The Pentax Q has been available for a while as a kit with the 47mm (eqv.) prime and the 24-85mm (eqv.) zoom. The prime in this context seemed quite superfluous (our tests showed the zoom of equivalent in image quality to the prime) and just added to the price.

Luckily, Pentax is now releasing a new kit consisting of the Q and the zoom only. This new kit retails for $699; the savings are thus about $50 compared to buying the two items individually.

Read our review of the Q here and buy it here.

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Earlier today, people around the world were able to observe the planet Venus as it passed in front of the Sun! This rare orbital occurrence will not happen again until the year 2117 (in more than a century)!

Some of our members have captured photos of the sighting, and we even have a video of it for you.  We hope you enjoy!

Don't forget to visit the Post Your Photos forum for more!

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Following yesterday's nationwide price drop to $959, it seems than B&H photo is now matching the Amazon price of $919 for the Pentax K-5. This is an all-time low K-5 price from an authorized Pentax dealer in the US- even lower than the great Cyber Monday deal that was offered earlier this year. Now that only $70 separates the K-5 and new mid-range K-30 in terms of price, the decision for new camera buyers will be harder than ever, but we'd like to help you make the decision by offering a brief comparison of the two cameras!

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The price of the Pentax K-5, Pentax's current APS-C flagship DSLR, has dropped to $959.95 at major retailers in the US, hereunder Adorama and B&H, and is selling for as little as $910 on Amazon.com (the official price remains fixed at $959.59, however).

Does this mean that we will see a successor to the K-5 sooner that we thought? In any event, now is the time to acquire this great camera at a great price!  It seems that the US K-5 price has finally dropped to what the camera has been going for in Canada for the past few months.

If you're considering a K-5, be sure to read our in-depth Pentax K-5 review and also check out the many user reveiws in our database.

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We are very happy to announce the winners of our 2011 Holiday Giveaway, who will soon be receiving over $1000 in prizes sponsored by B&H Photo!

All members who entered this giveaway submitted a photo article on a topic of their choice.  Our editorial staff then picked over a dozen of semafinalist articles which were showcased on our homepage over the course of two months, and then voted upon by our members.  The winning articles are listed below!

First Place: Making the Most of Long Exposure Handhelds In our winning article, forum member Heie shows off how to properly hold a camera by applying military techniques.  We're not surprised that our members loved this article, as even Gizmodo picked up on it!
Second Place: Old School Ideas for Digital Photography Our second-place winner, k9lover, tells you how to apply various techniques from the film era to enhance your digital photos.
Third Place: A Photographer's Guide to Perspective Distortion In third place came a fantastic article by forum member DAZ which talks about what perspective distortion is, and how to take it into account when taking photos.

These members will receive a $500, $150, and $100 B&H give card, respectively.  Below are our five runners-up, each of whom will receive a $50 B&H gift card:

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The theme for our official photo contest for June will be Shadows.  This theme was quite a hit back in November, so we're bringing it back this month!  We are also happy to be offering the same prizes as last month for the top three entries:

• 1st place: $100 B&H gift card + featuring in Premier Gallery
• 2nd place: $50 B&H gift card
• 3rd place: premium photo paper from Red River Paper

Our monthly photo contests are open to everyone.  In order to enter, all you need to do is post a thread in the contest submission forum and either attach your photo using the attachment system, or embed an off-site image.  Once your submission thread shows a thread thumbnail, you'll know that your submission went through successfully!  You can only enter one photo, and it must be taken with a Pentax camera.  In addition, your photo must be smaller than 1Mb and 1024x1024 pixels, but larger than or equal to 300x300 pixels.  Good luck to everyone who enters!

Click here to enter in the June "Shadows" Photo Contest!

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Sigma has just launched 6 new instant rebates on their Pentax lenses, and renewed 3 more instant rebates through July 31st!  This means that you can save $50-$100 on 9 of Sigma's most popular lenses for Pentax this summer!  Refer to the table below for all the deals.  To learn more about Sigma lenses for Pentax, please visit our Pentax lens database.

New Sigma Pentax Lens Instant Rebates- Through July 31, 2012
	Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 HSM This is the ultra-wide zoom for Pentax to feature silent autofocusing using Sigmas HSM technology.  It is also the fastest ultra-wide zoom, with a constant aperture of F3.5.	Price: $599
	Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 HSM This lens features a massive zoom range in order to capture subjects both near and far, and is quite affordable while you're at it!  This is one of our members' favorites.  See also the Sigma 50-500mm "Bigma".	Price: $969
	Sigma 17-70mm F2.8 HSM This prosumer walkaround lens is both cheaper and faster than the Pentax-DA 17-70mm F4 SDM.  In-depth comparative review coming soon!	Price: $419
	Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 OS This lens competes with the Pentax-DA 55-300mm F4.5-5.6 and is another one of our member's favorites.  It gets very high user reviews!	Price: $309
	Sigma 50mm F1.4 HSM This is Sigma's normal lens for Pentax, featuring silent AF and a fast F1.4 aperture.	Price: $499
	Sigma 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 HSM This lens is half a stop faster than the Sigma 50-500mm, and is also about $100 cheaper.  While not as versatile as the "Bigma", it still makes a great telephoto!	Price: $899

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We've gotten word from multiple US Pentax retailers stating that the recently-announced ultra-slim Pentax Optio LS465 point-and-shoot camera will not be released in North America.  However, the camera will be available in Europe and Japan for the equivalent of approximately 149 dollars.

The release date for this camera will be June 18th.  It is already listed on Amazon UK for 99 pounds.

While the Pentax Optio LS465 may seem like another boring point-and-shoot, it would seem that its small size is what sets it apart!  It weighs just over 100 grams, and measures 10.2 x 4.6 x 1.8cm.

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