Pentax Q7

The Pentax Q7 is one of the lightest and smallest mirrorless interchangeable lens camera and it has the largest sensor of any the cameras in the Q range, a 12.4 MP 1/1.7″ Backlit CMOS sensor. This sensor produces high resolution low-noise images in both JPEG and 12-bit RAW formats.

The Pentax Q7 has a small rubberized body (the same body design as its predecessor) and delivers SLR-like performance and image quality. The Q7 can easily capture quick action with Fast Autofocus (with the shooter speeds of up to 1/8000 seconds) and with continuous shooting of 5 fps in full resolution. The Q7 can also record videos in 1080p Full HD resolution in the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format. A built-in microphone is present to record sound for videos.

Also present on the Pentax Q7 is a 3.0″ TFT LCD monitor with a 100% field of view and 460k-dot resolution. The autofocus and the manual focus are available. Also, the Q7 has the Auto and the Manual Exposure mode which allows the user to use traditional DSLR exposure modes, such as Av (Aperture priority), P (Program), Tv (Shutter priority) and M (manual). The in-camera Sensor-shift Shake Reduction operates independently of the camera’s lenses and stabilizes images for clear, blur-free quality even in low-light conditions. A built-in retractable P-TTL flash unit completes the features list of the Pentax Q7.

The Pentax Q7 is available in the three standard colors (silver, yellow and black) but, in addition, consumers can make no less than 120 color combinations.

Pentax Q7

Pentax Q7 key features:

• Sensor: 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor with a primary color filter
• Sensitivity: ISO 100 to 12800
• Image Stabilizer: Sensor Shift Shake Reduction
• File formats: still images – RAW, JPEG; movies – MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
• Storage media: SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card
• Monitor: 3.0″ TFT LCD monitor with 100% field of view
• Autofocus: contrast detection AF
• Interfaces: USB 2.0 High-Speed; HDMI Type D; AV output terminal

built-in retractable flash of Q7

Pentax Q7 reviews:

The Pentax Q7 has a total of 17 “Digital Filters” that are familiar to anyone who has used a compact camera or a smartphone. 11 of these filters can be applied while shooting and six can be added post-capture. More details you can find on dpreview.com website, that concludes:

The new 1/1.7″ sensor has definitely served the camera well, loads of advanced features and customization options give it a little more enthusiast appeal, and it’s just so darn small. JPEG images from the camera display very good color rendition and exposure, all things considered, and there are great gains to be made in image quality by taking advantage of the Q7’s Raw shooting capabilities.

Another Pentax Q7 review comes from Photography Blog, that concludes:

In terms of picture quality this is where the Q7, whilst by no means terrible, nevertheless falls down, being neither a match for fellow CSC’s in this price bracket nor entry level digital SLRs it might offer an alternative to, As it is, we would neither suggest it as a replacement for or alternative to a DSLR.

The Pentax Q7 has a basic body style that can easily be compared to a plethora of point and shoot cameras. Its box-like structure has a small but useful hand grip. More details about built, design and controls of the Pentax Q7 you can read on Digitalcamerareview.com website.

The Q7’s default image processing produces very natural tones, accurately reproducing the scene even in questionable lighting. Exposure metering is also generally accurate in good light. More about the image quality you can read on Pentax Q7 review by whatdigitalcamera.com, whose verdict is:

The Pentax Q7, and by extension the whole of the Q system, is a difficult thing to summarise. On the one hand you have a surprisingly capable little camera with a good range of features, excellent build quality, performance and handling, and image quality that compares well to most high-end compacts. It’s a genuinely nice camera to use, and its compact size means you can take it anywhere, and the best camera in the world is the camera you have with you when you need to take a picture.

Pentax Q7

Pentax Q7

Q7 LCD monitor

Pentax Q7

Pentax Q7

Pentax WG-3

The Pentax WG-3 is a ruggedized point-and-shoot compact digital camera that was designed for use un extreme outdoor conditions. The Pentax WG-3 is waterproof to 46 feet, shockproof to 6.5 feet, coldproof to 14°F (-10°C), crushproof against up to 220 foot pounds of force and also it is dustproof.

This rugged camera has a backlit CMOS image sensor with a resolution of 16 MP and a primary color filter. This sensor, together with the imaging processor, provide a sensitivity range of ISO 125 to 6400. The WG-3’s sensor sits behind a 4x optical zoom lens, that has a wide, fast f/2.0 maximum aperture and an effective focal lengths of 4.5 – 18 mm (equivalent to 25-100 mm in 35mm format). The Pentax WG-3 utilizes two form of image stabilization to compensate the effect of camera shake: sensor-shift and digital.

Also present on this camera is a 3″, 460k-pixel 16:9 widescreen TFT LCD monitor that has an anti-reflective coating and that offers a 170° horizontal and vertical viewing angle. Videos are recorded in Full HD 1080p at 30 fps with h.264 compression. The optical zoom is available during recording.

Connectivity includes a NTSC/PAL composite video output port, an USB 2.0 High Speed and a Type-D Micro HDMI port. Files are stored on Secure Digital cards, including SDHC and SDXC types.

The Pentax WG-3 is available in black, orange, green or white and comes with a carabiner strap and a macro stand included in the box.

WG-3

Pentax WG-3 key features:

• Sensor: 1/2.3″ Backlite CMOS; 16 mp
• Lens: 4x optical zoom lens with 9 elements in 7 groups
• Digital zoom: 7.2x
• Aperture: F2.0-4.9
• Monitor: 3″ widescreen TFT color LCD with anti-reflective coating on cover; 460,000 dots
• Storage media: Internal Memory (70MB); SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card
• Interface: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed; HDMI (Micro, Type-D)
• Sensitivity: ISO 125 – 6400
• File formats: still – JPEG; Movie – MP4 (AVC h.264); Sound – WAV

WG-3 display

Pentax WG-3 reviews:

You can read about design, features and performances of this camera on Pentax WG-3 review from pcmag.com website.

Other interesting things about WG-3 you can read on thephoblographer.com website, a place where you can see also a lot of sample images.

Pentax WG-3

Pentax WG-3 white

Pentax WG-3 with carabiner strap

WG-3

Pentax WG-3

WG-3 orange

Pentax MX-1

The Pentax MX-1 is a compact point-and-shoot camera that reminds us of an era where cameras had metal top and baseplates with leather around the middle. Particularly, MX1 reminds us of the legendary MX, a 35mm film SLR, that was the company’s flagship camera in the late 1970s.

The MX-1 is the first premium compact camera from Pentax, and features a 4x optical zoom lens and a 12 MP back-illuminated CMOS image sensor. The new Pentax MX-1 also features an ISO range of 100 – 12800, 1080p movie recording, sensor-shift shake reduction system and a 3.0-inch tilting LCD monitor.

The Pentax MX-1 also features an infrared remote control system with two built-in sensors, that allows the shutter to be wirelessly triggered from behind or in front of the camera using the same remotes as used with Pentax’s DSLRs.

Pentax’s Custom Images are 5 preset combinations of different sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tone settings. The Pentax MX-1 also can be set to compensate the distortion of its lens.

The Pentax MX-1 is available in black or black and silver.

Pentax MX-1

Pentax MX-1 specs

• Sensor: 1/1.7″ Backlit CMOS, 12.0 effective MP
• Lens: Pentax zoom lens, 11 elements in 8 groups
• Zoom: 4x optical; 1.95x digital
• Aperture: F8 to F1.8 (wide)
• Monitor: 3.0″ Tiltable color TFT, 920000 dots
• Storage: SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card
• Sensitivity: ISO 100 – 12800
• File format: still – RAW, JPEG; movie – MPEG4 AVC/H264
• Interfaces: NTSC/PAL video out; USB 2.0 Hi-Speed; HDMI Type D

MX-1 display

Pentax MX-1 reviews:

The Pentax MX-1 produces photos of good quality, with noise well controlled, and starting to appear at ISO 800. The night images is excellent, with the maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds, allowing to capture enough light in all situations. More about this you can read on Pentax MX-1 review from photographyblog.com. This website concludes:

 If you’re looking for a good-looking, well-built, advanced compact camera, and you can afford to take a slightly more leisurely view of the world, then the new Pentax MX-1 is well worth considering.

Another MX-1 review comes from dpreview.com website. The experts of this website notes that one notable feature are the two infrared sensors, one front, one back. On this website you can read more details about body, design and controls of Pentax MX-1.

Pentax MX-1 tilt LCD

Pentax MX-1 controls

Pentax MX-1

Pentax MX-1 tilting display

Pentax K-30

The Pentax K-30 is a waterproof SLR digital camera that combines a compact, lightweight but rugged body with many advanced features. The Pentax K-30 is a mid-level DSLR designed to be a perfect outdoor camera for photographers who need a camera with rugged construction and a large sensor.

Key features of Pentax K-30 include a dustproof, cold-resistant and weather-resistant body construction, a 16.3 MP APS-C CMOS sensor, Full HD 1080p video, an ISO range of 100 – 25,600, a 3-inch LCD monitor with 920k dots and a low profile glass pentaprism viewfinder. The K-30 also offers 6 fps continuous shooting, top shutter speed of 1/6000 second, 11-point AF system, built-in dust removal and shake-reduction system and Live View with Face recognition.

The Pentax K-30 has an improved High Dynamic Range (HDR) Capture option that takes three images with different exposures and then records a single image that combines the properly exposed parts of each one. The K-30 also has a multi exposure mode that allows to combine between two and nine different RAW or JPEG images into a single photo.

Pentax K30

Pentax K-30 key features:

• Sensor: 23.7 x 15.7 mm (APS-C) CMOS, 16.5 MP
• Lens: Pentax KAF2 bayonet stainless steel mount
• Viewfinder: Pentaprism type with 100% coverage
• Monitor: 3.0″ TFT LCD, 921000 dots
• Flash: retractable P-TTL popup flash
• Storage: SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card
• Interface: AV out, USB 2.0 hi-speed
• Microphone: built-in, monaural
• Sensitivity: ISO 100 – 25600

Pentax K30 body

Pentax K-30 reviews:

On the top-plate of the Pentax K-30 you can find a lot of characteristic Pentax features such as the Green button and the TAv and Sv exposure modes on the mode dial. The Green button resets the camera to its exposure program line. The Sv mode allows you to specify an ISO setting with the camera choosing shutter speed and aperture. The TAv mode allows to specify shutter speed and aperture with the camera choosing ISO. More about controls and menus of this camera you can read on Pentax K-30 review from dpreview.com website.

On the K-30 review, the imaging-resource.com website says that one of the main areas where the Pentax K-30 offers a significant advantage over the company’s flagship model is its video capture capabilities.

The Pentax K-30 produces photos of excellent quality with noise well controlled. The noise starts to appear at ISO 1600 and becomes easily detectable at ISO 6400, particularly in the RAW files. More about the image quality of the K-30 you can find on photographyblog.com website. The experts of this website conclude:

The Pentax K-30 is a great alternative to similar offerings from the likes of Nikon, Canon and Sony, proving that Pentax can continue to deliver the goods in their core business, despite recent misfires in the world of compact system cameras. If you’re looking for an intuitive, fast DSLR that delivers great pictures, then the Pentax K-30 certainly fits the bill.

Pentax K-30 controls

The Pentax K-30 is solid, robust and highly durable that’s because it has a stainless steel chassis (which is different to the K-5’s magnesium alloy chassis). The deep grip gives plenty to wrap your fingers around and your index finger is left to rest on the shutter button. More about Pentax K-30 design you can read on whatdigitalcamera.com website.

Another Pentax K-30 short review comes from pocket-lint.com website, where you can find other interesting technical details.

Opinions of professional photographers about Pentax K-30 can be found on popphoto.com website.

Pentax K-30

Pentax K-30 LCD Monitor

Pentax K-30

K-30

Pentax K30

Pentax K-30

Pentax K30