Pentax Debuts K-r DSLR with Color Choices and DA 35mm f/2.4 AL Lens

Camera Review

Golden, CO—Pentax Imaging introduced the K-r digital SLR with advanced yet simple-to-use features and color accents that allow owners to choose one that matches their personal style.

The compact, lightweight K-r offers user-friendly auto picture, scene and custom image processing modes to help take the guesswork out of shooting. It also provide a high degree of manual and priority control.

Features include: a 3.0-inch 921,000-dot LCD; a viewfinder focus point indicator; a 6-frames-per-sec frame rate that captures 25 images in a single sequence; ISO sensitivities from 100-25,600; a maximum 1/6,000-sec shutter speed; a responsive 11-point SAFOX IX autofocus system; an improved 12.4 megapixel low-noise sensor; widescreen HD video capture at 25 fps; and a dual-power-source design, which offers the choice of a rechargeable Li-Ion battery or four AA batteries power.

The K-r also supports infrared data transfer compatible with the IrSimple high-speed infrared data transmission system for wireless data transfer to the Web or other IrSimple-compatible devices.

Also incorporated are Pentax’s original shake-reduction mechanism for blur-free images that works with every Pentax lens ever made and a dust-removal mechanism that shakes dust off the CMOS image sensor. For added creativity, there is a range of in-camera image processing, a high dynamic range function and 18 special effects filters, as well as a unique cross process mode that automatically shifts parameters for each exposure to create images with dramatic colors (as with photographs treated with the cross process in film photography).

The Pentax K-r, which comes in a choice of black, white or Pentax red bodies, ships this month for: K-r body; $799.95; K-r lens kit with 18-55mm, $849.95; K-r double lens kit with 18-55mm and 50-200mm, $899.95; and the K-r double lens kit with the 18-55mm and 55-300mm lens, $999.95.

Also announced was the smc Pentax DA 35mm f/2.4 AL standard lens, designed exclusively for use with Pentax DSLRs. Versatile enough to be used for a range of subjects and applications for high-resolution images with edge-to-edge sharpness, this lens is marketed as a “perfect choice for digital SLR beginners to familiarize themselves with the basics of using interchangeable lenses.” $219.95. pentax-imaging.com