Pentax K-S1 Review

February 4, 2015 | Jack Baker | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star

Introduction

The Pentax K-S1 is set to replace the K-500 as Pentax/Ricoh’s new entry-level DSLR. Available in an 18-55mm lens kit for around £440/$650, it takes on the Canon EOS 100D and Nikon D3300.

Key features include a new 20.1-megapixel APS-C sensor with a sensitivity range of ISO100-51200 and Pentax’s sensor-shift Shake Reduction system that provides image stabilisation with virtually any K-mount lens.

The Pentax K-S1 will also record Full HD video and shoot continuously at 5.4fps, but its real selling point is style. Not only is the camera available in twelve different body colour combinations, but new Indicator Lamps illuminate key buttons to help guide you around the camera, plus there’s a strip of lights down the hand grip for extra visual assistance.

If you’re fed up with boring black DSLRs but can’t stretch to one of the Pentax K-50’s 120 colour combinations, then this could be the camera for you.

Ease of Use

We were big fans of the Pentax K-500 when it was released back in 2013, but the entry-level DSLR sector is a cut-throat market and with strong competition from Canon and Nikon, Pentax has attempted to carve a more distinct niche for its replacement. At 120 x 92.5 x 69.5mm, the Pentax K-S1 is noticeably smaller than the K-500, and it’s nearly 100g lighter. That makes it just fractionally larger than the tiny Canon 100D. But the K-S1 isn’t just petite; it’s also dressed to impress.

Pentax K-S1
Front of the Pentax K-S1

Turn the Pentax K-S1 on and you’re greeted by a glowing green ring around the shutter release and a strip of five green lights running down the front of the hand grip. The shutter release light then turns red when you rotate the on/off ring to its video record position, plus there’s additional lighting on the rear panel to highlight the ‘OK’ button and shooting modes. Along with the dozen body colour options (the kit lens is only available in black or white), it certainly makes the camera stand out, though the lighting is also meant to make the K-S1 easier to use. In reality, the illuminated buttons aren’t really an advantage over conventional labels and it’s tough to see them as much more than a style-driven gimmick. The row of lamps running down the hand grip are of more use, offering a visual countdown when using the self-timer and indicating face detection, but they’re hardly a must-have feature.

Pentax K-S1
Rear of the Pentax K-S1

In fact, the bold styling of the Pentax K-S1 isn’t just gimmicky; it can also be rather annoying. Ditching a typical black rubberised hand grip in favour of coloured plastic panels makes the camera much more slippery than its rivals. Relocating the mode dial from the top to the rear of the camera also results in the thumb grip being unusually small, and it too offers little grip. Consequently the K-S1 doesn’t sit well in the hand, and if you’ve got large paws, it’s even more uncomfortable.

Thankfully, apart from the position of the mode dial, the control layout is sensible and intuitive. The playback and main menu buttons are both easily reachable, as is the control wheel. Right in front of this is a conveniently located exposure compensation button, cited alongside the Green button. This will reset any value currently being adjusted, or you can customise it to temporarily change the file format, AF point, or activate a depth of field preview.

Pentax K-S1
Top of the Pentax K-S1

The mode dial includes the typical shooting modes, plus a dedicated Bulb Exposure mode for setting an indefinite shutter speed, which is particularly useful when shooting fireworks. There’s also a TAv Shutter & Aperture Priority mode, whereby you define both the aperture and shutter speed and the camera determines the correct exposure by adjusting ISO sensitivity. Finally, turn to the Effects setting and you’ll find a selection of ten different effects filters including various retro and monochrome looks.

Within the mode dial there are buttons to change the drive mode, white balance, flash mode and ISO sensitivity. The latter can be manually defined, or you’re free to adjust the upper limit of auto ISO from anywhere between ISO200 and ISO51200. Where some entry-level DSLRs hide key functions like these away in menus, it’s great that the K-S1 lets you adjust them directly. These buttons encircle the illuminated OK button, which can also change the focus area. Irritatingly this particular button is stiffer and spongier than all the other controls, requiring more of a prod to engage.

Pentax K-S1
The Pentax K-S1 In-hand

Naturally the rear panel is dominated by the 3.0” LCD monitor. Given that the Pentax K-S1 is clearly aimed at the fashion-conscious, it’s a pity the screen isn’t touch-sensitive, but it does nail the essentials. Colour accuracy and viewing angles are first class, whilst the 921k-dot resolution is high enough for accurately judging focus when using Live View. The screen also does justice to Pentax’s new menu design. This is a tweaked version of the company’s existing DSLR menu, which now features a graphical representation of the K-S1’s button layout within the mode dial. It’s still not the most visually impressive interface, but it’s very easy to use and if you press the Info button at the bottom of the rear panel, up pops a quick-reference page displaying a grid of twenty common settings available for fast adjustment.

When it’s time to shoot, the Pentax K-S1 powers up and fires a shot in a nippy 1.5 seconds. Autofocussing is rapid and usually accurate, but very noisy. Where comparable 18-55mm kit lenses from Canon and Nikon include whisper-quiet built-in autofocus motors, the K-S1’s kit lens is driven by a traditional screw drive motor mounted in the camera body. This means you can forget about taking a stealthy shot, but on the upside you will be able to autofocus pretty much any K-mount lens, and you can always upgrade to a Pentax SDM-equipped lens with an internal autofocus motor if you want to quieten things down. By contrast, the Nikon D3300 – or even the mid-range D5500 – don’t have in-body autofocus motors at all, thereby limiting your lens choice you to modern lenses with autofocussing capability. Switching between manual and auto focussing is done using the dial located on the side of the camera, by your left hand. It’s a convenient location – if a little too convenient – as it can easily be knocked into manual focus mode without you realising, or until you wonder why the camera has gone so quiet.

Pentax K-S1
Battery Compartment / Memory Card Slot

The Pentax K-S1’s SAFOX IXi+ autofocus system uses 11 autofocus points, of which nine are the more accurate cross type. The focus points aren’t spread across a particularly large area of frame, but the active focus point is now visible in the viewfinder. A major shortcoming with the outgoing K-500 was its lack of autofocus point display, so it’s good to see that Pentax has restored this key shooting aid. The viewfinder itself also offers a 100% field of view, which is a rarity at this price point and gives you more precise compositional control.

Another useful feature of the K-S1 that the direct competition can’t match is its image stabilisation system. Where most DSLRs rely on a movable glass element within the attached lens to compensate for camera shake, the K-S1 uses a movable sensor. The result is a 2.5-4-stop reduction in shutter speed, but more impressive is that you can achieve this with any K-, KA-, KAF-, KAF2- and KAF3-mount lens and also screw-mounted lenses (with an adapter), plus 645- and 67-system lenses (also with an adapter).

Image Quality

The Pentax K-S1’s new 20.1-megapixel APS-C sensor isn’t quite as pixel packed as the 24.2MP chip in the D3300, but it’s a marked increase over the old 16.3MP K-500, and the difference is boosted by the new camera not having an optical low pass filter.

Detail is impressively well resolved, even at ISO3200, and it’s only at ISO6400 where grain and noise reduction processing start to obscure very fine detail. Grain and colour speckling are more obviously visible at ISO12800, but the setting is still perfectly usable, as is ISO25600 if you’re prepared to downsize images a bit to minimise the level of visible grain. However, ISO51200 is very much a last resort for use in very low light due to high noise and low detail levels.

When you’re not scrutinising detail, the Pentax K-S1 still produces impressive images thanks to its vibrant colour reproduction and excellent dynamic range. Images are accurately exposed, and, unlike some of Pentax’s DSLRs of old, the K-S1 is less prone to underexpose high contrast scenes.

Of course your choice of lens has a big impact on the camera’s image quality, but the 18-55mm kit lens performs well. Sharpness is high, right to the corners of frame. Minor barrel and pincushion distortion is visible at either end of the focal range, but activating the K-S1’s automatic distortion correction feature instantly and effectively resolves this. Chromatic aberration is also evident on high contrast boundaries, and whilst the camera can automatically correct lateral chromatic aberration, it does leave some visible fringing.

Noise

Just as with the K-500 before it, the Pentax K-S1 has a sensitivity range of ISO100-51,200, which is a stop higher than bother the Canon EOS 100D, Nikon D3300 and the D5500. You can set the sensitivity in 1, 1/2 or 1/3 EV increments and the upper ISO limit for Auto ISO can also be user defined from ISO51200 right down to ISO200.

JPEG

RAW

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

iso100.jpg iso100raw.jpg
   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

iso200.jpg iso200raw.jpg
   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

iso400.jpg iso400raw.jpg
   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

iso800.jpg iso800raw.jpg
   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

iso1600.jpg iso1600raw.jpg
   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

iso3200.jpg iso3200raw.jpg
   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

iso6400.jpg iso6400raw.jpg
   

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

iso12800.jpg iso12800raw.jpg
   

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

ISO 25600 (100% Crop)

iso25600.jpg iso25600raw.jpg
   

ISO 51200 (100% Crop)

ISO 51200 (100% Crop)

iso51200.jpg iso51200raw.jpg

Focal Range

The Pentax K-S1 is available body only, or in a kit with an 18-55mm lens giving a 3x optical zoom equivalent to 27-82.5mm in 35mm camera terms.

27mm

82.5mm

focal_range1.jpg focal_range2.jpg

File Quality

The Pentax K-S1 will capture JPEG images in fine, normal and basic quality settings. It’ll also record RAW files in the widely compatible DNG format, and will shoot RAW+JPEG with any JPEG compression setting.

Best (12.5Mb) (100% Crop)

Better (5.68Mb) (100% Crop)

quality_fine.jpg quality_standard.jpg
   

Good (2.72Mb) (100% Crop)

RAW (29.2Mb) (100% Crop)

quality_basic.jpg quality_raw.jpg

Macro

Although the standard 18-55mm kit lens is not a dedicated macro lens, it’ll still focus as close as 11cm from your subject and will do so even when using a 55mm focal length. Consequently it’s surprisingly easy to capture detailed close-up shots with a smooth background bokeh blur.

Macro

Macro (100% Crop)

macro1.jpg macro1a.jpg

Flash

The Pentax K-S1’s built-in flash has an approximate power rating of GN10. Our testing revealed the flash produces only minor vignetting when shooting a white scene from a distance of 1.5m at an 18mm focal length. Red-eye is also successfully eliminated, even without using red-eye reduction.

Flash Off - Wide Angle (27mm)

Flash On - Wide Angle (27mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Flash Off - Telephoto (202.5mm)

Flash On - Telephoto (202.5mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Flash On setting or the Red-eye Reduction option caused any amount of red-eye.

Flash On

Flash On (100% Crop)
flash_on.jpg flash_on1.jpg
   

Red-eye Reduction

Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

flash_redeye.jpg flash_redeye1.jpg

Night

The camera’s Night Scene mode seems to offer little benefit over using conventional Auto mode, as both modes work by raising the sensor sensitivity. This scene is captured in Night Scene more, but with auto ISO capped at ISO400, giving a 1.5-second shutter speed at f/4.

Night

Night (100% Crop)

night1.jpg night1a.jpg

Shake Reduction

Pentax’s Shake Reduction system does a great job of compensating for camera movement and allows you to use up to a 4-stop slower shutter speed than would be possible with the system switched off. Shake Reduction is less essential when shooting at the short focal lengths of the 18-55mm kit lens, but it comes into its own in low light and when using telephoto lenses.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length

Shake Reduction Off (100% Crop)

Shake Reduction On (100% Crop)

1/10th / 27mm antishake1.jpg antishake1a.jpg

Effects

Turn the Pentax K-S1’s mode dial to ‘Effects’ and ten colour filters are available to help spice up your shots. Choose from: Faded Color, Clear Tone, Brilliant Color, Unicolor Bold, Vintage Color, Cross Processing, Warm Fade, Bold Monochrome, Infrared Filter and Vibrant Color Enhance effects. All are applied at full resolution.

Faded Color

Clear Tone

effects_01.jpg effects_02.jpg
   

Brilliant Color

Unicolor Bold

effects_03.jpg effects_04.jpg
   

Vintage Color

Cross Processing

effects_05.jpg effects_06.jpg
   

Warm Fade

Bold Monochrome

effects_07.jpg effects_08.jpg
   

Infrared Filter

Vibrant Color Enhance

effects_09.jpg effects_10.jpg

Anti-Aliasing Filter Simulator

The Pentax K-S1 follows in the wake of cameras like the K-5 IIs and Nikon D810 by not including an optical low pass filter. These are fitted to most cameras to eliminate the problem of moiré. If you’ve ever seen someone on television wearing a pinstripe shirt, chances are strange wavy coloured bands (moiré) may appear across it.

This effect is produced when repetitive detail patterns are too fine for an image sensor’s pixel array to capture accurately. Fitting an optical low pass filter in front of the sensor guards against the phenomena by blurring an image ever so slightly, but just enough to take the edge off fine patterns and eliminate moiré. Trouble is, the filter blurs every single shot, yet most scenes you snap are unlikely to feature moiré-inducing patterns.

Nowadays larger, high-megapixel sensors are less susceptible to moiré, hence the potential to capture more detail by removing the optical low pass filter outweighs the rare instances where moiré may be visible. In reality, the extra detail benefits are very subtle and you’ll probably need to shoot using a tripod, low ISO sensitivity and a high quality lens set at its optimal aperture to see a difference.

But on the flip side, any problems with moiré are so uncommon you’re only likely to encounter them when shooting resolution test charts in a studio environment. If you do ever spot some interference in the real world, the K-S1 has a simulated optical low pass simulator. This works using the sensor’s Shake Reduction mechanics, which minutely vibrate the sensor to create the same level of blur as a conventional optical low pass filter provides. But the beauty of this system is you can choose when to use it.

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Pentax K-S1 camera, which were all taken using the 20 megapixel Best JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Pentax K-S1 enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files in either the PEF or DNG formats. We've provided some Pentax RAW (DNG) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

The Pentax K-S1 can record HD video in the Motion JPEG (MOV) format. This is a sample movie at the highest quality setting of 1920x1280 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 15 second movie is 42.8Mb in size.

Product Images

Pentax K-S1

Front of the Pentax K-S1

 
Pentax K-S1

Front of the Pentax K-S1

 
Pentax K-S1

Front of the Pentax K-S1 / Pop-Up Flash

 
Pentax K-S1

Side of the Pentax K-S1

 
Pentax K-S1

Side of the Pentax K-S1

 
Pentax K-S1

Rear of the Pentax K-S1

 
Pentax K-S1

Rear of the Pentax K-S1 / Image Displayed

 
Pentax K-S1

Rear of the Pentax K-S1 / OK Screen

 
Pentax K-S1

Top of the Pentax K-S1

 

Pentax K-S1

Bottom of the Pentax K-S1

 
Pentax K-S1

Side of the Pentax K-S1

 
Pentax K-S1

Side of the Pentax K-S1

 
Pentax K-S1

Front of the Pentax K-S1

 
Pentax K-S1

Front of the Pentax K-S1

 
Pentax K-S1
Memory Card Slot / Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The K-S1 is an interesting successor to the outgoing K-500. Where that camera was a great introduction to DSLR photography with its solid all-round performance and intuitive controls, the K-S1 picks up the same baton but also adds a level of style you won’t find with competing DSLRs.

However, whilst Pentax should be praised for trying to differentiate its cameras in a crowded market, the K-S1’s unique style is not without drawbacks. The pared-down shape isn’t as ergonomic as a conventional design, whilst the lack of rubberised grips also makes it slippery. The new Indicator Lamps are certainly a talking point, but it’s hard to see them as much more than a gimmick. We’d rather the camera sported a touch-sensitive screen instead, which would be a far more compelling feature in this sector.

Luckily if you look beyond the questionable styling, the K-S1 performs rather well. It may not have the highest megapixel count of its rivals, but the camera resolves plenty of detail, especially thanks to Pentax ditching a conventional optical low pass filter to maximise fine detail capture. The K-S1’s low light image quality is impressive too, as is the camera’s dynamic range, accurate exposure metering and reliable automatic white balance. If you can put up with the noisy autofocussing with the kit lens, then autofocus performance is very good as well.

Aside from the iffy ergonomics, the K-S1 is also a pleasure to use, with a no-nonsense menu system and simple controls which still include dedicated buttons for ISO and white balance; buttons that are sometimes omitted from entry-level DSLRs.

Ultimately the K-S1 is a very capable camera that, ironically, is let down by some of the very aspects intended to make it stand out. However, if you’re prepared to sacrifice ergonomics for style, but still want great performance, image quality, and a tech spec to rival a midrange DSLR; the K-S1 certainly offers impressive value for money.

4 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 3.5
Features 4
Ease-of-use 4
Image quality 4.5
Value for money 5

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Pentax K-S1.

Canon EOS 100D

The Canon EOS 100D (called the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 in North America) is the smallest and lightest DSLR in the World. The tiny new Canon 100D / SL1 boasts 18-megapixels, full 1080p high-definition videos with continuous auto-focusing, and a touch-screen interface. Other key features of the 100D / SL1 include burst shooting at 4fps, a 3-inch LCD screen with 1,040k dot resolution, ISO range of 100-25,600, 14-bit image processing and Canon's Digic 5 processor. Is the Canon EOS 100D / SL1 just too small for its own good? Read our expert review to find out...

Canon EOS 1200D

The Canon EOS 1200D (called the Canon EOS Rebel T5 in North America) is a new DSLR camera for beginners. The Canon 1200D / T5 offers an 18 megapixel sensor, 3 inch LCD screen, 1080p movies, 63-zone metering, and 9-point auto-focus system. Available body only from £349 and with a zoom lens from £449 / $549, read our Canon EOS 1200D / T5 review to find out if this brand new budget DSLR is a bargain or not...

Nikon D3300

The Nikon D3300 is a brand new entry-level digital SLR camera with a 24 megapixel sensor, no optical low-pass filter, 50/60p Full HD movies, a 3 inch LCD screen, 5fps burst shooting and an ISO range of 100-25600. Read our detailed Nikon D3300 review, complete with sample JPEG and raw photos, test shots, videos and more...

Nikon D5300

The Nikon D5300 is a new 24 megapixel mid-range DSLR camera with built-in wi-fi and GPS connectivity. The D5300 also offers 1080/50/60p video recording, ISO range of 100-25600, 5fps continuous shooting, a range of creative effects, 3.2 inch LCD screen, and a 39-point autofocus system. Read our in-depth Nikon D5300 review now...

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Pentax K-S1 from around the web.

techradar.com »

Despite the fact that Pentax does indeed make some very good DSLRs, it always plays second fiddle to the big names of Canon and Nikon. It's possibly for this reason that in recent years, the company has tended towards gimmicks to try and shift units. Here with the K-S1, it's available in an array of bewildering colours, including a new "sweets" collection (yipee).
Read the full review »

trustedreviews.com »

The Pentax K-S1 is a DSLR with a difference, one that tries to infuse some of the lifestyle flavour we see more commonly in compact cameras and, to a lesser extent, CSCs. What this means in practice is that you can to choose between loads of colour combinations besides boring old black, its shape is a little unusual, and that parts of the camera light-up during operation. It’s a DSLR, looked at from a slightly askew perspective.
Read the full review »

ephotozine.com »

A revamped body style, some flashing lights and a multitude of bright colour options herald the entry of a new range of Pentax DSLRs. This is the K-S1, aimed clearly at a younger market but retaining some very traditional photographic features. Is this the best of two worlds combined, or a matter of glitz over substance? Let's have a look and find out.
Read the full review »

pcmag.com »

Ricoh turned more than a few heads when it announced the Pentax K-S1 ($649.95, body only). To call the 20-megapixel D-SLR quirky doesn't do it justice. Yes, it's shaped like an SLR, but bold color choices, an angular design, and a slew of disco light buttons leaves you wondering just what the target market for this camera is.
Read the full review »

whatdigitalcamera.com »

While we may be accustomed to plain DSLRs in the UK – with most models available in colour so long as it’s black – that’s not the case in other countries around the world and certainly not the case in Japan.
Read the full review »

Specifications

Type
Camera Type

TTL autofocus, auto-exposure SLR digital-still camera with built-in retractable P-TTL flash

AA Filter Simulator: Moiré reduction using SR unit. OFF/Type1/Type2/Bracket

Sensor
Type CMOS with primary color filter
Size 23.5 x 15.6mm
Total Pixels approx. 20.42MP
Effective Pixels approx. 20.12MP
Still

JPEG:L(20M: 5472x3648), M(12M:4224x2816), S(6M:3072x2048), XS(2M:1920x1280)

4 quality level of JPEG ★★★ (Best), ★★ (Better), ★ (Good)

RAW:L(20M:5472x3648)
RAW (12bit): PEF, DNG

File Format RAW (PEF/DNG), JPEG (Exif 2.30), DCF2.0 compliant

RAW and JPEG simultaneously recordable

Movie

Full HD (1920x1080, 16:9, 30fps/25fps/24fps)

HD (1280x720, 16:9, 60fps/50fps/30fps/25fps/24fps)

VGA (640x480, 4:3, 30fps/25fps/24fps)

Quality levels ★★★(Best), ★★(Better), ★(Good)

Sensitivity ISO AUTO/100 to 51200 (EV steps can be set to 1EV, 1/2EV, or 1/3EV)
Shake Reduction Sensor shift Shake Reduction
Sensor Cleaning Dust Removal: SP coating and CMOS sensor operations
Lens
Mount PENTAX KAF2 bayonet mount (AF coupler, lens information contacts, K-mount with power contacts)
Usable lenses KAF3, KAF2 (power zoom not compatible), KAF, KA mount lenses
Focusing System
Type SAFOX IXi+ with TTL, phase-matching autofocus
Functions

Focus Sensor: 11 point (9 cross type focus points in the center)

Brightness Range: EV-1 to 18 (ISO 100 / at normal temperature)

AF Point Selection: Auto: 5 points, Auto: 11 points, Select, Expanded Area Select, Spot

AF Modes Single AF (AF.S), Continuous AF (AF.C), Auto select AF (AF.A)
AF assist Dedicated LED AF assist light
Viewfinder
Type

Pentaprism Finder

Field of View

Approx. 100%

Magnification

Approx. 0.95x (50mm F1.4 at infinity)

Focusing screen

Interchangeable Natural-Bright-Matte III focusing screen

Indication

Eye-Relief Length: Approx. 20.5mm (from the view window), Approx 22.3mm (from the center of lens)

Diopter adjustment

Approx. -2.5m to + 1.5m-1

Screen
Type

3’’ (7.6cm), TFT color LCD monitor, wide angle viewing,
Brightness, Saturation and Colors adjustable

Resolution Approx. 921k dots
Playback

Single frame, multi-image display (6,12, 20, 35, 80 segmentation), Display magnification (up to 16x, Quick magnification available), Rotating, Histogram (Y histogram, RGB histogram), Bright area warning, Detailed inf, Copyright Information (Photographyer, Copyright holder), Folder Display, Calendar Filmstrip Display, Slide Show, GPS information (Latitude, Longitude, Altitude, Time (UTC), Direction

Liveview
LiveView

Type: TTL method using CMOS image sensor

Focusing Mechanism:
Contrast detection ( Face Detection, Face Detection Assist, Tracking, Multiple AF points, Select, Spot)
Focus peaking: ON/OFF

Display:
Field of View approx. 100%, Magnified view (2x, 4x, 8x, 10x),
Grid display (4x4 Grid, Golden Section, Scale display), Histogram, Bright area warning

Shutter
Type Electronically controlled vertical-run focal plan shutter
Speed Auto: 1/6000 to 30 sec., Manual: 1/6000 to 30 sec. (1/3EV step or 1/2EV step), Bulb.
X-Synchronization Sync Speed : 1/180 sec.
Exposure system
Metering TTL open aperture, 77 segmented metering, center-weighted and spot metering
Exposure Modes

Auto Picture mode (Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Moving Object, Night Scene Portrait, Sunset, Blue Sky, Forest), Scene Mode: Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Moving Object, Night Scene Portrait, Sunset, Blue Sky, Forest, Night Scene, Night Scene HDR*, Night Snap, Food, Pet, Kids, Surf & Snow, Backlight Silhouette, Candlelight, Stage Lighting, Museum

EFFECT Mode: Faded Color, Clear Tone, Brilliant Color, Unicolor Bold, Vintage Color, Cross Processing, Warm Fade, Tone Expansion, Bold Monochrome, Infrared FIlter, Vibrant Color Enhance Program, Sensitivity Priority, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Shutter & Aperture Priority, Manual, Bulb

*JPEG only

Metering Range EV0 to 22 (ISO100 at 50mm F1.4)
Auto Exposure Lock Can be assigned to the AF/AE-L button from the menu
Compensation ± 5EV (1/2EV step or 1/3EV can be selected)
Flash
Type

Built-in retractable P-TTL auto pop-up flash

Guide Number

approx. 10 (ISO 100/m)

Modes

Auto Flash Discharge, Auto Flash + Red-eye Reduction (Auto Picture, Scene) Flash On, Flash On+ Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Trailing Curtain Sync, Manual Flash Discharge (Full-1/128)

External Flash: P-TTL, Leading Curtain Sync, Trailing Curtain Sync, Contrast-control-sync, High-speed sync, wireless sync (available with 2 dedicated external flash)

Angle of View Coverage

Angle of view: coverage: wide angle-lens, equ. to 28mm in 35mm format

Exposure Compensation –2.0 to +1.0 EV
Exposure Parameters
Modes

Drive Modes

Mode Selection:

Single frame, Continuous (Hi, Lo), Self-timer (12sec., 2sec.), Remote Control (0 sec., 3 sec.), Auto Bracketing (3 frames)

Movie: Remote Control

Continuous shooting :

Max. approx. 5.4 fps, JPEG ( L: ★★★ at Continuous H): up to approx. 20 frames, RAW: up to approx. 5 frames
Max. approx. 3.0 fps, JPEG L: ★★★ at Continuous L): up to approx. 100 frames, RAW: up to approx. 8 frames
*ISO100

Capture Functions

Custom Image: Bright, Natural, Portrait, Landscape, Vibrant, Radiant, Muted, Bleach Bypass, Reversal Film, Monochrome, Cross Processing

Noise Reduction: Slow Shutter Speed NR, High-ISO NR

Dynamic Range Setting: Highlight Correction, Shadow Correction

Lens Correction: Distortion Correction, Lateral Chromatic Aberration Correction, Peripheral Illumin. Correction, Diffraction Correction

Digital Filter: Extract Color, Replace Color, Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Shading, Invert Color, Unicolor Bold, Bold Monochrome

HDR Capture: Auto, HDR1, HDR2, HDR3, Exposure Bracket Value adjustable, Automatic composition correction function

White Balance

Type: Method using a combination of the CMOS image sensor and the light source detection sensor

White Balance: AUTO WB, Multi Auto WB, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent Light (D:Daylight Color, N:Daylight White, W:Cool White, L:Warm White), Tungsten Light, Flash, CTE, Manual WB, Color Temperature Configuration, Copying the white balance setting of a captured image

Fine Adjustment: Adjustable ±7 steps on A-B axis or G-M axis

Digital Filter

Extract Color, Replace Color, Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Shading, Invert Color, Unicolor Bold, Bold Monochrome

Movie
Recording

File Format: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (MOV)

Recorded Pixels: Full HD(1920x1080, 30p/25p/24p), HD (1280x720, 60p/50p)

Sound: Built-in stereo microphone, Recording Sound Level adjustable.

Recording Time: Up to 25 minutes or 4GB ; automatically stops recording if the internal temperature of the camera becomes high.

Custom Images: Bright, Natural, Portrait, Landscape, Vibrant, Radiant, Muted, Bleach Bypass, Reversal Film, Monochrome, Cross Processing

Cross Processing: Randum, Preset 1-3, Favorite 1-3.

Digital Filter: Extract Color, Replace Color, Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Shading, Invert Color, Unicolor Bold, Bold Monochrome

Editing Divide or delete selected frames, Capturing a JPEG still picture from a movie
Playback
Digital Filter

Base Parameter Adj, Extract Color, Replace Color, Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Shading, Invert Color, Unicolor Bold, Bold Monochrome, Tone Expansion, Sketch, Water Color, Pastel, Posterization, Miniature, Soft, Starburst, Fish-eye, Slim, Monochrome

Options

Playback View:

Single frame, multi-image display (6,12, 20, 35, 80 segmentation), Display magnification (up to 16x, Quick magnification available), Rotating, Histogram (Y histogram, RGB histogram), Bright area warning, Detailed inf, Copyright Information (Photographyer, Copyright holder), Folder Display, Calendar Filmstrip Display, Slide Show, GPS information (Latitude, Longitude, Altitude, Time (UTC), Direction

Delete: Delete single image, Delete all, Select & delete, Delete folder, Delete instant review image

RAW Development:

RAW file select: Select Single Image, Select Multiple Images, Select a folder

RAW Development Parameter:

File Format (JPEG), Aspect ratio, JPEG recorded pixels, JPEG Quality, Color Space, Distortion Correction, Lateral Chromatic Aberration Correction, Peripheral Illumin. Correction, Diffraction Correction, Color Fringe Correction, White Balance, Custom Image, Digital Filter, Sensitivity, High-ISO NR, Shadow Correction

Edit: Color Moiré Correction, Resize, Cropping (Aspect ratio and Slant adjustment available), Movie

Edit (Divide or Delete selected frames), Capturing a JPEG still picture from a movie, Saving RAW data in buffer memory, Eye-Fi Image Transfer

Storage
External

Compatible with SD, SDHC, and SDXC Memory Card (Conforms to USH-1 standards), Eye-Fi card, FLU card.

File Format

RAW (PEF/DNG), JPEG (Exif 2.30), DCF2.0 compliant

Image sizes:

JPEG: L(20M: 5472x3648), M(12M:4224x2816), S(6M:3072x2048), XS(2M:1920x1280)

RAW: L(20M:5472x3648)

Quality level:

RAW: (12bit): PEF, DNG

JPEG: ★★★ (Best), ★★ (Better), ★ (Good)

RAW and JPEG simultaneously recordable

Color space: sRGB, Adobe RGB

File Name

Storage Folder:

Folder name: Date (100_1018,101_1019...) or User assigned folder name (Default "PENTX")

Recording File:

File name: ""IMGP****"" or User assingned file name

File name numbering: Sequential, Reset

Special Features
Features

World time : 75 cities, 28 time zones

Custom Functions : 26 items

Mode Memory : 11 items

Button/Dial Customization: 

Green Button (Green Button, One Push File Format, Optical Preview, Digital Preview, Select AF Point)
AF/AE-L Button (AF1, AF2, Cancel AF, AE Lock) Separate customization for movie available
E-Dial Programming (Rotate Right, Rotate Left)

Text Size: Standard, Large

AF Fine Adjustment: ±10 step, Uniform adjustment, Individual adjustment (up to 20 can be saved)

Copyright Information: Names of "Photographer" and "Copyright Holder" are embedded to the image file.
Revision history can be checked using the provided software.

Language

English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Greek, Russian, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional) and Japanese

Interface
Interface

Connection Port: USB2.0 (micro B, high-speed compatible), HDMI output terminal (Type D)

USB Connection: MSC/PTP

Power
Source

Battery Type: Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery D-LI109

AC Adapter: AC Adapter Kit K-AC128 (Optional)

Performance

Number of recordable images:

(with 50% flash usage): approx. 410 images,
(without flash usage): approx: 480 images

Playback time: Approx. 270 minutes

* With a fully-recharged Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery under the temperature at 23°C. Tested in compliance with CIPA standard.

Actual results may vary depending on the shooting condition.

Dimensions
Height 92.5mm
Width 120mm
Depth

69.5mm

Weight

Approx. 558g (Including dedicated battery and 1x SD Memory Card),

Approx. 498g (body only)

Compatibility
PC

Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 8.1

Mac 10.6 or above
Accessories
Included Software

Digital Camera Utility 5

Kit Content

Rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery D-LI109
Battery Charger D-BC109
AC cable D-COE
Strap O-ST132
Software (CD-ROM) S-SW151
Eyecup FR
Hot shoe cover FK
Body mount cover
Lens front ring O-FR52 black or white

Optional

Lens front ring O-FR52 set - 31577
Flucard for Pentax 16GB O-FC1 - 38610*
Lithium-Ion battery D-LI109 - 39067
Battery Charger kit K-BC109 - 39032
AC Adapter Kit K-AC128- 38822
Black SLR case - 50099
White SLR case - 50276
SLR backpack - 50278
Remote control O-RC1 - 39892
Ring fl ash AF 160FC - 30477
Flash AF 200FG - 30465
Flash AF 360FGZ II - 30438
Flash AF 540FGZ II - 30456
O-ICK1 sensor cleaning kit - 39357
O-GPS1 GPS unit - 39012 **

*FLU Card: Remote Release, Image Browsing

**GPS Unit: O-GPS1:Latitude, Longitude, Altitude, Time (UTC), Direction Electronic Compass, ASTROTRACER

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