Steve's Digicams - Breaking News - Pentax 05/22/06 Press Release
Press Release - May 22, 2006
PENTAX ANNOUNCES K100D DIGITAL SLR FEATURING SHAKE REDUCTION AND ENTRY-LEVEL K110D DIGITAL SLR Read our K100D user review
The PENTAX-developed Shake Reduction (SR) system in the K100D effectively offers a two-stop advantage for sharp, blur-free images even under difficult shooting conditions, such as using a telephoto lens or shooting in low light without a flash. The SR mechanism is designed to minimize camera shake by oscillating the CCD image sensor vertically and horizontally at high speed using magnetic force, while adjusting the speed of oscillation in proportion to the amount of camera shake detected by a built-in sensor. As a result, the system does not require special anti-shake lenses and can be used with almost all existing PENTAX interchangeable lenses.* "The ease-of-use, advanced features and attractive price make the PENTAX K100D digital SLR a perfect choice for users moving up from a point-and-shoot camera," said Ned Bunnell, director of marketing, PENTAX Imaging Company. Also announced today is the PENTAX K110D, an entry-level digital SLR camera, which has all of the features of the K100D with the exception of Shake Reduction. Both models reflect a new digital SLR naming system that references the reverse compatibility that each body has with the legacy of PENTAX K-mount lenses. The PENTAX K100D will ship along with the smc 18-55mm lens in July 2006 for .95 US, while the PENTAX K110D will ship along with the smc 18-55mm lens in August 2006 for .95 US. Along with the two new SLR models, PENTAX announced the smc PENTAX DA 21mm F3.2 AL Limited interchangeable wide-angle lens. Previewed at PMA 2006 in Orlando, the lens features a versatile angle of view and an ultra-thin, pancake design that offers go-anywhere portability that is ideal for casual, day-to-day snapshot photography. The latest lens inherits all the attributes of the acclaimed PENTAX Limited lens series including high- quality image reproduction, distinctive visual description, and high-grade lens-barrel finish. The smc PENTAX DA 21mm F3.2 AL Limited lens will ship in July 2006 for .95.  PENTAX K100D Digital SLR FACT SHEETPENTAX-original Shake Reduction mechanism for sharp, blur-free images The K100D features a PENTAX-developed Shake Reduction (SR) system, which effectively reduces camera shake for sharp, blur-free images even under difficult shooting conditions, such as using a telephoto lens, shooting in low light conditions without a supplementary flash illumination. The K100D SR mechanism is designed to minimize camera shake by oscillating the CCD image sensor vertically and horizontally at high speed using magnetic force, while adjusting the speed of oscillation in proportion to the amount of camera shake detected by a built-in sensor. This system does not require special anti-shake lenses and may be used with almost all existing PENTAX interchangeable lenses.* * Lenses compatible with this mechanism are: PENTAX K-, KA-, KAF- and KAF2-mount lenses; screw-mount lenses (with an adapter); and 645- and 67-system lenses (with an adapter). Certain camera and/or lens functions may be disabled. 11-point wide-frame AF to capture off-center subjects in crisp focus The sophisticated K100D SAFOX VIII autofocus system features 11 sensor points (with nine cross-type sensors) to automatically focus on the subject with utmost precision, even when it is positioned off center. The in-focus sensor point is automatically superimposed in red in the viewfinder for at-a-glance confirmation. This high-precision AF system offers a choice of two AF modes: the conventional single AF, and the continuous AF,** which maintains focus on the moving subject as long as the shutter release button is pressed halfway down. ** The continuous AF mode is selectable by the user only when P, Tv, Av, M or B is selected as a shooting mode on the mode dial. This mode is automatically activated by the camera when the Auto Picture Program, or one of the Picture or Scene modes, is selected. Auto sensitivity control up to ISO equivalent 3200 The K100D features an auto sensitivity control function, which automatically sets the optimum standard output sensitivity — up to equivalent ISO of 3200, which is the highest automatic setting in its class — based on such data as the subject’s brightness level and the lens focal length. Since this function allows the use of higher shutter speeds in poor lighting situations (such as indoor sports events and night scenes), it helps photographers reduce camera shake and prevent blurred images. Auto Picture Mode for effortless point-and-shoot SLR photography The K100D offers the exclusive PENTAX Auto Picture Mode, which automatically and instantly selects one of the four Picture modes — including Portrait, Landscape and Macro — by calculating various photographic factors to assure optimum results. Since this advanced shooting mode takes away all the concerns about aperture, shutter-speed, white-balance, saturation, contrast and sharpness settings, the photographer can concentrate on image composition and shutter opportunity.  Large LCD monitor to facilitate image viewing and menu setting The K100D incorporates a large 2.5 inch color LCD monitor on its back panel that offers a wide-view design that allows views from over 140 degrees vertically and horizontally, ensuring effortless image viewing even from a diagonal position. With a total of approximately 210,000 pixels, the monitor offers digital zooming of playback images up to 12 times for easy confirmation of the image’s focusing status and details. The large monitor size allows for large letters, digits and icons on the menu screens to facilitate menu confirmation and camera operations. In addition, the color scheme between the menu listings and the background is optimized for each menu screen to assure at-a-glance confirmation, even under varying shooting conditions. True-to-life, rich-gradation images assured by 6.1 effective megapixels The K100D features a large, high-performance 23.5mm x 15.7mm CCD as its image sensor, assuring the faithful reproduction of the desired photographic intention in the resulting images — from images with beautiful out-of-focus backgrounds to those with edge-to-edge sharpness. Combining 6.1 effective megapixels with a high-performance imaging engine and advanced image-processing technologies, the K100D is designed to produce beautiful, true-to-life images that are rich in gradation. What’s more, it offers a choice of two finishing touches of "Natural" or "Bright" to create a distinctive atmosphere. Super-compact, ultra-lightweight body, with outstanding rigidity While the K100D is designed to be compact and lightweight to enhance operability and portability, it also incorporates a newly developed stainless-steel chassis and a fiber-reinforced engineering plastic housing to reinforce its overall rigidity and durability. Bright, clear viewfinder The K100D features a lightweight penta-mirror viewfinder, which combines PENTAX finder optics and a Natural-Bright-Matte II focusing screen to deliver bright, clear subject image with a 0.85X magnification and a 96 percent field of view. Top shutter speed of 1/4000 second The K100D offers a top shutter speed of 1/4000 second to freeze fast-moving subjects and capture decisive moments and features a flash synchronization speed of 1/180 second and a bulb setting (B) for extended exposures. Continuous shooting at approximately 2.8 images per second To trace the movement of an active subject or capture a sequence of the subject’s expressions, the K100D offers a continuous shooting mode that allows the photographer to capture multiple images (up to five images at "Best" image quality in JPEG format) at a maximum speed of approximately 2.8 images per second. Upgraded standard software package The K100D’s standard software package consists of the PENTAX PHOTO Laboratory 3 that features the reliable SILKYPIX image-processing engine (developed by ICHIKAWA SOFT LABORATORY) for RAW data processing, and the PENTAX PHOTO Browser 3 that offers faster data processing speed and better operability than the previous version, and can convert RAW images to the DNG format. DNG is a public, archival format for digital camera raw data. Save-by-day Storage Capability on an SD memory card Images may be stored in a standard format where all files are located in one folder, or the images can be stored in folders for each day of shooting automatically on an SD memory card. Additional features
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K100D Specifications
| Image Capture Device: | Interline interlace CCD with a primary color filter Shake Reduction – CCD Image Sensor Shift Total Pixels – 6.31 megapixels Color Depth – 8 bit (JPEG) or 12 bit (RAW) x 3 colors |
| Effective Pixels: | 6.1 megapixels |
| Recorded Pixels: | JPEG: 3008x2008 pixels, 2400x1600 pixels, 1536x1024 pixels; RAW: 3008x2008 pixels |
| Focus System: | TTL phase-matching 11-point autofocus system (SAFOX VIII) w/AF assist lamp Autofocus Modes - AF-Single (with focus lock), AF-Continuous, Manual Illumination Range – EV1 - EV19 (At ISO 200 with 50mm f1.4 lens) |
| Lens Mount: | PENTAX KAF mount compatible with PENTAX KAF2, KAF and KA mount lenses Power zoom function - Not available K-mount lenses - usable with restrictions S-mount lenses - usable with adapter and restrictions 67/645 lenses - usable with adapter and restrictions |
| DA 18-55mm Lens: | DA series smc PENTAX zoom Focal Length - 18mm - 55mm 35mm Equivalent - 27mm -83mm Aperture Range – F3.5 – F5.6 Construction - 12 elements in 9 groups |
| Light Metering: | TTL open-aperature metering 16-segment, Center-weighted & Spot meter Range: EV1 - EV21.5 (at ISO 200 with 50mm f1.4 lens) |
| Sensitivity: | ISO Auto, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 |
| Exposure Control: | Program AE, Auto Picture Mode, Picture Mode, Scene Mode, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, Bulb Exposure Compensation - +/-2 EV (1/2 or 1/3 steps) Auto Exposure Lock - Pushbutton type with approx. 20 sec. timer Depth of Field Preview - Via main switch |
| Auto Bracketing: | 3 frames +/-1.5EV (1/2 steps) or +/-1EV (1/3 steps) |
| Shutter: | Electronically controlled vertical-run focal plane shutter Shutter Speed - 1/4000 - 30 seconds and Bulb |
| White Balance: | TTL Auto, Pre-set, Custom white balance Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten light, Fluorescent light, Flash, Manual |
| Flash: | Built-in series-control retractable P-TTL pop-up flash Operation Modes - Auto, Flash-off, Flash-on, Auto + Red-eye reduction, Flash-on + Red-eye reduction Guide Number - 15.6 (at ISO 200/m) Angle of View Coverage - 28mm (equivalent to 35mm) Flash Exposure Compensation - +1 to -2 (1/2 steps) Flash Synchronization - With RTF and via hot shoe Synchronization Speed - 1/180 sec, P-TTL high speed sync with PENTAX dedicated flash |
| Picture Modes: | Mode Dial: Auto Picture, Scene, Standard, Portrait, Night-scene Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Action, Flash Off, Program AE, Shutter Priority AE, Aperture Priority AE, Metered Manual, Bulb Scene Modes: Night Scene, Surf & Snow, Text, Sunset, Kids, Pet, Candlelight, Museum; |
| Digital Filter: | Black & White, Sepia, Color (18 types), Soft (3 levels), Slim, Brightness |
| Drive Modes: | Single-shot, Continuous (2.8fps, 5 JPEG, 3 RAW) Self-timer (12sec, 2sec), Auto bracketing Remote Control (0sec, 3sec) |
| Time: | Modes - dd/mm/yy, mm/dd/yy, yy/mm/dd; World Time - Displays the time in 70 cities (28 time zones) |
| Image Storage: | Storage Media - SD memory card removable; File Formats - Still: JPEG (Exif 2.21), RAW, DCF (Design rule for Camera File system), DPOF (Digital Print Order Format), PRINT Image Matching III |
| Viewfinder: | Optical Viewfinder -Pentamirror with Natural-Bright-Matte II focusing screen Viewfinder Coverage - 96% Viewfinder Magnification - 0.85x (with 50mm f1.4 lens, -1-1) Diopter Adjustment - -2.5m-1 to +1.5m-1 |
| LCD | 2.5 inch, TFT color LCD (Low Reflection) –with Histogram display LCD Coverage - 100% LCD Resolution - Approx. 210,000 pixels Angle of View - Approx. 140° |
| Playback Modes: | Single, Index - Nine image Magnification – 12x LCD Function - Image rotation, Slide show, Digital filter, Histogram, Exposure warning Erase and Image Protect Modes - Single, All |
| PictBridge: | One image print, All image print, DPOF, Paper size, Paper type, Paper quality, Border |
| Language: | English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Swedish, Dutch |
| Interfaces: | USB 2.0 high speed Video Output - Compatible with NTSC and PAL formats |
| Power Supply: | Four AA (Lithium, Alkaline or NiMH) batteries or Two CR-V3 lithium batteries Optional AC adapter also available |
| Operating Temperatures: | 32° to 104° F / 0° to 40° C |
| Dimensions: | (W x H x D) – 5.1 x 3.6 x 2.8 inches (129.5 x 92.5 x 70mm) |
| Weight: | 19.8 oz. (560g) without battery and SD memory card; 22.4 oz. (635g) loaded and ready |
| Computer System Requirements: | Mac Requirements - OS: Mac OS 10.2 or later, standard equipped USB port; PC Requirements - OS: Windows 2000, XP Home edition / Professional, standard equipped USB port |
