[rawr]

Not a lot of news here. The K-r looks like a decent incremental improvement over the K-x. Importantly, there doesn't appear to be anything much in the K-r likely to mean better IQ than the K-x, even in terms of high ISO. I do like the better rear display however.

I also am puzzled by the continued emphasis by Pentax on all the on-camera software and effects - the cross-processing, the HDR etc. Who uses that stuff routinely, if at all?

Looking forward to seeing the detailed K-r reviews, especially of IQ parameters - resolution, dynamic range etc.

[JohnBee]

3" 920,000 point LCD vice 2.7"
AF manual Focus adjustment (i like this)
AF SAFOX IX vice SAFOX VIII (does this give it the same AF as K7?)
LI battery instead of mandatory AA
SDXC firmware upgrade possible

AF confirmation points?...
AF assist lamp.
Faster FPS
Larger buffer(25/JPG or 12 RAW @ 6FPS)
Higher ISO
Dual Battery options
Intervalometer 999 frames

[Asahiflex]

Probably a good enough upgrade to keep sales performance through this year, without raising prices excessively for those of us interested in high iso performance on a budget.

You forgot one of the other interesting points: at 6FPS in JPEG mode, it's the fastest Pentax SLR ever. It's even faster than the K-7.

So 8FPS seems possible in the K-7 replacement.

[deadwolfbones]

$220 MSRP means <$200 street price, guaranteed.

[gazonk]

Woh! Quite harsh, and you haven't seen the images it captures...

.

I agree, wait until we see the images. For all we know this lens may produce razor sharp contrasty images wide open, and suddenly everybody will start raving about what a bargain it is.
My only worry is that newbies may be too obsessed by the aperture number. It seems that some m4/3 newbies are very obsessed by this these days, partly because of the availability of 0.95 lenses. And it will be difficult to explain to these people that 2.4 on aps-c is like 1.8 on m4/3.

[JoepLX3]

$220 MSRP means <$200 street price, guaranteed.

That also holds for the lower non-Pentax prices... (so still expensive)

[DSims]

http://optyczne.pl/183.1-artykuł-Pentax_K-r_-_pierwsze_wrażenia_Pentax_K-r_-...380;enia_.html

Don't forget to use Google to get a surprisingly good English translation of this page.

[rawr]

This is also different from the K-x: multiple exposure support, and an intervalometer function.

Multi-Exposure Select the number of shots between 2 and 9. Auto EV adjustment available.
Interval Shooting Capture Interval setting (1 sec. to 24 hours), Start Interval setting (Immediate, Designated time), Captures up to 999 images

[deadwolfbones]

The price people are quoting for the Nikon 35/1.8 DX is street price ($190-199). They sell used for $175ish.

[Asahiflex]

The price people are quoting for the Nikon 35/1.8 DX is street price ($190-199). They sell used for $175ish.

Nikonians NEED such a lens because of the lack of SR in the body. With the K-r you can shoot hand-held scenes with the DA 35/2.4 where you can't with a Nikon 35/1.8 unless you want serious movement blur.

So everything has to be seen in the light of the whole system.

[Arpe]

USB 2.0 - dumb
They obviously don't care about movie makers either. Little choice in size AND frame rate there.

[creampuff]

Nikonians NEED such a lens because of the lack of SR in the body. With the K-r you can shoot hand-held scenes with the DA 35/2.4 where you can't with a Nikon 35/1.8 unless you want serious movement blur.

So everything has to be seen in the light of the whole system.

Sorry I don't buy this argument one bit.
All things considered, one would have to push the ISO upwards to compensate for the slower lens if one is already at the threshold of hand holdability. With the faster lens, you got more options.

[Vaikis_]

USB 2.0 - dumb
They obviously don't care about movie makers either. Little choice in size AND frame rate there.

video makers will buy video camera !!! LOL

[JoepLX3]

Well, the Kx was a great camera at its introduction with class leading high iso performance. the KR is an incremental improvement, not as many as i wish, but probably good enough for me to buy it at the right price:

Kr improvements:
3" 920,000 point LCD vice 2.7"
AF manual Focus adjustment (i like this)
AF SAFOX IX vice SAFOX VIII (does this give it the same AF as K7?)
LI battery instead of mandatory AA
SDXC firmware upgrade possible

Probably a good enough upgrade to keep sales performance through this year, without raising prices excessively for those of us interested in high iso performance on a budget.

• On the photo's the LCD doesn't look bigger, but higher resolution (and size) are indeed very nice features.
• On the AF manual focus adjustments, the Pentax site state +/- 10 steps, but "uniform adjustment"-only, so not lens specific... <-- that would be a real pitty
• I hope the new sensor doesn't mean worse high ISO performance
• And also the effectiveness of the "downsized in-body shake reduction mechanism" is a concern (is K-7 more effective than K-x?)
• I really miss the connector for exernal stereo microphone
• And higher video fps at lower resolutions as well as interval / time elapse functionality would have be nice to have
• And the price should go down over time to come closer to the K-x when they run out of them (and/or K-x also becoming cheaper to enforce this to happen)

Some people were dreaming on WR and 100% OVF (like me), but for me compactness is even more importanted. Altough WR and compactness not have to conflict with each other...

Source:
PENTAX K-r A multi-featured, entry-class digital SLR camera, featuring simple operation and a host of creative tools in a compact, lightweight body

[davebris33]

for everyone who moans and is pointlessly negative.

It is obviously incredibly easy to set up, operate and market a successful camera and electronics company in the current climate. Please feel free to have a go yourselves, instead of whinging like a bunch of spoilt petulant children.