Pentax Refreshes D-SLR Line, Adds Compacts

By Greg Scoblete -- TWICE, 1/24/2008

Golden, Colo. — Pentax will bring a pair of new K-series digital SLRs, including its first d-SLR with a live-view mode, and four new compacts to market this spring.

The K20D will replace the K10D and features a new 14-megapixel image sensor developed for Pentax by Samsung. The two firms entered into a d-SLR co-development partnership in 2005.

The new K20D and K200D from Pentax will retail for $1299 and $799, respectively.

The K20D offers a 2.7-inch LCD display with 230,000-dot resolution and a live-view mode.

The d-SLR will feature the ability to make custom adjustments to five scene modes within the camera, including adjustments to saturation, hue, contrast and sharpness. It is offers ISO 6,400, a CCD-shifting image stabilization system, an 11-point autofocus and 16 segment metering.

It is capable of continuous shooting at 2.8 fps to 38 high-resolution JPEG images or 16 RAW files (in the DNG format).

The K20D will carry a body-only suggested retail of $1,299.

The K200D replaces the K100D. The 10-megapixel camera features a 2.7-inch LCD screen with 230,000-dot resolution, ISO 1,600, 23 custom function settings and a CCD-shifting image stabilization system.

The image sensor can vibrate to shake off dust that accrues when changing lenses. The sensor also features an anti-dust coating.

The K200D features an 11-point autofocus system, and a 2.8 fps burst mode for up to four high-resolution JPEGS or a 1.1 fps burst for an unlimited number of JPEGS. It will include an 18-55mm lens for a suggested $799.

The 12-megapixel Optio S12 features a 3x optical zoom lens, a 2.5-inch LCD, face detection, a dynamic range adjustment feature, ISO 3,200, 21MB of internal memory, and an “auto picture” mode that analyzes a scene and chooses the best picture mode for the scene.

The S12 will offer 23 shooting modes including manual control and the firm’s “green” mode for easier operation.

It can record digitally stabilized MPEG-4 DivX movies at VGA/30 fps with the ability to edit video in-camera. It will retail for a suggested $279.

Another 12-megapixel model, the A40 ($299), features a 3x optical zoom lens, a CCD-shifting image stabilization system, face recognition, dynamic range adjustment, a 2.5-inch LCD and DivX movie recording. It also offers 21MB of internal memory and 22 shooting modes including manual control.

The 8-megapixel Optio M50 ($229) sports a 5x optical zoom lens (36mm-180mm, 35mm equivalent), a 2.5-inch LCD, ISO 6,400, 51MB of internal memory, VGA/30 fps movie recording and digital stabilization for both still images and movie recording. Additional features include face detection and 18 shooting modes.

Lastly, the entry-level E50, for a suggested $149, features 8-megapixel resolution, a 2.4-inch LCD screen, a 3x optical zoom lens, face recognition, ISO 1,600, 16 shooting modes and 9.5MB of internal memory.