Pentax is on A Roll with a Few Announcements

Before Photokina, Pentax decided to flood us with a slew of new products yesterday. Read on for new lenses, bodies, and other goodies…

First up, check out this monster (click for a full-size pic):

That bazooka is Pentax’s new K-mount DA 560mm f/5.6 lens. Part of what I think is odd is that this is an incredibly expensive and somewhat specialized lens for a cropped sensor. Wouldn’t one expect most people who would have a need for an 859mm 35mm-equivalent lens would be getting full-frame cameras? In any case, she is beautiful. All white, weather-sealed, and with new HD coatings that are supposedly revolutionary. In every way, that’s a big lens for a little camera: $6,999.95.

Pentax also added a great all-around 18-270mm f/3.5-5.6 and costs a much more reasonable $799.95. Also meant for the K-mount, this one will give a 35mm-equivalent of 27.5-414mm — quite a stretch.





Pentax’s APS-C K-5 II and K-5 IIs DSLRs were also announced yesterday and feature a 16MP sensor, weather sealing, 7 frames per second, and a new autofocus system. So what’s the difference between the II and IIs? The IIs comes without the anti-aliasing filter. Looks like that’s becoming a common option in today’s DSLRs. The K-5 II and the K-5 IIs can both be had for the same $1299.









For any 645 lovers out there, Pentax’s line-up now includes a new 90mm f2.8 Macro (pictured above) for around $4500. You can be notified when the lens is in stock here. In case you haven’t caught on, one of the advantages to the Pentax prosumer and pro cameras is the weather sealing. And this lens falls in line with the rest of the 645D line-up, continuing a line that, to my knowledge, is the only weather-resistant medium format digital camera out there (someone correct me if I’m wrong).

Finally, I’ll throw in the new K-mount to Q-mount adapter released for $249 and a new Q-mount lens, the $299 15-45mm f/2.8. That sounds tiny (and the lens itself is), but that’s an equivalent of 83-249mm in 35mm format.