PENTAX K-5

The flagship model of PENTAX K digital SLR camera series

Press Release

The flagship model of PENTAX K digital SLR camera series, offering high-quality images and user-friendly operation to satisfy the demands of advanced amateurs

HOYA CORPORATION PENTAX Imaging Systems Division is pleased to announce the launch of the PENTAX K-5 lens-interchangeable digital SLR camera.
Encased in a compact but solid, functional body, this new model comes equipped with a host of advanced photographic tools for the easy creation of diversified visual expressions, while demonstrating much higher standards of image quality, data processing speed and operability than previous models.



Developed using the highly acclaimed PENTAX K-7 (introduced to the market in June 2009) as its base, the K-5 inherits the exceptional reliability, user-friendly operation, array of advanced features and compact, lightweight body of its predecessor, yet it is more resourceful and flexible in photographic expression.
Coupling a new high-speed, low-noise CMOS image sensor with the high-performance PRIME II imaging engine, it produces super-high-resolution, rich-gradation digital images with approximately 16.28 effective megapixels, even when shooting in the continuous shooting mode at a maximum speed of approximately seven images per second.
It also offers an extra-wide sensitivity range between ISO 80 and ISO 51200 (when expanded via a custom function) and Full HD-proportion movie recording at 1920 x 1080 pixels to expand the boundaries of high-quality visual presentation. Adding other improvements and refinements — such as much-faster autofocusing speed, an upgraded HDR (High Dynamic Range) function now usable in handheld shooting, and better operability through an overall review of the design and shape of all components — the K-5 is designed to be more functional and maneuverable in every detail, and more capable of responding to the discriminating demands of advanced amateurs than previous models.



High-resolution, low-noise, true-to-life image reproduction
The K-5 incorporates a newly designed CMOS image sensor with a wide image-sensitive area measuring 23.7mm by 15.7mm. It assures high-speed image data readout much faster than that of previous sensors. By coupling this image sensor — equivalent in performance and data processing speed to the image sensor incorporated in the PENTAX 645D medium-format digital camera — with the reliable PRIME (PENTAX Real Image Engine) II imaging engine, the K-5 produces super-high-resolution, rich-gradation digital images with approximately 16.28 effective megapixels, while suppressing annoying digital noise to a minimum. The K-5 also offers a wide sensitivity range between ISO 100 and ISO 12800. This range can be expanded by the user from ISO 80 to ISO 51200 via a custom function to accommodate applications intended for more creative expressions, such as open-aperture shooting using a large-aperture lens, and indoor and nighttime shooting with incident light only.

High-speed continuous shooting at approximately seven images per second
The K-5’s high-speed continuous shooting mode records as many as 30 images (in the JPEG recording format) in a single sequence at a maximum speed of approximately seven images per second, allowing the photographer to preserve sharp, crisp images of active, fast-moving subjects — such as sports players, stage performers and wildlife — with great ease.

Responsive, high-precision AF system
The K-5 features a new-generation, wide-frame SAFOX IX+ autofocus system with 11 sensor points (with nine cross-type sensors positioned in the middle).
This sophisticated AF system has completely redesigned optics, and factors the light source at the time of shooting into its calculations to improve the accuracy of autofocus operation. It also offers a choice of shutter-release options — between focus priority and release priority in the AF.S (single) advance mode, or between focus priority and speed priority in the AF.C (continuous) advance mode — to make the photographer better equipped for varying photographic requirements. The K-5 is also equipped with a spotbeam projector to assist the AF system in poorly lit locations.

Despite its compact dimensions, the K-5 is built to be exceptionally solid and durable, with a body of sturdy yet lightweight magnesium alloy, and a chassis of highly rigid stainless steel. Thanks to the inclusion of 77 special seals in the body, it also boasts a dustproof, weather-resistant and cold-resistant construction, assuring reliable operation even under harsh environment, and at temperatures as low as -10°C. It also features a reliable shutter unit that provides a top shutter speed of 1/8000 second and the outstanding durability to withstand as many as 100,000 shutter releases.
Despite all these features, the K-5 still offers an extremely compact, functional body, because PENTAX has applied all its years of experience and expertise in camera downsizing that it accumulated since the earliest days of film-format SLR cameras.



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