[mee]

Thanks for the announcement here Adam.

So indeed, it's a three-DSLR lineup now for Pentax. All 5's - K-500, K-50, K-5 II/IIs. I guess that might mean no flagship replacement this year, unless they name it K-5 III.

That was one of my first thoughts upon reading this news too. They appear to be streamlining the naming scheme which thus also means they appear to be wanting to keep the K-5 around longer.

The other awesome news is that entry level K-500 is practically identical to the mid-level K-50/K-30!!!! That is wonderful to bringing in new people into the Pentax product lineup. And, In a few months, that will likely be dirt cheap and will make for an awesome backup body to my K-30.

Only negative spot is part of the big positive.. there isn't much of a difference in the K-500 to the K-50 for users wanting to move up. Now, to see any sort of difference, they must move all the way up to the K-5 (mag body, 14-bit depth, quieter shutter, faster burst, etc). But even that isn't a super large difference to many I suspect.

The other other awesome news is I like that they are now selling the Weather sealed body with sealed lenses in the kit. I hope this really means they will start producing more WR lenses. Especially on the ends.. both long and wide. I would like a 10 or 12-something WR and a 300 WR and they should not cost an arm and a leg.

Or maybe that is the tactic here.. sell the bodies for cheap and capitalize on the lenses??

I hope they also throw us more accessories.. Teleconvertors, Dioptric lenses/Viewing eyepieces, Auto Extension Tube set(s), more Flashes, and GET TETHERING SUPPORT FOR THE K-30/50 and K-5 SERIES PLEASE!!

[ogl]

New cameras could be called K-30II and K-30L...

Hmmmm...Where are pentax engineers?
I see only work of marketing department and designers.

But...Maybe they work hard under FF camera and top-APS-C...

[Into The Lens]

Now, what really would've been a huge and thrilling kind of announcement would've been Pentax's version of this...







or that...






But I guess we're still left with this for now...




At least it's in color. (Pentax bokeh not included)

[cali92rs]

I am failing to see the need of the K-50 when you have the K-30. Is the K-30 selling poorly enough to warrant such a quick ax? And if it is selling so poorly will changing its shell make that much of a difference in sales? This would make more sense in my opinion if they did not discontinue the K-30, at least you get a choice in body. And I happen to like the K-30 body more by the way.

[THoog]

Why is there no K-05 in the lineup? Forget flagship or full-frame, I demand a funny-looking K-mount camera with no viewfinder!

At least the K-50 will come in proper black with yellow grips...

[SyncGuy]

It's a color temperature sensor to avoid the problems the original K-5 has with AF in "colored" lighting.
It looks like they are fine-tuning the Prime-M engine now for a higher end camera model.

Hmm.... And a "diffraction lens" on the AF sensor? That sounds like a pretty improvement on the AF sensor..
Along with an improvised Prime M processor with image sensor for better noise control in higher ISO.

Now, now..... We all now will know what the Pentax upcoming FF will be like.. It's all these "small" hidden tune-ups that are being tested.

By golly, this will mean that the future Pentax FF will beat the crap out of the Canikony's FF camp in high ISO along with extreme low-light AF capabilities.
What does that sound like? A crazily great general FF camera!

Good times are coming i sense~

[Raffwal]

No, that friendly but slightly shy neighbor that loves loves smörgåsbord, only sings on the midsummer parties and buys all his furniture at Ikea. I guess you have to be Swede to see this.

Sounds like a character from Solsidan?

[Biro]

I don't want to sound pessimistic, but all this announcement looks like a complete joke.. Bad joke.

Who on earth would pay 600$ for K-500 when you can have K-30 (a better camera) for 500$? Absurd!

Maybe I don't understand something.

Well, first, the K-30 won't be around forever. Right now, it's the deal to have. But supplies won't last forever. After that, the $180 difference between the K-500 and the K-50 is a very big deal indeed for a lot of people. And the gap in street prices for these two cameras is likely to grow over time. But, for those who can afford it, of course the K-50 will make more sense versus the K-500.

[mee]

Compare PENTAX Products Side by Side

If you compare the two, the specifications read a little different.

K30 (Wireless Flash exposure compensation: -2 to 1 EV (1/2 steps))
K50 (Sync Flash exposure compensation: -2 to +1 EV (1/3 steps))

K30 (Sensor-shift SR w rotational compensation (3 stops max))
K50 (Sensor-shift SR w rotational compensation (3 stops avg CIPA, 4 stops max))

K30 (Exposure bracketing: 3 frames, up to +/- 2 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 steps)
K50 (Exposure bracketing: 3 frames, up to +/- 3 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 steps )

K30 (File/Folder customization: Folder name (standard, date), file name (standard, customizable), embed copyright )
K50 (File/Folder customization: Folder name (standard, date), create new folder, embed copyright)

K30 (Custom Functions Functions available: 23)
K50 (Custom Functions Functions available: 22)

Playback modes and Drive Modes sections read a little different too but difficult to parse them here.

[bass3587]

Look at the second one, it's like the K-01 never left!

Bet you that picture was taken with a Canon

[magkelly]

MK pouts and whines "But I liked the K-30!" :P These are boring, same old same old, bleh. Well, I guess since I am likely getting a K5-II now it doesn't matter but I don't like that they gave on the sexy styling thing. If every camera they make is going to look like any Canon or Nikon already on the shelf then what's the point of saying "Be different?" That's not different. That's just the same stuff, new body, and it's not even an interesting body...

[zantaphia]

Is it true that "ikea" is the Swedish word for "cheap furniture"?

OT: IKEA maybe is cheap furniture, but it's a real big business, read about the IKEA founder the famous Swede: Ingvar Kamprad:
Ingvar Kamprad, The World's Richest People - Forbes.com

BTW: Way to go Pentax! Keep'em coming!

[Fogel70]

I am failing to see the need of the K-50 when you have the K-30. Is the K-30 selling poorly enough to warrant such a quick ax? And if it is selling so poorly will changing its shell make that much of a difference in sales? This would make more sense in my opinion if they did not discontinue the K-30, at least you get a choice in body. And I happen to like the K-30 body more by the way.

I guess they replaced K-30 for making manufacturing streamlined, and to optimized production for using the same body with and without sealing. With K-30 this might not be possible, so by keep producing K-30 they might not be able to save cost by using the same parts for entry and mid level cameras.

And by introducing k-50 they also get more exposure, so they will be able to earn more money when it's new. it would have been a bit confusing for new customers if they kept K-30 and introduced K-500, with different designs body and improvement only made on K-500.

With the same design on both it will be easier to choose between K-50 and K-500.

[derekkite]

I like this. First, I am not the target market for these cameras, I'm looking for the higher model update. (The Q7 is very interesting) But these will move. They both are great cameras, excellent IQ, handling. The technology that is well established they are putting into an inexpensive body. Wither the K-30? I opined that this is more a manufacturing update as opposed to a consumer update, and it seems that I was right. Two bodies almost identical except for WR required a re engineering. They can crank them both out at low cost. Milking the Hoya stuff? Of course. The problem with Hoya is that they had all their eggs in the K5 basket, then when the sensor stain issue hit they starve. Ricoh is insuring their survival in the market.

The low priced one will attract buyers, and many will upgrade to the WR for good reason.

I was chatting with the local camera shot owner today. He says Canon has dropped a distributor in Canada, the one who serviced the small volume shops. He can't buy Canon competitively any more, so he can't sell them. Nikon has laid off half of their reps, making them impossible to deal with. He can't deal with Sony, and their lack of distribution means lack of sales. He is in a tough spot and has to move into services that actually pay as opposed to tying a huge amount of money up in cameras that lose their value and can be bought elsewhere for less than he pays for them.

There is an opportunity for Pentax. We shall see if they grab it. A well performing full WR body and lens for a very good price. What do you have to pay to get a Nikon or Canon WR lens and body? Double?

[PiDicus Rex]

time-tested and foolproof technology - a bit like the AK-47. Typical Pentax. Gotta love their conservatism.

A bit like Volvo ?

Tho' truth told, that conservatism, with just slowly evolving the designs according to buyer feedback, means that when the existing customer base buys new camera's, they feel and work close enough to the ones that they already own, so there is no massive learning curve or adjustment period, you just pick up a Pentax, and the controls are where you are already used to them being, so you just get on with the work (or play) of creating great images.

Check out the differences between 5D2 and 5D3, so much stuff moved around that it slows you down when working when you have to swap between the two.