[Into The Lens]

Oh! This will be the rave at weddings or on church day. Try walking into a crowd and be taken seriously with that! A real party and crowd pleaser, that's for sure!



Maybe Pentax should put a little less money in marketing and a little more in R&D and come up with a Full Frame. That would give more credibility to the brand.

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Last edited by Into The Lens; 06-13-2013 at 09:10 AM.

[VisualDarkness]

Oh! This will be the rave at weddings or on church day. Try walking into a crowd and be taken seriously with that! A real party and crowd pleaser, that's for sure!

Nice camouflage against the floor after heavy drinking parties.

[ogl]

I'd like to see where Pentax advances...But K-50 and K-50 are not the motion, it's making no headway.
They made K-5II after K-5, and now they make K-30II under name K-50.
And they return the camera with no AF points in VF. Absurd...

Designer worked just a bit under cameras. Marketing department worked too. A bit.

I don't see the hands of engineers in new cameras.

New DA-L WR - WHY? Were DA WR worse? No. The difference between plastic and metal bayonets cost is tiny...

Where are new good zooms, limited and stars lenses?


I don't see any chances for K-500 at the market. It will be K110D of nowadays.

[Docrwm]

I wish this set was available outside Japan

I have to agree with you - despite having several of those lenses already that the kit is a GREAT idea and looks fabulous.

[VisualDarkness]

I think I'll go with the Paris Hilton LE myself:


Or this one for bird photography high up in the tree's. I just hope woodpeckers won't attack it.

[redrockcoulee]

Even if Pentax was close to announcing a replacement to the K5II cameras this announcement was not the right place to do so. An annoucement of an entry level fully loaded and a mid level (hate those terms as the K-r etc are just as capable to an experienced photographer as a strip down film camera was) and the Q camera appeal to more of the mass market buyers and a new flagship model annoucnemnt would have either been lost in it or distracted from it. If Pentax does announce a new higher featured camera later that annoucement builds on rather than competes on this annoucnement. The K500 was badly needed and that it is the same body as the K50 is a very smart move. For one thing new buyers may not think so much they are getting a lesser camera but more that they are saving money by not paying for features they do not think they want or need.

[RonakG]

I agree. They said the K-500 comes with the Li-ion battery but it clearly doesn't. Most suspicious is their claim the viewfinder doesn't show focus confirmation points but then they don't mention the lack of electronic level. I'll wait for another review before I believe the focus points claim.

WhatDigitalCamera agrees with photozine -

You Tube

You Tube

[Kunzite]

Maybe Pentax should put a little less money in marketing and a little more in R&D and come up with a Full Frame. That would give more credibility to the brand.

Do you know where the R&D money for FF comes from? Yep, it's from selling those entry/mid-level DSLRs. If having 120 colors will helps them selling more - and since it's not a first, we should suppose they are doing it because it helps them selling more - why would any Pentaxian be opposed?

And not only every bit of extra income matters (I'm sure Ricoh and Ricoh's shareholders wants them profitable); but also the market share. Every new customer is one more potential FF upgrader.

[Cynog Ap Brychan]

For one thing new buyers may not think so much they are getting a lesser camera but more that they are saving money by not paying for features they do not think they want or need.

A very good point!

[Kenn100D]

Well K500 is really for beginners. Beginners who just shoot and shoot. And i guess LV will be used most of the time.

[Docrwm]

Wow, there are so many errors out there already its getting weird.

From Pentax USA K-500 site:
"Compatible with both rechargeable Li-Ion and AA batteries for plentiful power at home or while travelling. Standard rechargeable L-ion battery available for purchase."

What's in the box:

• PENTAX AA Battery Holder D-BH109
• USB Cable I-USB7
• Hotshoe Cover FK
• Body Mount Cover

• Lithium Battery (ENERGIZER)
• PENTAX Strap O-ST132
• Eyecup FR
• Software CD-ROM S-SW139

But we have folks claiming it comes with the L-ion battery - but Pentax says it doesn't. So, until someone I trust like Adam steps in and says "I've held one and this is how it is" or one of those sites rushing to put their videos up take the time to stop and show video through the viewfinder, I'm going to hold off jumping to any conclusions on the whole AF issue and the K-500.

I've spoken with Adam and he is going to be handling the K-500 tomorrow and plans to let us know the answer to the AF points question as soon as possible. Him I trust.

[RonHendriks1966]

I don't see any chances for K-500 at the market. It will be K110D of nowadays.

This will all come down to the price. In this range people tend to buy camerabody with kitlens and leave it on Green Mode:

- Canon 1100D with 18-55mm II IS costs 349 euro
- Canon EOS M with 18-55mm costs 429 euro
- Nikon D3100 with 18-55mm VR costs 339 euro
- Nikon D3200 with 18-55mm VR costs 429 euro
- Nikon 1 J1 with 10-30mm costs 289 euro
- Nikon 1 S1 with 11-27,5mm costs 419 euro
- Some old PEN's from Olympus in this range
- Some Panasonic's in this range.
- K-30 with WR kitlens is 639 euro at the time.
- Samsung NX1000 with 20-50mm for 299 euro
- Samsung NX1100 with 20-50mm for 499 euro
- Sony A58 SLT with 18-55mm for 549 euro
- Sony NEX-3NL with 16-50mm for 469 euro

I know all different systems, but that doesn't matter. The salesmen tells people how great all these camera's are.

So If Pentax can put this in shops for 399 euro there is a good market.

[glanglois]

I wish this set was available outside Japan

Took my breath away .... Just what The Sharper Image people would go for.

[Into The Lens]

Do you know where the R&D money for FF comes from? Yep, it's from selling those entry/mid-level DSLRs. If having 120 colors will helps them selling more - and since it's not a first, we should suppose they are doing it because it helps them selling more - why would any Pentaxian be opposed?

And not only every bit of extra income matters (I'm sure Ricoh and Ricoh's shareholders wants them profitable); but also the market share. Every new customer is one more potential FF upgrader.

I totally agree with you, Kunzite, but how many more years will they have to market rainbows before we get to see an actual unicorn? It's already been long enough, don't you think? What good will it do to attract new customers to the brand if they can never put their hands on a FF, which will "potentially" never exist?

[Docrwm]

I totally agree with you, Kunzite, but how many more years will they have to market rainbows before we get to see an actual unicorn? It's already been long enough, don't you think? What good will it do to attract new customers to the brand if they can never put their hands on a FF, which will "potentially" never exist?

These FF comments and debates are funny to me. Why? Because 90+% of dSLR buyers do not know what a FF is and how it is different from the APS-C camera they have. Many non-pros that buy the FF do so based on one thing - if it costs more it must be better. I see that frequently in people I know with Leica cameras. They can't tell me much about the specs but can proudly tell me how much it cost and that its "a Leica!".

Getting people to give Pentax their money, and making a profit, happens at the entry and mid-range level where the mass of sales occur. This move to have 3 levels from basic beginner (that beats the others in specs) to the K-5II/IIs is an excellent move on Pentax's part.