This latest rumour at the Chinese Xitek Forum does make some sense..
http://forum.xitek.com/showthread.php?threadid=781433
(in Simplified Chinese)
So, there will not be a D95, but a D7000 instead, which has specifications and an useful feature set that is just more than a K-5 Plus a K-r, for what it has been rumoured and as compared, as follows:-
Nikon D7000:
- 100% Field-of-View Optical Finder
- Dual SD Card Slots
- Magnesium Alloy Body
- Sony 16.2MP HD APS-C CMOS Imager
- Expeed 2
- 1080p/24 Full HD or 720p/30 HD Videos, Maximum 20 Minutes
- Can Take Pictures During Video Recording
- Continuous AF Possible During Video Recording
- Stereo Microphone
- 6 FPS
- Electronic Level Meter
- One-Touch Video Recording and Live View
- ISO Range: 100-25600
- 39-Point AF System
- Wireless Flash Support
- Weather Sealed
- New Proprietary Battery Model
- Expected Suggested Price: US$ 1199
So, below is an overall summary on what the K-5 and K-r are rumoured so far, yet with rather limited information anyway:-
Pentax K-5:
- Magnesium Alloy Body (as It Should Be, for a Model *Above* the K-7)
- Sony 16.2MP HD APS-C CMOS Imager
- 1080(p/i?) Full HD Video Support
- 7 FPS
- ISO Up To 25600
- Weather Sealed
- Expected Suggested Price: JPY 139,000 (~US$ 1,640) <- This Price is Insane, IMHO!
Pentax K-r:
- 120 Colours (12 Body x 10 Grip Colours)
- Sony 14.2MP HD APS-C CMOS Imager
- 720p HD Video
- 6 FPS
- Red Dot Indication for AF Point Selection
- New Proprietary Battery Model Plus Support to Use AA Batteries Also
- No Vertical Grip Option
- Expected Suggested Price: JPY 74,800 (~US$ 880)
After looking at these, the BIG Question comes across my mind is Just: How Could and CAN Pentax/Hoya Compete if the information "leaked" are true? WHY PENTAX?? :-o :-|
Logging you in...
Alex · 757 weeks ago
radiantlite 29p · 757 weeks ago
Moritz Schwertner · 757 weeks ago
anonymous (again) · 757 weeks ago
While k-x has been a real success on the contrary!
K-5 ~US$ 1,640 for an APS DSLR is most certainly a big joke. Those marketing guys at pentax must have ben smoking bizarre stuff ;-)
Pentax is DOOMED ! · 757 weeks ago
Nikon will force Canon to offer dual card slots on 7D replacement.
Nikon dslrs have been weather sealed for years, So have Canon's pricier models down to 7D.
$1640 for the new Pentax already out spec'd by Nikon costing $500 less !
Pentax fanboys will have some serious explaning to do, when preaching the virtues of "Pentax"
Shake reduction, if one avoids the shutter blur speeds& painted colored plastic will be Pentax only interesting features in 2011
Super High ISO trumps shake reduction so that leaves Pentax the master of painted plastic shells & 645D available only in Japan.
The big question is:
Will Pentax have same Sensor as Nikon D7000, or another Samsung ho-hum sensor?
David · 757 weeks ago
First of all, let's look at the specs on the D7000:
- Dual SD Card Slots (I just don't see it - As the name suggests, this is a consumer model, and I just don't see a demand for this for consumers)
- Magnesium Alloy Body (Every model under the Dx00 model has been alloy frame w/ plastic body, I just don't see them moving to pro specs)
- Can Take Pictures During Video Recording (probably a marker in the video that presents a lower-res image)
- Stereo Microphone (but likely no line in feature)
- Wireless Flash Support (well, they catch up to Pentax on that one)
- Weather Sealed (like the name suggests, this consumer model is likely not to get anything remotely like the sealing on the K7)
- New Proprietary Battery Model (really doubt this, as they loveEnEl 3a and 2a)
As the name suggests, this is a consumer model. Maybe Nikon didn't want to name it D95 (and really, Nikon really needs to think about its naming system beyond the Dx series). The name points to this remaining a consumer model, lifting it up to the prosumer D90 series. With that in mind, many of the features mentioned are pushing the camera to the point that make the D300s truly irrevelent. Now that will be replaced by the D400, but that would then have to make such significant leaps, leaps I just do not see.
Is the D7000 going to be a nice camera? You bet, but some of these things do not pass the smell test (hello, Canon fanbois - did you leak these specs to make the press disappointed, ala what has taken place with Apple products?)
So now let's look at the K5:
Ok, so the thin details leaked all really makes sense, everything except the price. Do you really think Pentax would release a camera priced in the D300s range that is equal to the specs of the year-old model (save mp)? No, if we have ever seen from Pentax is that they try to give a few extra features at a reduced price. If the specs are true, this camera really is the successor to the K7 (which could live on) and if that is true, then it will have the same price as the K10, K20, and K7 that came before it. My guess is the leaked price is a kit with WR lenses, either that, or its a full framer and they got the sensor wrong. Either way, the pricepoint is so way off Pentax's history, as well as the competition, it does not pass the sniff test.
I also think the Kr rumored price must be with kit lens(es).
Now for Alex - you really know nothing about Pentax slrs. First of all, the K10 was not an ist on steroids - Pentax entries into dslr market were slow and known to be soft for photos. The K10 was a brand-new camera, with a sturdier frame, better software to create sharper jpgs, and a number of features that were ahead of their time (wireless flash). No arguments that the K20 was an update of the K10 with Samsung's CMOS sensor, as well as flash controller, but the K7 was so much more, and the updated firmware has allowed Pentax to make gains on it's only true weak spot - AF speed.
And on to Rice - Nikon had weather sealing on its pro models, but the D70/D80/D90 really do not have anything to compare with what comparable K10/K20/K7 models have. In fact, I know for a fact that the D100's weather sealing does not compare to the K10 as I was in a storm with my K10 without any issues, but the D100 a friend had was seizing up. Yes, the D100 was older, but only making the point that Pentax was never playing catch up when it came to sealing.
Ned · 757 weeks ago
Moritz Schwertner · 757 weeks ago
FINALL SOMEONE WHO'S REALLY SPEAKING OUT OF MY MIND!
David, thank you dearly for those words! I enjoyed every bit of it!
Richard · 757 weeks ago
Early Pentax dslrs maintained better saturation at higher iso levels compared to the competition. The default sharpening on the K100D is slightly soft, but sharpens up nicely without any artefacts with a single notch up in the menu settings.
With 6 mp, I have had printed some very sharp 15*10 inch landscapes, and some good 18*12 inch shots.
Let's just wait for Pentax to produce the real information before drawing too many conclusions. It's later than the others, but it's also a much smaller outfit, so that's not surprising.
frank d · 757 weeks ago
jaad75 · 757 weeks ago
R.E. · 757 weeks ago
It isn't even released yet. No specifications, no data, nothing at all yet the judgments are already out.
I love the K5, its the best it has YYY. Ever seen it? No. Know anything about it? No. Sure it has YYY? No.
I hate the K5 because of XXX. Are you sure about XXX? No. No ones does. But its ridiculous anyway.
See anything similar between the two views?
I see a lot and its all worthless.
JjR · 756 weeks ago
eddie · 753 weeks ago
The video is suprisingly good! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60-xwkYsKd0&fe...
From the pentax K-5 i could only find one featuring a horse in a rather "squary" rendering. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3n4qqh7M2s
More testvids of the Pentax k-5 please! (before i sell all my Pentax stuff and get a Nikon)
eddie · 753 weeks ago