On September 19 2009,
Pentax announced the K-x DSLR camera, which combines a variety of advanced features
and user-friendly functions in a compact, lightweight body.
The K-x replaces last year's K2000 model (aka K-m) in the company's lineup. The camera takes some of the impressive features from the K-7, and places them in a more consumer-friendly body whose design is almost unchanged from that of the K2000. The main changes are the 12.4 Megapixels new CMOS sensor, PRIME II imaging
engine, Pentax's 11-point SAFOX VIII AF module, the addition of both live view and 24fps high-definition video capability, and increased maximum shutter speed at 1/6000, ISO sensitivity up to a boosted ISO 12,800 and 4.7fps burst-shooting capabilities.
The Pentax K-x digital SLR comes in three different kit versions, and two body colors - either black or white. The most affordable kit version will include an smc Pentax DA L 18-55mm zoom lens for a total price of around
$650. Two twin lens kits will couple this 18-55mm lens with either an smc Pentax DA L 50-200mm zoom lens for about
$750, or with a new smc Pentax DA L 55-300mm zoom lens for approximately
$850. As with the previously announced DA L lenses, the new lens is a variant of an existing lens with certain alterations made to reduce weight and cost, such as the use of a plastic lens mount. The camera recently
ranked at #5 in the top sales ranking in Japan last month. Here is the summary of a recent review of the camera by RiceHigh:
"Indeed, the K-x is a very good camera with very high Image Quality (characteristics of low noise and high details and accurate colour rendition, too.). I can say as long as IQ is concerned, it exceeds much both the K-m and K-7 and is just unbeatable, especially considered that it is just an APS-C DSLR with smaller sensor size than 135 Full Frame. But in fact, it is not much worse than my full frame 5D and I am really impressed (I guess the 5D still has one-stop ISO advantage than the K-x anyway, but the K-m is worse and the K-7 is even worse!). The second thing I have to give credits to Pentax (actually to their software engineers for writing the firmware) is about the super high level of user-friendliness of their design and their ever improving operation interfaces, with smart and careful thoughts always in mind. And, I appreciate much their hearts for making the interface better and better, endlessly, which makes the K-x to be one of the most user-friendly DSLRs for use ever made in this planet, amongst all brands and models, but yet still with many options of customisation and without sacrificing for many additional functions and features, which you often could not find in the entry level DSLRs of other brands.
...Quality issues also come into play and some glitches do arise (although those may not be significant enough to affect real operations and taking photographs). But this may or may not affect real operations. Still, I really hope and urge Pentax should do one more step in their QC line to calibrate the camera more tightly and store the adjustment factors in the firmware instead. If so, that would make their cameras more perfect and will give people a better impression/perception for Pentax cameras as being accurate (instead of that they are not so accurate).
Last but not least, as I have been saying for years: Different people are of different requirements and expectations. I might be a somehow picky person, those "minor" QC and (in)accuracy issues do bug me (although I can find my ways to overcome and live with them). No matter that you are just a casual photographer or a real photographer (whom I am not, I am just an online expert or a measurbator at best after all! ;-D), and that you do not mind all those issues that I have mentioned, the K-x is the ideal camera for YOU! And, since I have only used two K-xes but not ALL the K-xes ever produced on Earth (as those "clever" Pentax fanboys always argue like this!), my final statement still is: YMMV!"... [
Source]
Photo Album: Pentax 12.4 Megapixels K-x With 24fps HD Video Entry-Level DSLR Camera
K-x Sample Photos on Flickr
| DCRP: "Camera performance was very good. The K-x is ready to go as soon as you flip the power switch. If you're shooting with the viewfinder, you won't wait long for the camera to lock focus, courtesy of the K-x's 11-point AF system. Things change dramatically if you're using live view, most notably with..." - Mar 07 2010 More » | N/A |
| NeutralDay: "Image quality is where the K-x really shows its value. Given its low cost and ample feature-set, the fact that the Pentax K-x also happens to take some of the best pictures you'll find in any APS-C sensor DSLR camera, regardless of cost, really impressed me. The 12.4 megapixel sensor is very simila..." - Feb 20 2010 More » | |
| DCI: "This is not a camera for image-quality sticklers. In our lab testing for both stills and video, it came in behind the competition in most areas, with a wide dynamic range and relatively fast 4.2 shot-per-second burst rate notable exceptions. At the same time, there was nothing in our testing that w..." - Jan 01 2010 More » | |
| dpreview: "In most shooting situations the K-x is capable of producing high quality image output. At base ISO JPEG images show very good detail and natural colors out of the box. The Pentax JPEG engine is doing a very good job at squeezing all captured detail into the camera's JPEG files and therefore shootin..." - Dec 24 2009 More » | |
| Photocrati: "The manual that comes with the Pentax K-x is 300+ pages long. So you can see that there is a lot of functionality built in. No, not every feature was to my liking -- especially the part about requiring four AA cells, since the camera does not come with a rechargeable Li-Ion battery pack. Grant..." - Nov 17 2009 More » | N/A |
| DigitalCameraReview: "Image quality at default settings is very faithful to what the eye sees. There is also a cool manual tool for changing the image processing called Custom Image, which allows you to use sliders to change the saturation, hue, high/low key adjustment, contrast and sharpness of your image. Among these..." - Nov 17 2009 More » | N/A |
| PhotoReview: "Pictures taken with the test camera were similar to the shots we took with the K-m. Contrast and saturation were restrained; out-of-camera sharpness was acceptable and colours were natural-looking. Autofocusing was acceptably fast and metering was accurate across a wide variety of subjects and with..." - Nov 09 2009 More » | |
| PB: "K-x's image quality is excellent. The K-x creates noise-free JPEG images from ISO 100-800, only starting to become apparent at ISO 1600, with progressively more noise and colour desaturation at the highest settings of 3200, 6400 and the attention grabbing 12,800 setting. Although the top speeds don..." - Oct 29 2009 More » | |
| TechRadar: "We liked: The K-x's image quality really stands out, and the kit lens is superb. We also like the build quality, which feels tough, and the ergonomics. And, while its video capabilities are a little hit and miss, the ability to fire off a 720p video with such gorgeous colours and depth of fiel..." - Oct 15 2009 More » | |
| ePhotoZine: "Portrait mode looks pretty good although I think it could be warmer. However, this could be down to the white balance interfering with the program as I selected a custom setting. There's plenty of detail in the hair and the exposure is pretty good. Adding flash has filled in the darker areas, added..." - Oct 13 2009 More » | |
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