Email: brqyvn@gmail.com
Hi Pentaxian friends.
The Pentax K-r has been out since September 2010. Is replaced the Pentax K-x which was a huge success for Pentax. It would have been a mistake to replace the K-x with a totally redesigned DSLR because of its popularity. So the Pentax K-r was born, but with the same heart, the 12.4mp CMOS sensor.
I was contemplating whiting a new e-book for it, and I even wrote about one fourth of the book. Since then, I received many emails requesting the K-r e-book. I thought about it a long time and decided that I couldn't write a specific book for the K-r because A) The similarities in their operation are not worthy of a new e-book. The K-x e-book is sufficient to learn about the K-r's operation. B) It made no sense to sell you, likely at a higher price, a new e-book just for the sake making money. C) The differences are mostly in the body
and shape of the camera. Therefore, if you purchased a new Pentax K-r, my K-x e-book will suffice and you will save a few bucks as the newer e-books are selling for $15.00 instead of the $11.00 for the K-x.
I listed the differences between the two cameras below:
- The K-x had a maximum ISO of 12,800 with expansion while the K-r has a maximum ISO of 25,600 with expansion. (Great improvement, but once you know how to change ISO, it's all the same)
- The K-x had a continuous shooting speed of 4.7fps (17 frames) while the K-r has a continuous shooting speed of 6.0fps (25 frames) (Again, this is great but as far as operating it, there are no changes.)
- The auto focus of the K-r is faster and more accurate. It also has an AF assist light for better focusing in darker areas.
- The K-r has the AF point confirmation in the viewfinder, which is a great addition but doesn't change anything as far as shooting.
- The K-r can use the supplied rechargeable battery or can use four AA batteries with the optional adapter. That is great if you travel.
- The camera body of the K-r is slightly larger and has a modified shape.
- The K-r has movie custom images mode, night scene HDR, cross process mode and IR simple, which are the only real changes in the functionalities. They are not worthy of a new- book.
- The k-x has a 2.7" LCD screen and the K-r has a 3" LCD screen.
I believe that once you learn the primary functions that are the same as the k-x, the four new functions will come easy.
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| Front view of the K-x. |
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| Front view of the K-r. Slightly modified body with the addition of the AF assist light. |
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| Rear view of the K-x. |
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| Rear view of the K-r. Note that the function buttons are the same. The body is slightly different and the LCD screen measures 3" diagonal as compared to 2.7" on the K-x. |
There you have it. If you need a reference manual other than the confusing owner's manual, the K-x e-book is what you need. The Owner's manual shows you what, the K-x e-book shows you what, why, when and how, with plenty of illustrations and real images, and written in laymen terms. Download a free sample of the book from this page: Pentax e-books.
Thank you for your visit,
Yvon Bourque
6 comments:
Nice simple article.
I sold my K-X and spent a while looking up the differences between it and the K-R and the K-7. In the end I went for the K-7 (got it for a good price). the K-R is different but similar, if you know what I mean, whereas the K-7 is a new beast altogether. Even if the ISO is worse...
You made note of the screen size difference, but I also think it's worth mentioning about the disparity in resolution....the K-r has 920,000 dots vs. 230,000 for the K-x. This difference really accentuates the extra .3 inches as well.
Oh yeah.....I almost forgot, the live view focus speed and accuracy on the K-r is significantly improved over the K-x.
Mark, you may be missing my point. I posted here some of the reasons I decided not to write another e-book, covering the Pentax K-r exclusively. It is my opinion that the K-x and K-r, which have the same sensor, operate almost the same way. If you know how to use the K-x, you know how to use the K-r. What would I write about a 920,000 dots screen or improved live-view speed. These are static changes that you cannot change. They may be more differences between the two cameras, but none, (other than what I already mentioned in the blog), that are user changeable and that you would require learning how to use it..
Hi Yvon. Thanks for your response. No, I wasn't missing your point. I understood that part of it completely. I was merely adding to this section of your original post:
"I listed the differences between the two cameras below:"
.....and then you went on to list several of the key differences....ones that you stated clearly did not constitute a good reason for writing another e-book (and I would agree). I only wanted to add to that specific list because I hear so many people say it isn't worth the extra money for the K-r from the K-x. Since some of that is subjective and some of it is quantifiable, I simply wanted to list a couple of things that weren't mentioned. It was not meant to be critical, and my sense is that it was not a cognizant oversight on your part. Though if it was, suffice to say everyone has their own view of what constitutes a key difference.
If my comments are out of order in the sense that you feel they obfuscate your original intent, please feel free to delete them. Otherwise, my hope is that some readers may consider the other differences and understand the context for which I presented them here.:-)
Keep up the good work!
Mark
And by the way, the sensors are ostensibly the same.....but the K-r is a slightly different version and....depending on who you talk to....not necessarily an upgrade on the K-x for IQ (though so close as to not be that distinguishable).
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