Pentax Holiday Gear Guide 2012
Recommended equipment, great deals, and gift ideas!
By PF Staff in Deals and Savings on Dec 18, 2012
Today, we're happy to be bringing your our 2012 Pentax holiday gear and gift guide! In the US, standard shipping cutoffs for delivery by Christmas are coming up on Wednesday, so we apologize for the delay in the posting this. We hope that late ends up being better than never, though!
Read on for some great gift ideas for yourself as well as your friends and family!
Please note that the prices below are subject to change based on the latest pricing and availability. For certain items, discounted prices can only be viewed in cart.
Without further ado, here's what we recommend you take a look at during your year-end shopping. If you happen to live in an area which has Pentax retailers locally, we encourage you to stop by and give the cameras below a spin:
Cameras and Combos
Holiday Price |
Recommendation |
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+ = $1173 |
Best-in-class in terms of image quality, the original Pentax K-5 is still available from Adorama at an incredible low price. Combine it with the reasonably-priced Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 zoom for a hard to beat combo. Make sure to fill in the manufacturer's mail-in rebate form for the Tamron (expires Dec. 31, 2012). Read our in-depth reviews: |
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w/18-135mm
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$979 |
Another great combination at a truly great price from Adorama, the Pentax K-30 with the Pentax 18-135 mm "walk-around" zoom, a good kit for beginners and for travelers who want to travel light. Camera as well as lens are sealed against dust and rain. Read our in-depth reviews: |
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The K-01 has dropped in price worldwide, and it can be yours for just $316! In February, the K-01 was launched at more than double the price. Read our in-depth review: |
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+ = $1737 |
OK, so you want the K-5 IIs for it's enhanced image quality? It deserves one of the best lenses available, we recommend the DA 35mm F2.8 Limited Macro. Read our in-depths reviews: |
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Looking for a compact camera but would like better image quality and the ability to switch lenses? The original Pentax Q is still available at an incredibly low price from ShopNBC! This low price even includes the 5-15mm (28-82mm eqv.) zoom and a 3-year warranty! Can you believe that this kit launched at an MSRP of $999 just over a year ago? Furnish the Q with a K-mount adapter and you can use your K-mount lenses. Pentax's own adapter is hard to find but we have found an inexpensive third party adapter at Amazon.com that still can control the aperture. Read our in-dpeth review: |
Lenses
Already have a great camera but need lenses? Here are our top picks:
Holiday Price |
Recommendation |
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The Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro is an autofocus telezoom at a much more reasonable price than the Pentax DA 55-300mm. The lens even has a macro function that goes down to 1:2 (half life size). Read what our users think: |
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An inexpensive way to get into the fascinating world of prime lenses is this Pentax-DA 35mm F2.4 AL. On digital, it corresponds to the 50mm lens that came with your Dad's Pentax Spotmatic or K1000, in other words it is a so-called "normal" lens. Read our in-depth review of this lens. |
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This is the ultra-compact 40mm lens that was introduced with the K-01. Also this prime lens is available below $200. Read our shoot-out and review here. |
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The Pentax-DA 50mm F1.8 is a fast, short telephoto lens. We would have liked to see also this lens below $200, but that was not to be. Read our review and comparison with other 50mm lenses. |
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The Pentax-DA 15mm F4 Limited wide angle lens has a lot of followers and may very well become one of the legendary Pentax lenses. It is not cheap but it is a little gem to handle. Read our review here. |
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The Sigma "Bigma" is another favorite among our users. It is not cheap but the price is nevertheless very reasonable for a 500mm lens. The price is after a special manufacturers rebate which expires soon. Read what our users think about the Bigma here. |
Top Accessories
Holiday Price |
Recommendation |
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A Two-Year Extended Warranty for the K5, K5-II, K5-IIs, KR, K-30, K-01 Digital SLR Cameras from Pentax includes one complete check-up to be provided anytime during the warranty period. The inspection covers all camera functions to ensure each meets factory specifications. Add this warranty to your cart when you buy your camera and you'll get a total of three years of warranty coverage! |
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Our users speak favorably of this Pearstone Onyx 60 Lens Case. It is designed to carry a typical SLR lens and is made from weather-resistant 600 denier ballistic nylon, with protective interior padding. The case uses self-healing, weather-resistant zippers. It has a double-zippered lid with an inside mesh accessory pocket. The case can be carried by a double touch belt loop and has two webbed eyelet loops for an optional shoulder strap. |
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An SD card with speeds up to 95MB/s read and 90MB/s write speeds. This is faster than required for today's Pentax DSLRs but might come in handy for future models. |
Small Gift Ideas
Holiday Price |
Recommendation |
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A must-have for all DSLR owners: Giottos large Rocket air blower for removing that dust from the sensor which the cameras dust removal system may have left behind. |
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We have very good experience using SD cards from Transcend in our Pentax DSLRs. While faster cards are available we haven't seen any speed adavantage in practice over these Transcend cards with the current crop of cameras (K-01, K-30, K-5, Q). Best value anywhere! |
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Sensor cleaning kit for those rare cases where dust spots resist the rocket blower. |
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A- and M-lenses |
Try the PentaxForums Marketplace for second hand A and M-series 50mm prime lenses. This is an inexpensive way of getting into the joy of using prime lenses and the image quality of these old lenses leaves little to be desired. |
For True Pentaxians
If you or a family member is lucky enough to own 3 Pentax Limited pancake lenses, such as the 15, 21, 35, 40m, or 70mm, this is the perfect case to gift! Check out the Pentax Limited Lens Case:
That's it for now- if you have any further holiday gift ideas, please share them in the comments section! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Save 30% on Topaz Detail or Suite
Only today and tomorrow!
By PF Staff in Deals and Savings on Dec 17, 2012
For the past week, Topaz Labs has been offering a 30% discount on their Detail plugin, which instantly integrates itself with just about any photo editing software out there (including Photoshop, Lightroom, and Aperture) to extract more detail from your photos to create a more clear and more vivid final product. An example of what you can expect is show above!
The 30% off deal has just been extended using this exclusive coupon code: getdetail
The code can be used in the Topaz Store. Once there, add Detail (or the Topaz Bundle, or an update to the bundle) to your cart, then type the code in at checkout.
In general, Topaz plugins are very effective. Our favorite one is DeNoise, which practically eliminated the noise from in this ISO 6400 shot with minimal loss of detail:
After Topaz DeNoise:
Our full review of Topaz DeNoise as well as other producs can be found in the software section of our in-depth reviews. Remember, even after this deal expires, you can always save 15% on any Topaz plugin by using the coupon code pentaxuser!
Two Holiday Sigma Deals
on the 50-500mm and 24-70mm lenses
By PF Staff in Deals and Savings on Dec 14, 2012
B&H has just posted two great holiday deals: first the Sigma 50-500mm "Bigma" is currently available for $350 off the regular price, for a final price of $1299. This is a very interesting lens, and one which is prized by many of our users, because of its unusual 10x zoom range. In our in-depth review of it, we found it to be easily hand-holdable, something you don't get from every 500mm lens! If you've been waiting for a price drop on this lens, then now's the time to get it.
Today's second deal is on the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8, available for just $694, which is $205 off the regular price.
This lens is a premium-quality full-frame walkaround, which also works well on APS-C camera for those who don't like to shoot wide-angle shots as much. Like the 50-500mm, it features silent HSM autofocus, and you can read more about it in our user reviews section.
Finally, the Pentax K-5 continues to be available for a record-low $749 from Adorama. Once it's gone, it'll be gone for good, and you'd have to get the more-expensive K-5 II. If you need more convincing that this camera is a steal, just read what our users have to say about it!
Monday Pentax Savings & Holiday Gift Ideas
Rokinon 85mm: $239, DA 50-200mm: $129, Lightroom: $99 and more!
By PF Staff in Deals and Savings on Dec 10, 2012
Christmas is coming up soon, and so every week we're starting to see new deals on Pentax gear!
This week's featured deal is the Rokinon 85mm F1.4, which can be had for just $239 from B&H photo (this is an exclusive deal not featured by any other site). Given its bargain price, this lens actually delivers really impressive image quality and build quality. Sigma's 85mm costs nearly 4 times more, and it's certainly not even twice as good, as we discovered in our in-depth review of the Rokinon 85mm F1.4.
Please note that this lens is also sold under the Vivitar, Samyang, and Bower brands, but the four versions are identical in terms of features and optics. If you want to learn more about it, check our our user reviews! This lens makes for a great gift idea because of its cost-effectiveness.
Next up is the Pentax K-5, which has dropped to $749 (same price as on Black Friday). Stock has almost run out at Adorama: the camera will be gone for good before the end of the year.
Now at less than half its original price, the K-5 is an absolute steal. It's still best-in-class when it comes to image quality, and it's packed with features to make any enthusiast happy! To learn more about the K-5, read our K-5 review or K-5 vs Canon 7D comparative review. But what about the Pentax K-5 II? Well, it's so similar to the original K-5 that for most users, the extra $450 that it costs would be better spent on lenses. If you do want a full comparison, however, read our Pentax K-5 II/IIs review.
The deals don't stop here, though: read on for more!
New Pentax Lens Deals
Save on Sigma and Pentax Primes
By PF Staff in Deals and Savings on Dec 6, 2012
B&H has just posted more lens deals. First, they're offering a $140 instant rebate on the Sigma 30mm F1.4 DC lens, which is now just $349. This price is now live on their web site, and it includes free shipping.
To learn more about this lens, please visit our Sigma lens database.
A number of "hidden" Pentax deals is also live; these lower prices will only be shown in cart.
Lens Name |
Normal Price |
Price in Cart |
You Save |
Reviews |
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Buy: B&H Black Friday price! |
$649 | $539 | $110 |
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Buy: B&H Black Friday price! |
$799 |
$205 |
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Buy: B&H Black Friday price! |
$849 | $639 | $210 |
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Buy: B&H Black Friday price! |
$529 | $449 | $80 |
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Buy: B&H Black Friday price! |
$1399 |
$954 w/DSLR purchase |
$245 |
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Buy: B&H |
$1499 |
$400 |
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Buy: B&H |
$1599 | $350 |
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Buy: B&H |
$1999 |
$350 |
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Remember, these hidden prices won't be shown until you add the lenses to your cart. They're going to be gone soon, so act now if you want to secure this pricing!
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