Adam answered these questions with a hands on with the K-500 https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/227965-pentax-k-500-sp...eries-etc.html "At the Pentax HQ in Tokyo, today my journalist Albert learned the following about the new entry-level Pentax K-500:
1. It does not have illuminated AF points in the viewfinder
2. It does not have the electronic level
3. It will not be sold in Japan
4. Depending on the market, it will ship with either the AA battery holder or a Li-ion battery, though cameras will be compatible with both. The US market will get AA holder, while the European market will get the rechargeable batteries."
There is a bit of a conflict between Pentax and some reviewers about the K-500 and its features. Pentax says it and the K-50 are alike in all regards except that the K-500 is not weather sealed, comes with AA batteries and holder not the rechargeable battery, and does not have the electronic level that the K-50 has. Some reviewers are claiming that the 500 has the rechargeable battery, has the level, but does not have viewable AF points in the viewfinder. I've asked Adam about this and he said he is test-driving the cameras tomorrow and will address these issues as soon as possible. I trust Adam and know that he knows Pentax gear better than any of the reviewers that have been cited so far in various threads. So, I'm taking a wait and see approach to what the actual differences are between the 50 & 500.
Type
Digital SLR
Sensor
Type: CMOS w primary color filter, integrated Shake/Dust Reduction sensor movement system
Size: 23.7 x 15.7mm (APS-C)
Color depth: 8 bits/channel JPG, 12 bits/channel RAW
Effective pixels (total pixels): 16.3 MP (16.5 MP) (approx.)
Dust Removal: Sensor movement w SP coating on low pass filter
Pixel mapping: Yes
Lens
Type/construction: PENTAX KAF2 bayonet stainless steel mount
Usable lenses: PENTAX KAF3, KAF2, KAF, and KA (K mount, 35mm screwmount, 645/67 med format lenses useable w adapter and/or restrictions)
SDM function: Yes, Power zoom function: n/a
Focus System
Type: SAFOX IXi+ TTL phase-detection 11 point (9 cross type focus points in the center) w light wavelength sensor and diffraction lens
Sensitivity range: EV -1 to 18 (ISO 100)
Focus modes: AF.A (auto), AF.S (single, w focus lock, focus/shutter priority selectable), AF.C (continuous, w focus/FPS priority selectable), Manual
Focus point selection: Auto 11 pt, Auto 5 pt, User-Selectable (w Expanded Area AF), Center
AF assist: Yes via dedicated LED AF assist lamp
Focus peaking: Yes (n/a during active video recording)
Autofocus Fine Adjustment: ±10 step, Uniform adjustment, Individual adjustment (up to 20 can be saved)
Viewfinder
Type: Pentaprism, Coverage (field of view): 100%
Magnification: 0.92X (w 50mm F1.4 at infinity)
Standard focusing screen: Natural-Bright-Matte III (interchangeable)
Diopter adjustment: -2.5m to 1.5m, Eye Relief: Approx. 21.7mm (from the view window)
Depth of field preview: Optical (diaphragm stop-down), digital
LCD Monitor
Type: 3.0” TFT color LCD w brightness/color adjustment
Resolution: 921,000 dots, Wide angle viewable: Yes
Live View:Type: TTL by CMOS image sensor
Display: Field of View approx. 100%, Magnified view (2x, 4x, 6x), Grid display (4x4 Grid, Golden Section, Scale display), Bright/dark area warning, Histogram
Autofocus: Contrast detection + Face Detection, Tracking, Select, Spot
Flash
Type: Retractable P-TTL popup flash
Guide number: 12m (ISO 100), Synchronization speed: 1/180 sec
Angle of View/Coverage: Wide Angle (Equivalent to 28mm in 35mm format)
Flash modes: P-TTL, Red-eye Reduction, Slow-speed Sync, Trailing Curtain Sync
High-Speed and Wireless Sync are also available with PENTAX dedicated external flash.
Flash exposure compensation: -2 to +1 EV (1/3 steps)
External Flash
Type: Hotshoe (P-TTL), high speed sync and wireless w PENTAX dedicated flash
Synchronization speed: 1/180 sec
Storage Media
Removable memory: SD, SDHC, and SDXC Memory Card (Eye-Fi card compatible)
External Memory: n/a
Interfaces
Ports: USB 2.0 hi-speed, AV out, Cable Switch
Video output format: NTSC, PAL, USB Connection: MSC/PTP
Microphone: Built-in monaural
Power Supply
Power source: Rechargeable Li-Ion battery D-LI109 (optional), AA battery holder D-BH109 for 4* AA batteries (sold separately)
Recordable images: Li-Ion approx 480 (410 w 50% flash, CIPA), AA lithium approx 1250 (710 w 50% flash, CIPA)
Playback time: Li-Ion approx 270 min, AA lithium approx 560 min
Movie recording time: 25 min max time per clip
AC adapter available: Yes (sold separately)
Physical Specs
Body dimensions (W x H x D): 5.1” x 3.8” x 2.8” (excluding operating parts and protrusions)
Body weight: Without battery or removable memory card: 20.8 oz
With 4 AA Lithium batteries and memory card: 22.8 oz.
With D-Li109 battery and memory card 22.9 oz
Primary construction material(s): Reinforced polycarbonate over stainless steel chassis
Operating temperature: 14-104°F (-10 to 40°C), Ruggedized features: n/a
Language Support
English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian,Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish,Greek, Russian
Image Stabilization
Type: Sensor-shift SR (3 stops depending on lens and shooting conditions)
Metering System
Type: TTL open aperture 77 segment metering
Sensitivity range: EV 0 to 22 (ISO 100, 50mm F1.4)
Metering patterns (multi, center, spot): Multi 77, Center, Spot
Exposure compensation: +/- 5 EV (1/3 and 1/2 steps)
Exposure lock: Yes
Exposure bracketing: 3 frames, up to +/- 3 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 steps
ISO Sensitivity
Auto/100-51200 (1, 1/2, 1/3 steps), auto range selectable
White Balance
Type: Image sensor detection w light wavelength sensor detection
Auto, Preset (Preset modes): Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent Light (D: Daylight Color, N: Daylight White, W: Cool White, L: Warm White), Tungsten, Flash, CTE, Manual mode(s): a) 3 manual settings can be configured and saved, b) Kelvin color temperatures can be selected, c) WB settings can be copied from a captured image
WB fine adjustment: +/- 7 steps A-B axis or G-M axis
Shutter
Type: Electronically controlled, vertical-run, focal plane shutter
Shutter speed: (Auto/Manual) 1/6000 to 30 sec (1/3 or 1/2 steps), Bulb
Capture Modes
Mode selection: Auto Picture mode: automatically selects from Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Moving Object, Night Scene Portrait, Night Scene, Blue Sky, Forest
Scene Mode: Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Moving Object, Night Scene Portrait, Sunset, Blue Sky, Forest, Night Scene, Night Scene HDR*, Night Snap, Food, Pet, Kids, Surf & Snow, Backlight Silhouette, Candlelight, Stage Lighting, Museum, *JPEG only
Program, Sensitivity Priority, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Shutter & Aperture Priority, Manual, Bulb
Custom Image modes: Bright, Natural, Portrait, Landscape, Vibrant, Radiant, Muted, Bleach Bypass, Reversal Film, Monochrome, Cross Processing
Green simplified mode available: n/a
Face detection available: Yes
PASMB: P, A, S, M, B (extended modes Sv, TAv) Date stamp: n/a
Digital filters (capture): Extract Color, Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Shading, Invert Color, Color
Dynamic range adjustment: Highlight, shadow
Electronic level: n/a Horizon correction: n/a
File/Folder customization: Folder name (standard, date), create new folder, embed copyright
Drive Modes
Mode selection: Single, Continuous (Hi, Lo), Self-Timer (12s, 2s), Remote (0s, 3s), Exposure Bracketing (3 frames)
Continuous FPS
- Continuous Hi: Approx 6.0 FPS (30 JPG, 8 RAW)
- Continuous Lo: Approx 3.0 FPS (unlimited JPG, 10 RAW)
Multi-exposure: 2-9 shots, auto exposure adjustment
Interval: 999 shots, 3 sec to 24 hr interval, time delay
HDR: Auto, HDR 1, HDR 2, HDR 3, Auto composition correction function, exposure bracket +/- 1 to 3 EV (1 EV steps)
Cable switch: Yes (sold separately)
Playback Modes
Playback View: Single image, Multi-image display (4, 9, 16, 36, 81 segments), display mag. (up to 16x, scrolling and quick magnify available), histogram, bright/dark area warning, copyright display, calendar filmstrip, display, folder display, slideshow, Eye-Fi transfer
Delete: Single image, all images, select & delete, delete folder, delete instant review image
RAW Development: File Format (JPEG), Image Capture Settings(Aspect Ratio, Recorded Pixels, Quality Level, Color Space), Lens Correction(Distortion Correction, Lateral Chromatic Aberration Correction), Custom Image, White Balance, Sensitivity, High-ISO NR, Shadow Correction
Edit: Resize, Cropping (Aspect ratio and Slant adjustment available), Index, Capture a JPEG still picture from a movie, Saving the RAW file data in the buffer memory
Digital filters (playback): Monochrome, Extract Color, Toy Camera, Retro, High Contrast, Shading, Invert Color, Color, Tone Expansion, Sketch Filter, Water Color, Pastel, Posterization, Miniature, Soft, Starburst, Fish-eye, Slim, Base Parameter Adjustment
File Formats
Recorded pixels: 16M (4928x3264), 12M (4224x2816), 8M (3456x2304), 5M (2688x1792)
RAW 16M (4928x3264)
Quality levels (JPEG): ★★★ (Best), ★★ (Better), ★ (Good)
File formats: RAW (DNG), JPG (EXIF 2.3), RAW +,DCF 2.0 compliant, DPOF, PIM III
Color space: sRGB, AdobeRGB
Custom Functions
(20 Custom Functions available)
RAW/Fx Button (One Push File Format, Exposure Bracketing, Optical preview, Digital Preview, Composition Adjustment, Select AF Point), USER Mode (up to 2 settings can be saved)
Last edited by Docrwm; 06-14-2013 at 11:27 AM.