, so it comes as no surprise to see a Samsung DSLR announced as well. The GX-20 is essentially the same as the Pentax K20D with a slightly different body design and a different menu system.
Craig August 7th, 2007
Pentax have announced the opening of the Pentax Photo Gallery. An online photo gallery dedicated to photographs taken with Pentax equipment with a very well done Flash interface, Pentax Photo Gallery allows you to browse images in collections, categories, artists and even by camera or lens. The entire site is available in six languages and already hosts over 2500 images by 300 photographers.
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Pentax Press Release
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Craig February 28th, 2007
Pentax have announced a couple of new lenses - smc PENTAX-DA 16-50mm F2.8ED AL [IF] SDM and smc PENTAX-DA* 50-135mm F2.8ED [IF] SDM. Designed exclusively for use with its digital SLR cameras, these zoom lenses are the first models of the new high-performance smc PENTAX-DA* lens series.
The SDM system is a new autofocusing motor that provides smoother and quieter AF through the inbuilt supersonic motor. This will only work on the Pentax K10D after a firmware upgrade - on other Pentax DSLRs, conventional AF will still operate.
These new lenses are also sealed against dust and moisture.
Here’s the specs for them.
smc Pentax-DA* 16-50mm F2.8ED AL [IF] SDM
• Lens mount: Pentax KAF2 mount
• Lens construction: 15 elements in 12 groups
• Angle of view: 83-31.5°(when used with Pentax digital SLR camera)
• Aperture control: Automatic
• Minimum aperture: F22
• Number of diaphragm blades: 9
• Metering system: TTL open-aperture metering
• Minimum focusing distance: 0.3 m
• Filter size: 77mm
• Maximum magnification: 0.21X
• Dimensions (DxL): 84mm x 98.5mm (3.3 inches x 3.9 inches)
• Weight: 565g ( 19.9 oz) without hood, 600g ( 21.2 oz) with hood
smc Pentax-DA* 50-135mm F2.8ED [IF] SDM
• Lens mount: Pentax KAF2 mount
• Lens construction: 18 elements in 14 groups
• Angle of view: 31.5-11.9° (when used with Pentax Digital SLR camera)
• Aperture control: Automatic
• Minimum aperture: F22
• Number of diaphragm blades: 9
• Metering system: TTL open-aperture metering
• Minimum focusing distance: 1.0 m
• Filter size: 67mm
• Maximum magnification: 0.17X
• Dimensions (DxL) : 76.5mm x 136mm (3.0 inches x 5.4 inches)
• Weight 685g: ( 24.2 oz) without hood, 765g ( 27.0 oz) with hood
There’s also the possibility of a digital MF, the Pentax 645, with a Kodak designed CCD, however they’ve been saying this for a few years and it hasn’t appeared yet
Digicam-wise, some new Pentax Optio’s have been announced - the W30, A30, T30 and M30.
