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Pentax K-x

Ergonomics 
 8.6
Build Quality 
 8.7
User Interface 
 8.9
Autofocus 
 7.7
Features 
 8.5
Value 
 9.7
Image Quality 
 9.0
Noise 
 8.6
Reviews Views Date of last review
109 928,995 Thu June 1, 2023
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
100% of reviewers $505.37 9.01
Pentax K-x

Pentax K-x
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Pentax K-x
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Pentax K-x
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Pentax K-x
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Pentax K-x
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Description:

The Pentax K-x is an excellent entry-level DSLR which in 2009 revolutionized the market for beginner cameras.  With a kit price of below $700, the K-x offered amazing performance at an extremely affordable price.  Its highlights include a 12.4 megapixel CMOS sensor with excellent low-light performance, Pentax's shake-reduction and dust removal systems, full-auto "green" mode, a use-friendly menu, and a very large LCD screen. The K-x was discontinued in 2011 being replaced by the K-r.

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Camera Manual:


Pentax K-x
© www.pentaxforums.com, sharable with attribution
Year Introduced
2009
In Production
No (Discontinued 2010)
Current US Price
N/A
In-Depth Review
N/A
Sensor
Sensor Format
APS-C
Sensor Type
CMOS
Megapixels
12.4
Resolution
2848 x 4288 pixels
AA Filter
Yes
Super Resolution
No
Bit Depth
12
Minimum ISO
100
Maximum ISO
12800
ISO Range
200 - 6400 (100 - 12800)
Imaging
Exposure Modes
Auto Picture, Scene, P, Sv, Av, Tv, M, B
Program Modes
Normal, Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Action, Night-scene Portrait, Flash Off. In live view also: Blue Sky, Sunset
Maximum FPS
4.7
Continuous Shooting
Hi: 4.7 fps to 17 frames (JPG), 5 frames (RAW) Lo: 2 fps until card is full (JPG), up to 11 frames (RAW)
Shutter Speeds (Auto)
30s - 1/6000s (stepless)
Shutter Speeds (Manual)
B, 30s - 1/6000s
Shutter Life
100000
Exposure compensation
+/-3 EV
Auto bracketing
Exposure (3 frames)
Expanded dynamic range
Highlight (on, off), Shadow (high, medium, low, off)
Exposure lock
Yes
Self timer
2 s with mirror lock-up, 12 s
Metering Sensor
16-Segment
Meter range
1 to 21.5 EV
Meter pattern
Multi-Segment,Center Weighted,Spot
Mirror lock-up
Yes
Interval shooting
No
HDR mode
Yes
Multiple exposures
Yes, average and additive, 2 to 9 shots
Pixel mapping
Yes
Scene Modes
10: Night Scene, Surf and Snow, Food, Sunset, Stage Lighting, Night Snap, Kids, Pet, Candlelight, Museum
Restrictions
Exposure modes with M and K lenses are restricted to Av (with aperture always wide open) and M (with stop-down metering)
Lens Mount
Mount
KAF2 (no aperture coupler)
Composition Adjustment
No
Stabilization
Yes (sensor-shift SR)
Power zoom
Not supported
Supported Lenses
All Pentax K-mount lenses except for lenses with the KAF4 mount variant. Manual focus only with K-, M-, and A-series lenses. Stop down metering only with K- and M-series lenses. M42, Pentax 645 and Pentax 6x7 lenses with the appropriate adapters (stop down metering and manual focus only).
Lens correction
Distortion,Lateral Chromatic Aberration
Focusing
Autofocus (viewfinder)
Yes (SAFOX VIII, 11 focus points (9 cross type))
AF Points
11
Autofocus sensitivity
-1 EV
Front/back focus correction
No
Autofocus with SDM
Yes
Autofocus assist
N/A
Viewfinder/LCD
Viewfinder
0.85x, 96%
Viewfinder type
Pentamirror
Diopter adjustment
-2.5 to +1.5
AF Points in viewfinder
No
Exchangeable screen
No
Depth of field preview
Yes
Digital preview
Yes (with image magnificaion)
Live View
Yes
Top LCD
No
Focus Peaking
No
Back LCD
2.7 in. 230,000 pix
Body
Weather resistant
No
Control wheels
1
Battery grip
No
Card slots
1
Dust removal
Yes, Sensor Shake DR
Dust alert
Yes
Memory card type
SD, SDHC (max. 32GB), SDXC via firmware update
Size (W x H x D)
122.5 x 91.5 x 67.5 mm
Weight
515 g (580 g with lithium batteries and SD card)
File format
PEF (RAW),DNG (RAW),JPG,AVI
Battery life
Battery
4 x AA
Flash
Built-in flash
Yes, GN 12 (ISO 100/m)
Sync speed
1/180s
P-TTL flash
Yes
Flash functions
Auto discharge, On (leading curtain sync), Redeye reduction, Slow-speed sync, Trailing curtain sync, High-speed sync*, Manual*, Wireless*, Contrast control* * Available when combined with external flash
TTL flash
No
Flash exposure comp
-2 to 1 EV
Video
Resolution / Framerates
1280x720 (16:9) at 24 fps,
640x416 (3:2) at 24 fps.
Composite video out (no HDMI out)
Exposure Modes
Movie mode restrictions
The aperture is fixed during recording
AF During Recording
No
Sound in Movie mode
Mono (built-in mic) No provision for external mic
Interfacing
GPS
Not Supported
Tethering
None
Connectivity
PC/AV terminal (USB 2 compatible)
Latest Firmware
Version 1.03
Notes
User reviews
Embed copyright information in EXIF, In-camera RAW development
Megapixels: 12.4
ISO Range: 100-12800
Weight: 515g
FPS: 4.7
LCD: 2.7"
Type: Intro-Level
Weather Sealed: No
Manual: http://www.pentax.jp/english/support/man-pdf/k-x.pdf
Price History:



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Author:
Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Descending) Showing Reviews 106-109 of 109
New Member

Registered: January, 2010
Location: New Kensington, PA
Posts: 6
Review Date: January 18, 2010 Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: N/A 

 
Pros:
Cons:

I have not experienced too much hassle with the LV. However, I want to mention that the auto focus is a little sluggish when shooting using LV. The internal computer is quick enough to "remember" where a good focus spot might have been while it racks through the barrel and whips back once it has determined there is no better focusing option. I like the speed of that.

Metering flaws are mentioned in the manual when shooting against a bright backlight. Possibly also with a background of continuous patterns (i.e. repeating vertical lines.

Video is phenomenal for the price. I've been shooting DV single CCD video for over 5 years! It’s not true hi def, but I'm happy I have clear images on my 42" plasma, finally. I really dig the motion blur achieved by the 24fps shutter.

My question is this:
I've dl the new 4.11 update for DCU, but have found a bug when trying to preview folders containing both .DNG and .JGP files. Any advice? If I move the RAW to its own folder, no more crashing.
   
New Member

Registered: January, 2010
Posts: 3
Review Date: January 18, 2010 Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: N/A 

 
Pros:
Cons:

hi everyone
i'm new here,
i just bought a KX after hankering after a DSLR for a while
i would call myself fairly experienced, having a few years ago used a Minolta Dynax 35mm SLR, and then moving to a canon powershot superzoom. I've also had a friends old Canon 10D for the past month.
anyway, i was debating between this and a Nikon D5000, and after exhaustive research, i plumped for this one, mainly because of its superior high-ISO performance, and being on a budget mean that lenses would be cheaper as they would not have to have AF motors and IS/SR built-in.
also in its favour, was that it was a little smaller, yet more comfortable to hold, and more direct-access buttons.
So, after a few days and around a thousand photos later, here are my thoughts;
first of all; build quality. its pretty good, but i've been playing with that 10D, and you just cant compare...this feels like a toy. but i guess thats what comes with the budget price tag. I've got pretty big hands, but the KX handles pretty well, and is certainly light enought for one-handed shooting.
(I got a fancy KATA strap, which is a joy, its comfortable to sling over your shoulder, and is slightly elasticated so the camera doesnt feel heavy at all. its even got tiny zipped pockets at each end of the strap with room for 4 AA batteries...)
the screen is very good too, with a wide angle of view - you can put it in live view and hold it above you head at a very slight angle and still see the screen enough to be able to frame your shot. speaking of live-view, it is very slow - easily 3 seconds even in good light, and it makes a strange hollow whirring sound the whole time it running - almost like there's something broken in it. (anyone else go that too?)
the autofocus is very fast at wider angles, but at the long end of my 300mm lens, slows down a little and tends to cycle through the whole focusing range - which is quite long- till it finds focus. the upside of this long focus travel isthat when focusing manully, you can get it quite excact. a solution to the above problem i found is to zoom halfway, focus (which it does uite quickly) then zoom in the whole way, so that its much nearer to the correct focus, and then refocus and take the picture. one thing i noticed about the autofocus is that its NOISY - it sounds like a small drill! and the shutter noise is a little coarse, a bit like a knife being sharpened.
another point about the AF is the famous lack of AF point markers - you have no idea (beside peeping through the viewfinder to see what "looks" sharp, or by assuming it is focusing on the nearest object - but that's just it - you can never be sure what its focused on. this makes the "great" 11-point autofocus with all 11 cross-type sensors, a little useless. but i dont really care because i always just use the central point. i guess when tracking birds across the sky i could rely on the 11 point autofocus, since there's nothing else for the AF to get confused with.
metering is generally good, but i did find that with brightly backlit subject it did underexpose a little - even with spot-metering - that neccesitated a 2/3 stop exposure adjustment.
picture quality seems very good, with excellent noise control, at normal printing sizes/viewing on-screen without pixel-peeping, you can almost tell no difference between ISO 200 and 1600, and even 3200 is pretty good - which is outstanding performance for a budget SLR. (the aforementioned 10D started getting unacceptably noisy at ISO800).this capability is extremely useful in almost any situation you dont use a flash/low light/fast moving subjects etc...
i havent really used video, i imagine i will just use it very rarely, but that one time that i do use it, i will be very glad its there.
battery life is good, i have gotten around 600 pics from some Energizer 2450mAH slow discharge batteries - and thats real - life use, meaning reviewing shots, autofocusing and re-autofocusing, live-view, mucking about in menus (i just got it) etc. i will keep the lithium batteries it came with for emergencies.
all in all i'm pretty happy with it, main gripes being noisy AF motor, painfully slow live-view (although i expected it).
   
Inactive Account

Registered: December, 2009
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 2
Review Date: December 29, 2009 Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: N/A 

 
Pros:
Cons:

It's my K-x #99 (silver body+brown grip).
The grip color is lighter than as shown.

pros.
1. extremely low noise at high sensitivities. (that's why I chose it.)
2. 4.7 fps continuos shooting.
3. AF speed is faster than the other old models.
4. even though it has Live-view and 720p HDmovie, still reasonable price! (price is the most important )

cons.
1. no red marks on viewfinder.
2. low quality back LCD.
3. no wired release shutter socket. (works with remote control only. It could be a problem for someone who takes a astronomy photo.)
   
New Member

Registered: October, 2009
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Posts: 14
Review Date: November 8, 2009 Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: N/A 

 
Pros:
Cons:

I am just starting to familiarize myself with the K-x. My thoughts in this review are preliminary. I will compare the K-x to the Pentax *istDL, which I purchased in February 2006 and use regularly for my job (photo journalist). I have not used other Pentax digital cameras, nor have I owned other brands of digital SLRs, although I have looked them over.

The K-x and *istDL are remarkably similar in size, shape, feel in the hand, and weight (K-x is 45 grams heavier). I consider the *istDL a great entry-level digital camera. The K-x is more sophisticated and has many refinements compared to the *istDL, but still can be considered entry-level. Technology does not stand still and in four years we’re going to see changes in just about any electronic device, usually for the better.

The most obvious difference in the exterior is the lack of a liquid crystal display on the right top of the K-x. The information displayed here (battery life, shutter speed, aperture, image capacity, flash setting, has been moved to the rear display. All it takes to preview the information is a light tap on the shutter trigger. I don’t mind this change. The new display uses color to highlight; overall, losing the display is no big deal. Another item that has changed is the AE-L button. It now has four possible settings, which are accessible in the Menu, C Section, #10. I prefer to just use it for AE-L and nothing more, so I changed it to setup 4.

The Mode dial on the K-x is like the *istDL with one important exception. The K-x has Scene mode (SCN), with settings for night, surf & snow, food, sunset, stage lighting, kids, pets, candlelight, museum, and night snap. Settings are tweaked to the anticipated situation. For example, food photos will have increased color saturation.

Shutter sound
While I don’t know that it makes much difference, the shutter sound is about the same for both cameras. If that’s all you care about in a camera, I recommend a Nikon. They’re quieter, in my opinion.

Both cameras use 4 AA batteries. I have had good results with quality lithium ion batteries. You can always find AA batteries in a pinch and that’s why I like to see cameras made this way. However, my *istDL has refused to work with some rechargeable batteries, even when they’re fully charged.

The K-x has a mysterious green button. It is supposed to allow you to switch between two different settings, for example, JPEG to RAW. There are other settings you can have. My issue is, how do you remember which setting it’s on? I prefer to leave it in the default mode. I don’t see much use for the green button right now.

Menu buttons
Overall, the menu and rear buttons are the same for both cameras, although the K-x now has LV, Live View. A nice feature of Live View is the real-time histogram. Otherwise, I will continue using the viewfinder. Note that Live View can make the camera hot, so it’s probably a good not to use it in most situations.

The K-x has shake reduction, which the *istDL lacks. Pentax explains how it works by moving the sensor, rather than compensating ISO, from what I can understand. (I withdraw my previous comment, referenced by hspatz below)

An interesting feature for the K-x is Dynamic Range. On this setting the camera basically take three photos in quick succession at different aperture settings to compensate for dark and light areas. It’s great for scenery shots where there is no movement.

Video
The K-x is the first Pentax camera in this price range offering video. I have used it a few times sparingly and the results have been OK, but this is not going to be a feature you should come to rely on. You will get equally good results and more utility using a less expensive camera, such as the fixed-lens Canon SX10 or Canon SD850 IS. Note that these are not digital SLR cameras.

That’s not to say the Pentax video is broken. A digital SLR is not the ideal platform for video. The most disturbing aspect is the sound of lens movement when zooming, which obviously requires manually turning the lens. The video itself is fine. In order to reduce file size, be sure to change the default setting. I recommend 630x416 with two stars.

Camera requirements
Everyone comes at photography from a different perspective, so the camera that’s right for you may not be right for someone else. As a photojournalist, I need a camera that works well in low light and has a basic menu. I don’t want to be fiddling with the menu when I’m under pressure trying to take photos in a business setting. That’s why I find the Pentax brand so satisfying. Their menus are far and away more intuitive and less cluttered than Nikon and Canon.

The K-x retains fundamentally the same button arrangement as the *istDL. It has more features, but those don’t get in the way of the most important buttons I use all the time – lighting, ISO, and flash.

That said, I took some photos in low light and compared them. I noticed markedly better results with the K-x body and lens. Most importantly, the K-x easily beats the *istDL for noise at high ISO. This is critical because in a business setting the flash should be used sparingly.

I noticed that the new kit lens 18-55 shows better results than the older 18-55, which surprised me. I didn’t expect to see a difference there.

Conclusion
The *istDL is still a viable camera for a photojournalist, especially for someone who is new to digital SLRs. It’s still available. In comparison, the K-x has many refinements and improvements, including better results in low light, a 2X higher frame rate, higher low-noise ISO, and video that could be useful in some situations. I would recommend the K-x to any photojournalist who is interested a newer camera with more refinements.


UPDATE (12/24/2009): I have used the camera at work and where it shines is in low light. I can shoot at 6400 ISO and use those images on the Web with outstanding results. The camera's visual menu on the large back end LCD is fantastic. I like to use M and make adjustments for lighting on the fly.
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