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Matsushita battery plant fire delays Pentax cam
Not content with simply destroying our laptops and cellphones, those evil little lithium ion packs have just escalated the human-battery conflict once again by sacrificing many of their number to lay waste to an entire building. Actually, it's not clear what started the fire at Matsushita's Li-ion plant in western Japan on September 30th, although we suspect a cadre of malcontents decided to self-detonate after taking a cue from their comrades at Sony. What is clear is that an unnamed Pentax digital camera -- probably one of the recently-announced Optios -- will be delayed because of the fire, with its launch being pushed from next month to February of next year. Hitting us in the gadget, right where it hurts: smart move, clever foes, smart move.
Pentax K100D Super gets reviewed -- better, faster, cheaper
Pentax didn't do anything too drastic when it revved the already well-received K100D to "Super" status: apart from a dust-removal system, SDM lens support, ISO 3200 mode, and a much lower price, the Super is pretty much the same as the non-Super K100D it replaced. That's apparently just fine, according to the crew over at Photography blog, who recently took the 6.1 megapixel Super for a spin and gave it five out of five stars -- they found that the dust-removal and anti-shake systems, combined with the 11-point autofocus, made for terrific pictures at the Super's $600 price point, with user-friendly features like dual LCD displays and SD card support just sweetening the pot. In fact, the only flaw PB found with the Super was that power options are limited to four AAs or two CR-V3 rechargeables -- which some might find annoying, but definitely manageable.
Pentax intros Optio A40, V10 digital cameras
Pentax sure does seem to like trotting its digital cameras out in pairs, and it's done just that again today, with the company now introducing its new Optio A40 and Optio V10 models. On the higher-end of the lot, the Optio A40 (pictured above) boasts a mighty 12 megapixels, along with a 3x optical zoom, a 2.5-inch LCD, a range of shake-reducing measures, and face-recognition, among other features. The V10, on the other hand, scales things back to just 8 megapixels, with a slightly larger 3-inch LCD, and that same 3x optical zoom in an even slimmer 19 mm thick body (check it out after the break). Look for the A40 to roll out first sometime this month for $300, with the V10 set to follow in November for $250. If that's all a little too low end for you, you can also look forward to Pentax's just-announced DA 18-250mm F3.5-6.3ED AL [IF] high-performance zoom lens, which is designed specifically for its DSLR cameras, and boasts an approximate zoom ratio of 14x, among other top end specs. Look for it to land later this month for just under $500.
Pentax announces new Optio Z10 and S10
Pentax has a couple of new digital cameras today, check it: the Z10 features an 8 megapixel CCD (up to ISO 2100), 7x zoom, and 52MB of internal memory. The S10 has a 10 megapixel CCD with up to 3x zoom, 22MB internal memory, and can shoot DivX MPEG-4 videos. Both share digital anti-shake, 2.5-inch LCDs, facial recognition, SDHC compatibility, $250 price tags, and September release dates.%Gallery-6263%
Pentax's 8 megapixel Optio M40 and E40 shooters
Pentax will be announcing a pair of budget shooters later on today in the form of the Optio E40 and Option M40 slimster. The M40 is just another 8 megapixeler with 3x optical zoom lens and 2.5-inch LCD done up in a slim 0.7-inch slab. It offers face recognition, SD/SDHC expansion, VGA video at 30fps, and weaksauce digital shake reduction in an attempt to make the most of its ISO 3200 sensitivity. The E40 offers up a bit less only in chubby little chassis sure to fit the anxious hands of most first timers. Expect the M40 to ship in August for $200 list, while the E40 hits in September for about $150.%Gallery-4723%
Pentax's K100D is just Super
Pentax has an update for their entry-level K100D DSLR which is so great, they've dubbed it the K100D Thuper Duper (clap clap). Ok ok, it's just the K100D Super but it's hard to contain our girlish enthusiasm in the face of marketing genius. Their latest features Pentax's shake reduction system like the K100D only now with a new dust removal system and full compatibility with Pentax's higher-end SDM lenses. Other than that and SDHC compatibility (still no CF support), we're still looking at the same 6.1 megapixel cam (APS-C size CCD) with 2.5-inch LCD, and ISO 3200 max sensitivity -- not a bad thing for first timer DSLRers based on previous reviews. The body alone will set you back $520 come August 2007.
Pentax celebrates with gold-accented K10D GP DSLR
What do you do if your camera takes home the prestigious Camera Grand Prix 2007 award? Why, you kick out a limited run of 5,000 units to let everyone know about it, that's what. Pentax is proving quite the celebratory bunch, as it has found yet another reason to don the party hat and unveil a fancy looking (but otherwise standard) K10D. The Grand Prix Package comes with the body, a battery grip, a commemorative strap, and the latest firmware pre-installed, and Pentax even applied a special dark brown rubber to the body to make sure it stood out. Additionally, a few logos and indicators are gilded to signify the limited-edition status, and the prominent serial number on each one completes the package. Don't expect to snap one up immediately though, as Pentax is keeping the pricing and available deets on the DL for the time being.[Via AmateurPhotographer]
Pentax celebrates 50 years of uh, Pentax
Is that a Pentax K10D gone vintage? Almost, the chubby digital shooter on the left is the 50th anniversary "design study model" of the original, 1957 35-mm Pentax SLR camera from Asahi Optical Company (now known as Pentax). Like the old Spotmatic on the right, it was the original Pentax with its pentaprism viewfinder that introduced the world to the concept of eye-level viewing. As such, you'll find a fixed pentaprism viewfinder on this anniversary model which aced the K10D's built-in flash to accommodate the delta roof. No worries, it's just for show with no plans for a production run. Please Pentax, promise not to bust out the gold and snakeskin again at 60... pretty please, with sugar?[Via dapreview]
Pentax buckles, gets bought by Hoya
We'd say "another one bites the dust," only that in the case of multi-billion dollar company takeovers, the metaphorical particulate is invariably of the gold form. Yeah, the latest mega-corp takeover is here, as Pentax has been taken over by Japanese company, Hoya. The deal was overshadowed by some rough internal wrangling in Pentax, involving calls from shareholders to reinstate an ex-President in favor of the takeover: the end result being that the current one, Takashi Watanuki, was forced to agree to the merger. We can't draw much from this deal at the moment, but as Hoya is involved in technology like medical imaging equipment, we'd expect a proportion of the impact to fall outside of our gadgetry remit. We've no fear that Pentax will be dropping out of the con / prosumer camera market just yet though, so for now just think of this as a business blip on your gadget radar.[Via Photography Blog]
BenQ's DC X725 cam: too skinny for the megapixels
Step aside X720, you're out. BenQ just replaced you with the 12.5-mm DC X725 stainless steel shooter in choice of black, red, pearl and silver. Funny enough, while they tell us that it features a 1/2.5-inch CCD, BenQ fails to mention anything about the pixel resolution. Could it be that compact camera manufacturers have learned that pixel count has pretty much gone the way of the "digital zoom" spec on modern shooters? Doubtful. Probably just too busy with their legal woes to notice the omission. Let's assume 7.2 megapixels like its predecessor. BenQ does manage to tell us a bit about the Pentax (Super Multi-Coating) 3x optical zoom lens, Super Shake Free stabilization, ISO 1600 sensitivity (4000 in recording mode), and SD/SDHC card support. Oh, and BenQ says it's available worldwide too, only they fail to mention a price. Pfff. Pic of the backside looking out, after the break.[Via LetsGoDigital]
DSLR dust removal / sensor cleaning shootout
We already know that megapixels don't matter (right?), but an oft hyped (but untested) feature that has emerged on DSLRs is automatic sensor cleaning. The anti-dust capabilities (or lack thereof) of Canon's EOS-400D, Olympus' E-300, Pentax's K10D, and Sony's Alpha A100 were put to the test, and although the methodology was less than scientific, the results were intriguing nonetheless. Essentially, each camera was given a before / after test shot in order to judge the results, and after the digicams sat through a dirtying process, they were "self-cleaned" 25 times and finally rated. Considering that Olympus was given credit as being the first manufacturer to include dust cleaning technology in its products, it's not too surprising that it took home the gold, but even sitting in first place, the E-300's effectiveness was only rated at 50-percent. Canon's EOS-400D came in with high expectations, but received a "poor" rating as the cleaning effectiveness clocked in a paltry five-percent. If you thought these two were bad, it only got worse when the Pentax K10D and Alpha A100 stepped to the plate, as both highly-regarded cams were deemed "useless" in the anti-dust department. So if your number one priority in a new DSLR is how well it cleans up after itself, there doesn't seem to be a standout option just yet, but feel free to hit the read link and decide for yourself.[Thanks, Romain B.]
Shutter release hack steals guts from hands-free phone kit
Resourceful hacker Eagleapex has swiped the innards of a hands-free headset -- or, more specifically, the 3/32-inch plug and its wire, which lets him plug into his Pentax DSLR. He tossed in a couple of buttons and a little switch, crammed it all into a 35mm film canister (oh the irony) and now he's got himself a cable shutter release for snapping long exposure HDR pics and the like without jostling the camera. He based the hack on a similar -- if fancier -- one for a Canon DSLR, which you might want to peep if your camera be of that breed.[Via Make]Read - Pentax hackRead - Canon hack
Hands-on with Pentax's A30, M30, T30, and W30
We didn't get our fill drooling over the 645 Digital so we hit up Pentax to show us their new line of compacts, the A30, M30, T30, and W30. We could have been a bit more impressed by the lot, although the T30, with its massive, bright touchscreen and slender body, was definitely the eye-catcher of the bunch. Collect 'em all!%Gallery-2039%
Pentax's 645 Digital is real, too good for us
We were a smidge bummed that we couldn't manhandle Pentax's leg-sized 645 Digital -- which was trapped in a bubble -- but perhaps it was for the best. We're sure they could sense we'd all want to have a Nigel Barker moment, when really we should be focusing on the fact that this camera can shoot 31.6 friggin megapixels. It should be out later this year -- not as though you'll be able to afford it. Well, not you Bill, just pretty much everybody else.%Gallery-1994%
Pentax K10D DSLR reviewed
It's been on the market for a few months now, but the folks at CNET have just now gotten around to giving Pentax's K10D DSLR a full review, finding quite a bit to like in the camera with only a few snags keeping it from joining its top-ranked competitors. On the plus side, they found the camera to be well-designed and solidly built, delivering some great-looking pictures, with good color reproduction and broad dynamic range, performing best at settings of ISO 800 or less. On the downside, the camera's overall performance was only average, with its autofocus occasionally causing some additional delays and its shake reduction feature only moderately effective. That apparently wasn't enough to hold the camera back from getting a decent 7.7 out of 10 rating, however, with its sub-$1,000 price tag working considerably in its favor.[Via Digital Photography Blog]
Pentax busts out Hasselbladian 31.6 megapixel 645 Digital
Pentax has apparently tapped Kodak to provide its 31.6 megapixel KAF-31600 medium format CCD for the upcoming 645 Digital, which would seem to be the company's highest resolution digital camera to date. So far all that's known from the pre-PMA announcement is that the 645 will sport both SD and CF slots, and will ship with a specially-built 55mm lens that's also compatible with 645-series SLR film cameras. We should find out more about this behemoth in early March -- although possibly not pricing and release info -- but one thing we can say for sure is that if it's priced anything like the Hasselblad H3D-31 whose sensor it shares, expect to pay out well into five figures.[Thanks, David N.]
Pentax pops out the Optio W30 and A30
There's some heated competition already for our PMA eyeballs, and Pentax sure wants a slice. They don't have anything terribly outstanding on the consumer end, but these W30 and A30 Optio shooters still do pretty well for themselves. The A30 (pictured) takes a pretty traditional approach to the compact genre, boosting the megapixels to 10 and offering up 2.5-inches of LCD. There's also ISO 3200 and some fancy gyro-based shake reduction, along with face recognition auto focus and auto exposure, all in a pretty dang compact SDHC-munching body. The W30 steps it back a bit, with a 7.1 megapixel CCD and mere digital shake reduction, but the rest of the specs are there, along with a waterproof and dustproof housing that can handle being up to three meters under water for two hours. No word on price or availability for either camera, but we're sure we'll be finding out soon enough. Peep the W30 after the break.[Thanks, David N]Read - Optio A30Read - Optio W30
Pentax debuts a pair of 7 megapixel Optios, the T30 and M30
We spotted that Optio E30 compact camera from Pentax right before CES, but now it has some 7 megapixel company in the form of the Optio T30 (pictured) and Optio M30. The real hotness is going on in the former: the T30 packs a 3-inch touchscreen LCD, 3x zoom and 7.1 megapixel CCD, along with face recognition for beefing up auto focus and auto exposure, high ISO digital shake reduction and some stylus-based frivolities. Other fun facts include Pentax's claim that the camera is the thinnest to offer a 3-inch touchscreen and 3x optical zoom, along wth a 3200 ISO, SDHC compatibility and 20MB of built-in memory. Pentax lines up most of the same specs for its Optio M30, even including that off-the-chain -- and we're sure incredibly grainy -- 3200 ISO, but instead of a touchscreen, this M30 concentrates on a 0.7-inch thick aluminum body and a fancy auto-macro mode for spiffing up those closeups. Both cameras should be out in March, with the T30 going for $350, while the M30 will run you $200. Peep a couple more angles of these cams after the break.[Via Lets Go Digital]
Pentax announces Optio E30 compact
Pentax has announced a new entry-level camera in its Optio line, following up the E20 (and E10 before it) with, you guessed it, the E30. As with those earlier models, this camera's aimed squarely at the point-and-shoot set, one-upping the E20's 6 megapixel sensor with a 7.1 megapixel one this time around, along with the same 3x optical zoom and 2.4-inch LCD. Otherwise you'll get the usual range of camera preset modes, a token 11MB of internal memory, and an SD slot for some all-but-required expansion (including support for SDHC cards). There's no word on price or availability just yet, although if the previous models are any indication, it should come in somewhere in the $200 range.
Dueling unboxings: Delphi SkyFi3 vs. Pentax K10D
Ok, so they don't exactly have all that much in common but, you know us, we can't just let good unboxings (or even not so good ones) slide by unnoticed. The first comes courtesy of the fine folks at Orbitcast, who managed to get their hands on Delphi's SkyFi3 portable XM satellite radio. While they're promising a full review in the coming days, like the good geeks that they are, they snapped a few shots of the box and its contents to whet your appetite. The second product to go through the traditional unboxing ritual is Pentax's K10D 10.2 megapixel DSLR, which found its way into the hands of a Flickr user coincidentally named K10D. If the pics above aren't enough for ya, you can check out a couple of bigger ones after the break, and then hit up the links below for the complete unboxing action.Read - Orbitcast, Delphi SkyFi3 - UnboxedRead - Flickr, Pentax K10D[Thanks, A. Parker]
