Hasta La Gadget!

After digesting loads of scuttlebutt here lately, we’re elated to see that Pentax has finally come clean with its new K-7 DSLR. The 14.6 megapixel shooter packs a rugged magnesium alloy body and arrives with an HD movie mode that captures video at 640 x 416, 720p (1,280 x 720) or 1,536 x 1,024 — all at 30fps. Needless to say, that’s more than the D90 and D5000 offer (both top out at 720p), and while Canon’s T1i does 1080p, it does so at just 20fps. There’s also an HDMI port, a 3-inch Live View LCD, in-camera lens correction, shake reduction and an improved dust reduction system. The real kicker, however, is the High Dynamic Range (HDR) capture mode, which snags a trio of images, then combines them in-camera to widen the exposure gamut. The body alone should ship in July for $1,299.95 — which is notably more expensive that recent wares from Canon, Nikon and Sony — and you can peek the full slate of specifications just past the break.

Continue reading Pentax gets official with 14.6MP K-7 DSLR: HD movies, HDR mode

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Pentax gets official with 14.6MP K-7 DSLR: HD movies, HDR mode originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 May 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pentax has announced its new K-7 DSLR, and we’re going to try  something new. Here, at the top of the post, are the main points.

• Sensor: 14 MP CMOS, 28.1 mm diagonal
• Video: 1280×720
• ISO range: 100-3200 (6400 emergency setting)
• Max shooting speed: 5.2 fps (40 jpegs, 15 RAW, 14 DNG)
• LCD: 3″ 921,000 dots
• Viewfinder 100%
• AF: 11 point (9 cross type sensors)
• Storage: SD
• Weight: 737g (26.5 oz)
• Price (US): $1200 body only

The K-7 comes in at the top of the Pentax line, at $1200, and it feels like a pro body (in terms of specs — you’ll have to wait for our own Jackson Lynch’s upcoming review to find out how it actually feels). There are some concessions to the new but most of the features are decidedly high-end conservative.

First, the K-7 shoots video. It will put down movies in 720p (1280×720) and also let you shoot in a 3:2 ratio so you can send the video to grandma to watch on her old-style TV. Both come in at 30 fps, and there is a socket for hooking up an external mic. You also get a sensor-shakin’ dust cleaner and a sensor-based image stabilizer. Other than that, there’s not much in the way of fancy frills, although the small body is hewn from finest magnesium for weight and strength.

Where Pentax scores, though, is in the openness of its details. It uses a modified K-mount for the lens, the latest version of the open K-mount used in pretty much every off-brand camera ever. It also lets you shoot directly into dng files, Adobe’s semi-open RAW format, which means you shouldn’t have to wait for image software to be updated to read the K-7’s files. Interestingly for a high-end camera, the K-7 dumps its load onto SD cards instead of the more common Compact Flash. I like this, as I am paranoid about bending a pin in my DSLR every time I insert a CF card. For flashers, there is a proper PC socket for cabling off-camera strobes.

Another unheard of move is the IR remote socket, something the likes of Nikon only puts on its budget bodies so you have to buy a $100+ cable to trigger, say, a D700 from afar. Finally, the viewfinder offers a full 100% field of view, something that will cost you three times as much to see from Nikon.

The trouble is, this feature set is not enough to tempt people away from the alternatives. Nikon’s D90, for example, will shoot video and has a better low-light performance, arguably more important in a stills body than movie-mode. On the other hand, there is a definite Pentax fanbase out there, and there are a huge amount of cheap, K-mount lenses you can use — anything back to the Ka (from 1983) will work, and older lenses may work fine, or might need an adapter. Also, unlike the Nikon D90, the K-7 shoots proper 720p.

Product page [Pentax]

Poor Pentax. The company’s just three days away from the much-hyped May 21 launch of the K-7, and here we’ve already seen specs and press pics, and now we’ve got a whole slew of hands-on shots. Just as we’d heard before, the K-7 will pack a 14.6 megapixel sensor with a 720p movie mode and a 3-inch VGA display in a body just a hair smaller than the K200D. Of course, we’re really wondering how this guy’ll be priced — if it comes in around $1000, it’ll be a solid competitor to the Canon Rebel T1i and the Nikon D5000. Guess Pentax still has one surprise in store, eh? Tons more pics at the read link.

[Thanks, Rye]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Pentax K-7 hands-on shots leak out originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 May 2009 12:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today is a big day for Sony. The company is launching three new Alpha DSLRs and four new lenses. The cameras are an incremental improvement on the older models (themselves pretty good bodies) and the lenses are entry-level plastic models which all have Sony’s new SAM (Smooth Autofocus Motor), an in-lens motor similar to Nikon’s Silent Wave or Canon’s USM.

First, the cameras: The models numbers are A230, A330 and A380 are swap-in replacements for the A200, A300 and A350. They’re also cheaper. Sony is pushing the smaller size as a major new feature, and it’s easy to see why. The actual internal changes to the cameras are minimal. The sensor sizes stay the same (10.2MP for the 230 and 330, 14.2 for the 380), exposure modes are unchanged and the top two models retain the flip-out LCD (which itself is the same size and resolution, 230,000 pixels, as before) although the angle of flip has increased slightly. The A330 and A380 also keep the quick-focus live view, which uses a seperate, dedicated sensor to speed up the usually slow auto focus when using the rear LCD to compose shots.

The other “major” changes are the addition of an HDMI-out socket, a poorer battery life of around 500 shots per charge against around 730 with the older range (and this drops to 230 images with live view). Even the maximum ISO of 3200 remains the same, which is arguably one of the main reasons to upgrade a DSLR.

The lenses are fourfold, and – as we said – all contain their own motor for faster, quieter operation. Here are their names which, as always, tell you everything you need to know, other than that they are cheap, plastic and lightweight. Fisrt, the fixed-length ƒ2.8 30mm Macro SAM, then a ƒ1.8 50mm SAM, and then a couple of zooms, the ƒ3.5-5.6 18-55mm SAM and the ƒ4.5-5.6 55-200mm SAM.

The important thing to remember here is that the lenses are all designed for crop sensors, in this case APS-C which is 28.4mm on the diagonal (compared to 43.3mm for full-frame sensors and 35mm film). This means that the 50mm will act like a 75mm on a full frame camera.

The prices are for kits, starting at $550 for the A230 with one lens, $650 for the A330 with one of the lenses and $850 for the A380 with a single lens kit. This compares to a launch price of $800 for the mid-range A300, which came with an 18-70mm lens. Full prices info is over at the product page, although the new macro lens has yet to be priced.

Smaller, lighter and cheaper. What’s not to like? If you already have a mid-range Sony DSLR, there is little point in upgrading. If you don’t (and you really want to buy Sony) then these look like a good deal. Just remember — a lot of the price drop likely comes from those cheap lenses, and lenses are the one thing you don’t want to go cheap on. Available for pre-order today.

Product page [Sony Style]

Sony’s been pretty generous with the Alpha leaks in the run up to this launch, but it looks like this new trio of DSLRs for “first time” SLR buyers, the Alpha 230, 330 and 380, is ready to go. The press release confirms all of what we already knew, along with bringing word that the cameras will support SD/SDHC cards in addition to Sony’s still-kicking Memory Stick format. The best news is in pricing, however: the shooters will retail in two different kit types, with the L-series cams ringing in at $550, $650 and $850, respectively, when paired with the SAL-1855 standard zoom lens. The Y kit series adds a second lens, the telephoto SAL-55200, along with bumping the kit price $200 across the board. Pre-orders will start on May 18th, with the cameras becoming available in July. Oddly, while parts of the press site are live, the press shots are still on lockdown, beyond a nice stack of thumbnails — we’ll keep you posted.

[Via Photo Rumors]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Sony confirms new Alpha 230, 330 and 380 mainstream DSLRs originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 May 2009 20:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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