Pentax K-x Raises Entry Level Bar Still Higher Pentax 645D “Out of the Freezer”

Pentax K-x Hands On Preview

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Posted by Patrick on Sep 17, 2009 in Cameras, Featured Content

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In order to announce and promote their latest DSLR camera, the K-x, Pentax hosted a presentation last night at the International Center of Photography in New York City, and I was grateful to be in attendance. Before actually unveiling the K-x, the folks from Pentax spent a little bit of time explaining to the gathering of media, dealers, and “Pentaxians”, their relationship with, and importance to, parent company Hoya, as well as discussing the current state of Pentax and laying out the philosophy that will be driving Pentax forward into the future, or at least the foreseeable future.

As to their relationship with Hoya, vice president of sales and marketing, Bill Zani, was quick to point out that they currently represent 25% of Hoya’s revenue, so yes they’re important, but they also were clear that management at Hoya had been beneficial to Pentax, and they gave a soon to be relevant example. As you’ll remember, Pentax released a white edition of the K2000 at the beginning of this year, and Pentax explained that rather than market test the idea of a “white camera”, Hoya’s approach was, “let’s make 2500 and just get them out there”. In other words, Hoya seems to be of the mind that time and more importantly sales are lost by getting bogged down with “details”. What I found interesting was the demographic sales breakdown for the white K2000. As it turned out, 50% of those who bought a white K2000 were female, where as their normal demographic would be less than 25% female. This led to their next point, that Pentax was learning on the go now, with their strategy summed up simply via projector, “Ready, shoot, aim”. To translate, they’re going to do what they think will work, get the product out, then figure out where it all went right or wrong. Taken as a whole, it does sound like Pentax believes they are benefiting from their Hoya relationship, and at least on a financial aspect, there are some indications of that, with reports of being in the black perhaps even by the end of this next financial quarter.

Moving forward, Pentax is trying to create a more consistent stable of products, with hopes of sequentially releasing more solid offerings, rather that a hit here or miss there. No question they’re happy with the K-7, and as Ned Bunnell explained, the beauty of Pentax as demonstrated so effectively with the K-7, is that they offer high quality optics in smaller sizes with equally compelling (and compact) camera bodies. It isn’t about pixel peeping with Pentax, it’s the prints that matter, and given that neutralizing element, Pentax has some clear advantages for the photographer that likes to pack light.

With that, Pentax presented the K-x. It replaces the K2000, but is still very much like the K2000, albeit with substantial K-7 trickle down, notably the inclusion of 720p HD video at a film-like 24 fps, and built in HDR, just like the K-7. It features a 12 megapixel sensor, but maintains the use of AA batteries as well as retaining the same ISO range of 200-6400 (expanded 100-12,800). Of course most noticeably, the K-x will be available in 4 colors: black, navy, white, and red. Finally, the aspect Pentax really wants you to know about, the price. With the kit lens (color matched) the K-x will retail at $649.

We got to spend a brief amount of time with the K-x after the presentation, and at first blush, the K-x does seem to be a compelling option at this price point, Like the K-7, the K-x on ergonomics alone feels very good. I will say this is a very small camera, but unlike the competitors, it hasn’t come at the cost of camera grip, which felt as right as it could given the camera’s stature. It certainly had a “made for your hand” feel, very comfortable and easy to manage. Build quality seemed good too, with battery, memory, and output bays feeling pretty sturdy. Paint quality on the colored models also seemed nice, and I actually liked all the offerings, well, maybe not the red, but I could see the appeal of the white and navy offerings.

Despite being 230k resolution, the LCD was vivid and bright, crisp enough to get a good sense of focus. HD movie mode is accessed by the mode dial and initiated with the shutter, though video aficionados should know the K-x is mono only, no stereo out here, for that you’ll have to look to the K-7. As far as the interface goes, it looks cosmetically much like the K-7, which is a good thing as far as I’m concerned. With 4.7 fps, the K-x does feel responsive, but when analyzing AF, I noticed a lack of AF overlay in the viewfinder, which is somewhat disconcerting to me, but may be less of an issue for the beginner. It comes off odd, given you can actually select a desired point, you just can’t see it when looking through the camera. Finally, image quality looks pretty good, even some ISO 6400 shots looked very much in the realm of usability at smaller sizes, which I’m thinking will translate into relative satisfaction and comfort in using ISO 1600.

All in all I left thinking that the K-x would be a compelling choice for the first time DLSR consumer. On ergonomics alone the K-x will win some over, and given the specs, image quality, HD movie, and color choices, the total package is very appealing, assuming that it gets its fair share of shelf space, which it certainly deserves.
To conclude, I’ll say things are looking good at Pentax right now, with 2 solid offerings, one at the entry level with the K-x, and one at the prosumer level with the K-7. Of course every good system needs to have something at the top, and towards the end of the presentation I couldn’t help but to notice Pentax confidently suggesting that “bigger and better things are coming”. If these last 2 launches are any indications, there’s even more excitement still to come from Pentax.