Pentax Life

Today two Norvegian websites (Akam.no and Aronsen.no) have reported the announcement of the all new Samsung GX20 DSLR. However, still no official press-release on the Samsung Techwin website.

So what and when we should to expect?

• Brand new 14.6 megapixel CMOS sensor with LiveView feature. The rumors says that this sensor is designed by Pentax, but manufacturer is unknown yet.
• Good old Shake Reduction and all-weather sealing in the practically the same body – just a little bit larger 2.7″ LCD.
• ISO3200 and dedicated RAW button (they’ve heard us!).
• Shipment in the end of Q1 2008 for around US$1800 in Norway, so it should be around $1200 in the United States.

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Cosina has announced two manual focus prime K-mount lenses under the Voigtländer brand.

Voigtlander Ultron 40mm F2 SLII pancake-style lens is half stop faster than popular Pentax DA 40mm pancake but ten millimeters bigger and a little heavier. It consists of six elements in five groups including double-sided aspherical elements and high-refraction glass. Voigtlander Nokton 58mm F1.4 SLII consists of seven elements in six groups.

Both lenses have nine diaphragm blades, all metal casing and fully compatible with Pentax KA mount. MSRP in Japan should be around ¥50,000 or US$435. These lenses are expected to hit the shelves in the next two months.

Previous versions of Voigtlander Ultron and Nokton lenses including screw-mount ones are well known for the built quality and exceptional sharpness even at the widest possible aperture.

Pentax UK has informed the European Pentax customers that some of the 3-pin plug cords supplied with Pentax K10D and some of the Optio digicams after 17th November ’06 may reveal a manufacturing defect.

To identify the cable in question hold the cable by the end with the 3-pins. Turn the pins to face away from you and look for a box containing the text “Approved BSI KM 45980″ All affected cables also have a red fuse holder on the 3-pin plug.

Look at the pictures at this Pentax UK page to get a hint.

Under certain conditions a crack may appear in the connector that connects to a battery charger may lead to electric shock and attendant injuries.

Affected cords were supplied with the following cameras: Pentax K10D, Optio A20, L20, S7, T20 and W20. If you have bought one of these cameras outside Europe or haven’t identified your cord as shown on the pictures above you have nothing to worry about. Otherwise contact Pentax UK by free-phone 0800 2889410.

This week Pentax has announced the other two (as usual) point and shoot cameras: A40 – the fourth generation of Pentax’s high-end compact digicam and V10 which is starting whole new series of ultra compact point and shoots.

Pentax Optio A40 got the new 12 megapixel 1/1.7″ sensor, probably the same as in Canon G9 and A650 digicams. The lens remains the same 7.9-23.7mm. Due to larger sensor (previous A series cameras have 1/1.8″ sensors) it became a little bit wider and shorter: 37-111mm against 38-114mm (in full-frame terms). Tests and reviews will tell us if the larger sensor with the same old lens will produce more vignetting and corner softness.

Pentax Optio V10 is a stylish ultra compact camera just 19mm in depth. Despite its credit card size V10 has a large and sharp 3″ LCD display on its back. Aluminum alloy body makes it a good competitor to Canon’s Digital Elf (IXUS) series. Full specifications could be found here.

Pentax has updated their lens roadmap recently. Nothing particular new except for cloned Tamron which was announced this Monday. But there is a good news and a bad news. The good is that DFA 645 55mm F2.8 is still there so the 645D project is alive. The bad is that DA* 60-250mm F4 is no longer targeted to December, 2007.

Yesterday several people at once have reported that the announcement of the new Pentax lens – DA 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 ultrazoom have appeared on the Pentrax Imaging website. But this announcement have disappeared in an hour or two just to appear again couple of hours later. So the Pentax DA 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 ED AL IF is officially announced.

The new lens looks like rebranded Tamron 18-250mm (that is also available for K-mount) but with Pentax’s proprietary SMC coating.

• Lens construction: 16 elements in 13 groups
• Angle of view: 76° ~6.5° (when mounted on a PENTAX digital SLR camera body)
• Number of diaphragm blades: 7
• Minimum aperture: F22 ~ F45
• Minimum focusing distance: 0.45m (1.48ft) over the entire zoom range
• Filter size: 62mm
• Maximum magnification: 0.28X
• Dimensions & weight: 75mm (maximum diameter) x 85.5mm (length); (3.0 inch x 3.4 inch); 16.0 oz (455g) (without lens hood)

Steve at Steve’s Digicams has reviewed Pentax K100D Super – latest update for Pentax entry level DSLR line-up. Unfortunately Steve hasn’t got the new DA* lenses (most of the sample photos are made with DA 12-24mm F4) so the most important new feature that differs K100D Super from its predecessor – Supersonic Drive Motor lenses support – haven’t been tested and even mentioned in his review.

Another Pentax K100D Super review is posted by JerryJ at DigitalCameraReview:

Since my day-to-day cameras are a Pentax K10D and Pentax *ist DL, I was curious how the K100D Super would compare. I expected the camera to perform better than the *ist DL but fall short of the K10D. What I discovered was that the K100D Super is much more like its big brother the K10D than I expected. In short, this is one amazing little camera… …the K100D Super is the best value on the market.

Japanese Impress Watch website have tested Pentax DA* 50-135mm F2.8 SDM lens. Automatic translation is close to unreadable but full resolution samples are talking by themselves. By the way, Amazon offers DA* 50-135mm F2.8 for $851.04.

DigitalCameraInfo have criticized Pentax A30 point&shoot digicam in the thorough review they have published recently: “With inaccurate colors, high noise levels, limited dynamic range, and terrible video quality, this camera isn’t worth the $350 price tag.“

Australian DPexpert has published a very short (no image quality tests or samples) review of Pentax K100D Super entry level DSLR. Overall verdict is “Highly recommended”. Their only dislikes are too loud mirror slaps and too high contrast and saturation level by default. Positive impressions: “The value-for-money of this camera makes the competition look either greedy or inefficient. There is nothing cut-down or under-done about the Pentax.“

Another one K100D Super review (and DA* 50-135mm F2.8 SDM on the same page) came from Japan. Here is automatic translation.

J. Keenan has reviewed fourth generation of Pentax Optio M series at DigitalCameraReview:

The Pentax Optio M40 is an entry-level compact digital P&S that provides a basic feature set, yet throws in some manual inputs not normally encountered in cameras of this class. The ability to set ISO and exposure compensation in most of the various shooting modes is a welcomed departure from the norm, although it seems somewhat incongruous in a camera that really is targeting users who wouldn’t ordinarily be expected to care about, let alone use such features. Performance in good lighting conditions is adequate, but the camera struggles to focus and shoot in dim light.

According to Business Wire, the dual-axis gyroscope that works as a part of Pentax Optio A30 Shake Reduction system is InvenSense IDG-1000. The same announcement also said that this device will be used in the future Pentax digital cameras. So, perhaps, we will see more Pentax digicams with Shake Reduction feature soon.

InvenSense, the leading provider of integrated motion sensing solutions for consumer electronics, today announced that Pentax Corporation has selected its IDG-1000 series dual-axis gyroscope for use in the Optio A30 digital camera and for next generation digital still camera (DSC) models with optical image stabilization features. InvenSense’s gyro is used to precisely measure the camera user’s hand shake which is compensated for using Pentax’s Shake Reduction (SR) technology for improved image capture in low-light settings and telephoto use.

This is a good sign and a good answer for all those doomsayers who are saying that Hoya will drop imaging division or shrink it down.

Sigma has introduced successors to the popular EF-500 series flashes – EF-530 DG SUPER and EF-530 DG ST. Both new flashguns have a guide number 53 meters and movable head for flash bouncing.

EF-530 DG Super also (unlike DG ST) supports wireless flash function and modeling flash function, enabling the user to check for intense reflections and shadows, before actually taking the picture.

Sigma EF-530 DG Super and EF-530 DG ST will be available in a month or two for $259 and $189 respectively.