Crave

(Credit: Pentax)

Pentax has released a firmware update to its top end dSLR, the 14MP K20D, which was released in April 2008. The firmware update, version 1.01, is stated to minimize noise when taking photos with the 2 second self-timer. For more information and instructions click here.

We generally recommend installing the latest firmware updates for your camera, so you can get the most out of your gear. For more information on firmware updates for a specific camera, visit the manufacturer's Web site. Before installing any firmware upgrade, always take the time to read through all of the documentation and follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.

(Credit: Pentax)

Pentax has announced the release of the Pentax SMC DA 17-70mm f4 AL SDM lens for Pentax digital SLR cameras. First shown at PMA 2008, the 17-70mm lens has a constant aperture of f4 through the entire zoom range, with a working focal length of 26-107mm. It has Pentax's SDM system with built-in supersonic motor for quiet and responsive autofocusing when used on a compatible Pentax DSLR. The lens is compatible with the K20D, K200D, K100D Super, and K10D (with firmware 1.30 or later). When used on other Pentax bodies the focus is automatically switched to manual. Featuring Pentax's Quick-shift Focus System that enables you to switch from auto to manual focus with a turn of the focus ring. It has a minimum focusing distance of 11 inches and weighs in at 17.1 ounces with a length of 3.7 inches. It will be available in July at around $600.

Pentax's K20D is the company's new top-end SLR.

(Credit: Pentax)

LAS VEGAS--Pentax just announced its new flagship SLR camera, the K20D, but the Japanese company has plans on the drawing board for a higher-end class of camera in 2009.

On the Pentax roadmap for 2009, the SLR quality arrow jumps up "much higher" above the K20D--a bigger step up than the one from the K10D to the K20D--said John Carlson, Pentax's product manager for imaging systems.

"That would be a new category" of SLR for Pentax, he said, but was mum on further details.

Obviously, that statement leaves a lot of room for maneuvering and interpretation, but it's still a notable reflection of the company's ambitions. Pentax also must reckon with some powerful competitors with high-end models--not just market leaders Canon and Nikon, but also well-funded newcomers such as Sony, which plans to release a professional-grade SLR this year.

Pentax announced its K20D last week and is showing it off this week at the Photo Marketing Association trade show here. The 14.6-megapixel model includes features such as 11-point autofocus, sensor-shift image stabilization, ISO up to 6,400, and seals to keep out dust and water.

SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras offer higher image quality and interchangeable lenses, but they're more expensive and bulkier. SLR sales are growing faster than the overall digital camera market, so it's no surprise camera makers are fighting for dominance--especially because the market is in flux.

Pentax, like Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, and Olympus, is a traditional camera maker facing new competition from consumer-electronics powers such as Sony and Panasonic. Sony got a leg up in the SLR market by acquiring the assets of Konica Minolta, and Panasonic has a partnership with Olympus and Leica. Another electronics giant now selling SLRs, Samsung, bases its products on Pentax cameras.

One way Pentax could head toward higher-end SLRs would be to follow Canon and Nikon with models whose image sensor is the size of a full frame of 35mm film. Most digital SLRs, including all of Pentax's, employ a smaller "APS-C"-sized sensors that are cheaper to make. Larger sensors offer the promise of greater sensitivity because pixels are larger, and for 35mm film buffs, lenses give the same field of view as they did with film.

But don't expect a full-frame Pentax, at least for the time being, Carlson said. Asked whether it was in the plans, he said, "At this point I would say no. The lenses are designed for the APS-C format," Carlson said. However, he qualified his remarks with a disclaimer: "What will happen in two years? Who knows."

One interesting feature in Pentax SLRs is support for the Digital Negative (DNG) raw-image format, which is Adobe Systems' attempt to curtail the cacophony of proprietary raw image formats. Raw images provide more quality but require manual processing into something handy such as JPEG, and different SLR models typically have their own proprietary formats today.

Pentax is probably the most notable DNG adopter, though others include Ricoh and now Epson with its super-high-speed camera. However, DNG still plays second fiddle among Pentax photographers to the older PEF format, Carlson said. "Most people are shooting PEF," he said.

Samsung GX-20

(Credit: Samsung USA)

Samsung GX-20

(Credit: Samsung USA)

OK, so I'm asleep at the wheel. We knew the Samsung GX-20 was forthcoming, but completely missed all the rumors that rendered our embargoed knowledge obsolete. We do know something that I haven't seen elsewhere, though: the price. The body-only version will be $1,399.95--inexplicably $100 more than its identical twin, the Pentax K20D--and will ship in March.

Pentax K20D

(Credit: Pentax Corp.)

You've gotta admire feisty little Pentax. Undeterred by a dSLR market dominated by Canon and Nikon, plus the deep-pocketed relative newcomer Sony and tireless veteran Olympus, Pentax continues to refine and innovate its offerings rather than just trying to sell cheap models built from off-the-shelf parts. This year sees the first tangible result of the company's alliance with Samsung, a 14.6-megapixel CMOS sensor, which makes its way into Pentax's new midrange model, the $1,300 K20D (body only). Pentax's other new model, the entry-level $799 K200D (a kit with the new smc PENTAX DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II lens), looks more like the typical budget package.

According to Pentax, the new sensor requires less space for the ancillary circuitry, allowing for photodiodes with the same area as those of a 10-megapixel sensor. In theory, this should allow for higher-resolution images with noise equivalent to that of the lower-resolution ones; we won't know until we test it. In other respects, the body and much of the technology of the K20D carries over from its predecessor, the K10D. Pentax claims improved sensitivity for the image stabilization, and a slightly larger LCD with improved off-angle viewing.

At its price point, it competes directly with the Canon EOS 40D, though like the K10D it offers many features, including the dust- and weatherproof body, sensor-shift image stabilization and wireless flash controller, that you'll see in pricier models like the Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 or Olympus E-3.

Selected specs:

Pentax K200D

(Credit: Pentax Corp.)

At $799, the K200D kit enters a more crowded field, one currently dominated by the Nikon D40x and Canon EOS Rebel XTi, both of which seem ripe for replacement. (Pentax will offer a body-only version of the K200D for $719.) It jumps to a 10-megapixel CCD from its predecessors'--the K100D, K100D Super, and K110D--6 megapixels, uses a pentamirror viewfinder rather than a pentaprism, for a lighter body, and increases to a 2.7-inch LCD. Unlike the older models, it also takes 4 AA-sized batteries (Pentax claims 1,100 shots off 4 disposable lithium cells). Like the K200D, it uses sensor-shift image stabilization and implements an enhanced dynamic range mode, which theoretically provides enhanced highlight detail.

Pentax expects to ship the K20D in April, while the D200D should be around by the beginning of March.

Pentax's current K10D

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The latest rumor has it that Pentax plans to announce two new SLR models, the K20D and K200D, on January 24, a week before the Photo Marketing Association trade show that begins.

A now-defunct discussion thread on a Chinese Web site, helpfully archived at DCHome.net and supplemented by postings at Bigbigcar.com and PhotoMalaysia forums, includes a few supposed details about models that would presumably replace the K10D and K100D:

The alleged K20D has a 14-megapixel sensor of the smaller APS-C size, a 14-bit analog-to-digital converter (for better tonal gradations than typical 12-bit converters but leading to larger raw files), a live-view LCD, the same weather resistance as the K10D, and better sensor-shift shake reduction. The lower-end K200D is supposed to have a 10-megapixel sensor and a bigger memory buffer for longer stretches of continuous shooting.

Also a possibility are three new lenses, all appearing on a Pentax road map document (click for PDF): a 60-250mm f/4 to be announced in December and a 200mm f/2.8 and a 300mm f/4 to be announced with the cameras in January.

Rumors, some appearing derivative, also cropped up at DPReview and PentaxForums.

(Via Photography Bay.)