Pentax K-5 II & K-5 IIS DSLR Cameras

Pentax K-5 II & K-5 IIS DSLR Cameras

Pentax K-5 II & K-5 IIS DSLRs announced on September 10, 2012, represent a determined bid by Pentax to expand its user base with technological breakthroughs and innovations, instead of just retaining its following based on excellence of quality.

Pentax has a small but loyal following built over decades on the reliability and good performance of its SLR and DSLR cameras.

Following its acquisition by Ricoh in July 2011, Pentax has shown an inclination to be counted amongst DSLR camera leaders Canon and Nikon, or at least move ahead of the pack represented by Olympus, Panasonic, Sony and Samsung.

The company's newly introduced flagship DSLR Pentax K-5 II builds on the excellent reputation of is recently withdrawn K-5 flagship product. By sticking with the K-5 nomenclature, Pentax is acknowledging that their new product is an incremental upgrade with the confidence that the nature of the incremental upgrade is substantive enough to warrant a migration to the new product.

The headlining new features in the K-5 II are

Weather, dust and cold resistance
A newly developed SAFOX X AF sensor that delivers the broadest autofocusing EV range (-3 EV to +18 EV) in its class
A 3.0 inch, 921 K dot wide-view, air-gap-free LCD display.

The K-5 IIs targets professional photographers with a sensor that does away with an anti-aliasing filter, making it very attractive for commercial and studio photography where camera settings, lens selection, lighting, and other shooting conditions are controlled.
Low Light Photography

The sensitive AF sensor on the new cameras enables photographers to work with a luminous flux based on F2.8 levels in addition to F5.6, which increases the AF accuracy when using fast lenses. Additionally, the sensor uses an upgraded AF algorithm and a Select-Area Expansion feature, which automatically tracks the subject when it deviates from a pre-assigned selection point, by assessing data from neighboring sensors.
Pentax K-II.
Pentax K-IIs. Photo Credit: Pentax
Improved LCD

Pentax has eliminated the air-gap between the LCD screen and the protective anti-glare glass coating with a resin layer that alleviates the reflection and dispersion of light to effectively prevent ghost images and maintain image brightness.

The K-5 II steel and magnesium body comes with 77 special seals making it dustproof, weather-resistant, cold-resistant construction and capable of operating at temperatures as low as 14°F (-10°C).

The cameras have a top shutter speed of 1/8000 per second, and the ability to withstand as many as 100,000 shutter releases.

K-5 features retained include:

APS-C (23.7mm x 15.7mm), 16.28 MP CMOS sensor
PRIME II Imaging Engine
ISO 100 to ISO 12800 in the standard setting, or from ISO 80 to ISO 51200 in expanded mode
Bright, clear optical viewfinder with a nearly 100-percent field of view
7 fps Still shooting with upto 30 frames in a row.

The Pentax K-5 II will be available at retail outlets nationwide and online in October 2012 with a suggested retail price of $1,199.95 for body only, $1,349.95 for the K-5 II kit including the DA 18-55mm WR zoom lens and $1,549.95 for the K-5 II kit including the DA 18-135mm WR zoom lens.

The K-5 IIs will also be available at retail outlets nationwide and online in October with a suggested retail price of $1,299.95 for body only.