Pentax K-01 Mirrorless K-mount Camera

Initial specs leaked

By PF Staff in Pentax Rumors on Jan 19, 2012

Pentax is slated to announce a new k-mount mirrorless body at the CP+ camera & photo show in Japan, according to the latest rumors leaked by a Japanese camera blog and other sources.  CP+ runs from February 9th, 2012 through February 12th; it starts in just three weeks!

The K-01 will be a mirrorless camera that uses the current K-mount lenses compatible with the Pentax DSLR lineup.  Judging be previous rumor trends, we believe this name is tentative.

Further specifications

• "921,000 dot" 3-inch, VGA LCD screen from the K-5
• K-5 image processing and sensor (16.3 Mp)
• 1080p HD video at 30fps
• 1/4000s-30s shutter speed range
• Contrast-detect autofocus (81 metering points)
• Built-in flash
• 12.1cm wide x 7.9cm high x 5.9 cm deep (compare to Pentax Q at 9.8cm x 5.8cm x 3.1 cm)
• 560g loaded with battery (compare to 200 for the Q)
• New DA 40mm kit lens
• Available in 3 lens kits
• 3 different colors
• Electronic viewfinder

The most exciting thing about this camera will without a doubt be the fact that it uses K-mount lenses, making it compatible with thousands of current and legacy lenses both by Pentax and other manufactures.

Judging by its size, this camera will be closer to a DSLR than a compact camera.  As it's rumored to be developed by Hoya, this means that it's been in the pipeline for a while and it will likely have a lot of components in common with the K-5.  It is also believed that alongside this camera, replacements for the current DSLRs (the K-r and K-5) from the pre-Ricoh era are being finalized.

Read more in the K-01 rumors thread on the forum.

We would like to close by mentioning that while no rumors of a full-frame Pentax DSLR have surfaced, if the Pentax full-frame facebook page receives 3000 likes by CP+, it will be brought to the attention of Pentax executives and at the CP+ show.