Rumors and rumors...will Pentax introduce a mirorless camera?

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

There are plenty of rumours going around the internet about an upcoming Pentax mirrorless digital camera. First of all, why describing a camera with what it doesn't have, "mirrorless camera" because it doesn't use a mirror? Why not describe a new camera "tiresless" because it doesn't have any tires, "Gazless camera" because it doesn't run on gaz! My opinion doesn't have a lot of influence on naming cameras, but I hope the leading manufacturers will find a suitable and universal name for this new kind of cameras.

The rumors goes on to say that the new Pentax camera model will be the K-01. Frankly, it doesn't matter what the model will be, as long as they don't use the "*" for Starist" like the early Pentax DSLRs.

Again, according to the rumors, it will have the following specifications, and if it does, I will be a happy camper... eh! photographer.

  

1. "921,000 dot" 3-inch, VGA LCD screen from the K-5
2. K-5 image processing and sensor (16.3 Mp)
3. 1080p HD video at 30fps
4. 1/4000s-30s shutter speed range
5. Contrast-detect autofocus (81 metering points)
6. Built-in flash
7. 12.1cm wide x 7.9cm high x 5.9 cm deep
8. 560g loaded with battery
9. New DA 40mm kit lens
10. Available in 3 lens kits
11. 3 different colors
12. Electronic viewfinder

Pentax is in the best position in the industry to introduce such cameras because of their line of limited lenses. I once blogged here about what a Pentax camera could look like.  I can just imagine a Pentax "Hybrid" camera, with the K-5 sensor, maybe a 3" LCD screen that rotates and an included or optional EVF equivalent to what the Sony NX7 uses. That would be the perfect camera for me, especially for travelling.

One clear advantage would be the number of frames per second, since no mechanical parts have to move, and Auto Focus in all modes, making videography simple. More importantly, all my current lenses would fit and my Limited lenses would be happy.

This is not a real camera. It is what an Hybrid camera from Pentax could look like, based on their old partner "Samsung" model, my imagination and PhotoShop.

 Thanks for reading and may the good lighting be with you,

Yvon Bourque

Will Pentax produce a mirrorless camera (often called Hybrid or EVIL camera)? I think they will...they have everything needed.

The Camera above is the Samsung NX10. It uses the same sensor as the K20D and The K-7.

Above is what I think the Pentax EVIL or Hybrid camera could look like. There has been a close relationship between Pentax and Samsung for a while, and for all I know, Pentax may be making the NX10 for Samsung. This said, I think the Sony 12MP sensor used in the K-x would be a better fit.

Visitors to this page also like "Recommended Reading" on the right column. Email: brqyvn@aol.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

I couldn't resist thinking that a Pentax hybrid would look something similar to the Samsung NX10. I think that Pentax will produce such hybrid camera just because it makes sense. Pentax has always produced cameras with small footprints. The K-x is a good example of their current lineup and when paired with one of their Limited lens, it does have a small footprint. You can actually carry the K-x and a limited lens in your coat pocket...but it is still not as small as what an hybrid camera would be.

DPR wrote "The Samsung NX10 has the heart of a DSLR embedded inside the compact frame of a digital camera, successfully integrating the APS-C size CMOS sensor with a mirrorless interchangeable lens, for a sleek, lightweight camera that users can easily take with them everywhere they go."

Pentax can produce such hybrid camera and can do it better than anyone else. For once, they have all of the infrastructure in place. Everybody loves the Pentax limited lenses. Take the K-x's heart, the 12MP Sony sensor, implant it in a body similar to the Samsung NX10, and voila, Pentax is at the top of Hybrid cameras. I, for one, think the APS-C sensor is more adapt to hybrid cameras than the four thirds sensors. The size of the sensor alone would deliver better image quality than a four thirds sensor. Its like the difference between APS-C and Full Frame sensors.

The small size of the camera would be the biggest advantage. Imagine the qualify image of the K-7 or K-x, in a package that could fit in your shirt pocket.

At this point in time, I doubt that Pentax will ever manufacture a full Frame camera. They already have one better than the full frame in the new 645D, which will eventually be available worldwide...with certainty.

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Is There a Hybrid Camera in Pentax's Future?

Is There a Hybrid Camera in Pentax's Future?
Article by: Miserere

The best perfumes come in small containers. I'm not sure who coined this phrase, but it has been long used by petite women while wooing men. As if men needed help noticing women. I'm sure we will see this phrase in one form or another being used in the market campaigns for one of the new large-sensor compact cameras starting to appear on the market. As if photographers needed help being tempted by new equipment.

When Panasonic and Olympus announced the new micro 4/3 standard in the first week of August 2008, the internet was abuzz with speculation and ideas. As with all vapourware announcements, activity died down rapidly as attention shifted to items that we may actually see in our lifetime. Then, out of the blue, Panasonic announced the Lumix G1 some 5 weeks later. Whoah! When did developments start happening this quickly? And why am I talking about a Panasonic camera on a Pentax blog?

Shortly after the announcement of the micro 4/3 standard, Samsung announced their new hybrid digital camera system, which will feature a 14MP CMOS APS-C sensor (like that in the K20D) and a new lens mount. Like the micro 4/3 cameras, they will be compact, mirror-less cameras and feature EVFs (electronic viewfinders). And they will be small. Did I already say that?

No mention was made of Pentax, but with their ongoing partnership (Samsung produces sensors for Pentax digital cameras, Samsung’s DSLR’s are clones of Pentax’s models, featuring K-mounts, and their lenses are also Pentax clones), we have to wonder whether Pentax will be involved somehow. I would find it unlikely that an electronics giant like Samsung would jump, alone, into a new camera system (in a new market niche) where its competition will be Panasonic/Olympus, another electronics giant backed by (or leading) a well-established camera company.

I, for one, am hoping Pentax will be involved in the hybrid camera project, a type of camera that photographers have been clamouring for since large DSLRs became the norm. After all, Pentax holds the honour of having built the smallest DSLR system ever, the Pentax 110, so it is no stranger to miniaturisation. Pentax also prides itself in offering some of the smallest lenses on the market through their pancake line of primes.

This hybrid camera could use a smaller version of the K-mount, and without a mirror, would allow the distance between lens and sensor to be significantly reduced enabling the design of a much smaller body. Via an adapter, standard size Pentax lenses could still be used, which would undoubtedly attract many current Pentax shooters. It would make sense for Samsung to build on an existing user base, and they would be foolish not to use Pentax for that. Although it might not have the numbers of other systems like Canon or Nikon, Pentax users are loyal, and are often attracted to the system in the first place because they value compact cameras and lenses, which Pentax started offering when they introduced their M lens series.

Of course, the hybrid camera would be launched together with a system of lenses, probably a mixture of compact zooms and even compacter, faster primes. Samsung would need the help of a company like Pentax to produce these optics. No matter how good the camera might be, if the lenses are not of the highest quality the product will crumble and fail in the market.

I look forward to a line of small Samsung bodies with micro K-mount lenses. A camera I can take with me when the size and weight of the K10D make it impractical, but I still want better image quality than I get with my P&S. This wouldn’t be a substitute for my full-size DSLR, it would be a complement.

I could be completely wrong and Samsung has decided they are strong enough to develop their own mount, start a system from the ground up and earn followers from scratch. They could very well hire a third party lens company, like Tamron, Tokina or Cosina, to design and manufacture their lenses. But would this be the most efficient way to break into this emerging market?

The new camera is slated to hit the stores in Spring 2010. As such, it will lag some 15 months behind the micro 4/3 system’s first offering. If Samsung is serious about dominating this camera segment (as Executive Vice President Byung Woo Lee has stated), they must offer a much better product than Panasonic/Olympus, and do so in a relatively short amount of time. Can they accomplish this without Pentax…? We’ll have to wait and see.

In the meantime I’m left wondering…will a Pentax in any other size still click as sweet?

Thank you for reading and let us know your thoughts and comments,

Pentax DSLRs