Here it is folks, the first red dSLR
(Credit: Pentax USA)
Continuing its tradition of aggressively priced dSLRs, Pentax’s K-x model breaks the low ground by offering video capture support in a kit that costs less than $650: the body alone for Nikon’s D5000 runs about $700, Canon’s EOS Rebel T1i a bit more and Sony and Olympus don’t even offer video yet. And for good or ill, Pentax will also be offering navy and red versions a month after launch, as well as its Stormtrooper white and traditional black models. According to Pentax, women traditionally constitute 20 percent of its dSLR sales, but that increased to 50 percent for the white K2000/K-m model. As such, I wanted to thank Pentax for not offering a pink version, as well as for using a single naming convention for the US and the rest of the world.
Now that the K200D has been disoncontinued, the K-x sidles up next to the dirt-cheap K2000 in Pentax’s product line; unlike many crowded competing dSLR lineups, the K-x it differs enough from its line mates that Pentax shouldn’t bewilder its own customers.
Like the cheaper models, the K-x runs off 4 AA batteries–some people think that’s a plus, others not so much–has the same superior-for-its class viewfinder as on the K2000, and looks like it uses a similarly austere design, color choices notwithstanding. It introduces a 3-shot High Dynamic Range capture feature which debuted in the K-7 and sounds like the one in Sony’s recently announced (and more expensive than the K-x) Alpha DSLR-A500 and A550 and creative filter modes à la the K-7 and Olympus.
Here’s where it fits in Pentax’s current lineup:
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