Pentax K-7 release delayed by 15 hours, more leaks

15 hours were added to the official Pentax K-7 counter and now the website is down… In the mean time – more leaks from Germany:

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pentax-leak_k-7_2

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Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.1 specs

voigtlander_nokton_11_50-mm1I would like to think that my post yesterday trigger something, because today this lens is all over the Internet, including on the official Voigtlander website. Here are some more specs:

  • Focal: 50 mm
  • Luminous: 1.1
  • Minimum Aperture: 16
  • Picture Angle: 45.9 °
  • Construction: 7 elements in 6 groups
  • Minimum setting distance: 1 m
  • Filter size: 58 mm
  • Dimensions: 69.6 x57, 2 mm (length x diameter)
  • Weight: 428 g
  • Lens mount: VM Bayonet
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Voigtlander 50mm f/1.1 lens coming soon

voigtlander_logo

Read the whole Voigtlander 50mm f/1.1 story here. The price should be around $1100, scheduled for shipment in June 2009. Btw, Tom Abrahamsson (the source) is well know and respected individual in the rangefinder community (inventor of RapidWinder) and I will believe his comment 100%.

Flickr gallery of Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.1

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Latest on the Pentax K-7 EVF

This looks like a confirmation of the previous Pentax electronic viewfinder rumor. This graph was part of the Pentax NDA before it “leaked”:

pentax-evf

Here is an explination from a PentaxForum member:

“There is a transparent LCD at the last face of the pentaprism that lets the reflex mirror do its traditional job of letting light through it when the mirror is down.  The LCD either directly displays information or reflects it from a projector above (the red thing in ogl’s diagram) when the mirror is UP (to avoid Nikon patent?). this is also why it would be showing active real-time readings from the sensor. As RuiC described, there is a blackout plane rolled out between the prism and the mirror when it is in the up position to prevent reflecting any other light including the LCD information itself. How do you activate this LCD without an “EVF” button? easy, the digital preview position on the trigger.”

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New Pentax 50-200mm f4/5.6 WR lens

In the last few hours before the official announcement a New 50-200mm f4/5.6 WR has surfaced:

pentax-50-200

Source

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New Olympus Micro Four Thirds teasers

Pentax and Sony already got their goodies out, Olympus is now next in line…

The release date for the first Olympus m4/3 will be June 15, 2009 and we started to see the first online teasers:

olympus-teaser

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Here is a summary of what’s expected:

Olympus Micro Four Thirds camera and lenses

  • 12 megapixel
  • video
  • no built in flash
  • 3.0 LCD screen
  • 900$ -999$ with kit lens
  • second more featured camera released end of the year
  • 14-42 kit lens
  • 17 2.8 lens
  • no EVF
  • beige and black?
  • mid-June announcement and second half of July availability
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Sony a230, a330, a380, new lenses and flash now available for pre-order

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Pentax K-7 ad

pentax-k-7-poster

Source

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Pentax K-7: LED flash?

There were some reports that the K-7 may not have a built-in flash (which doesn’t make any sense to me), but now LED flash? The first picture (with LED flash) could be a PS job:

pentax-k-7-led-flash

pentax-k-7-flash

Another mystery knob under the flash button.

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Pentax K-7 – final words and pictures

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Camera Name:Pentax K-7
Body Material:Magnesium Alloy Outer Shell on Stainless Steel Chassis
Body Reliability:77 Places Sealed, Cold-Resistant: Can be Operated under Temperature at -10°C
Sensor:New Version of Samsung 14.6MP CMOS APS-C Imager in 23.4 x 15.6mm (Aspect Ratio 3:2), 4 Data Channels Readout
Dust Removal:New DRII System, Low-Pass/Anti-Aliasing Optical Filter Placed in Front of Sensor is Capable to beMoved in High Ultrasonic Frequency; Featuring also the Dust Alert System to the User
ISO Speeds:ISO 100-3200, 6400 Available on Expansion (to be Set via Custom Function)
Image Processing:Newly Developed PRIME (Pentax Real IMage Engine) II Image Processor for High Performance and High Speed Still Image and Movie Data ProcessingBetter-Quality Images with RicherGradation and More Accurate Color Rendition
Mount:Pentax KAF2 (Crippled K-mount, Support Both Body Driven “Screw-Type” AF KAF and SDM KAF2/KAF3 Lenses)
Viewfinder:Optical Type, Glass Prism, 100% Image Coverage0.92X Magnification
Focusing Screen:New Natural-Bright-Matte III Focusing Screen, Improved Manual Focusing Accuracy
Shutter:1/8000th second Top SpeedX-Sync=1/180s100,000 Shutter Actuations Durability
Continuous Shooting Modes:Continuous (Hi):-
JPEG: 5.2 FPS: Until 40 Frames;
RAW(PEF): Until 15 Frames;
RAW(DNG): Until 14 Frames  

Continuous (Lo):-
JPEG: 3.3 FPS: No Limitation, until Card Full;
RAW(PEF/DNG): Until 17 Frames

Live View:Yes: Real-time, On-display image Confirmation, Activated by One-touch Dedicated “LV” button at the Thumb Position; Continuous Shooting Possible Under the LV Mode (Without Breaking the LV Mode and Exposure will be Adjusted Automatically and Continuously Via Automatic Diaphragm)
Live View AF Options:Contrast Detection AF with Face Recognition Option
Other Preview Options:Optical Preview; Digital Preview
Movie/Video Recording:Movie/Video with Mono-Audio Recording (with Built-in Microphone), Supported Video Modes: 1280 x 720 Pixels (16:9 Standard High Definition), 640 x 416 (3:1.95), 1536 x 1024 (3:2), All Modes at 30 Frames Per Seconds
Top Monochrome Status LCD:Yes, with Electro-Luminescence (EL) Backlight
Rear Colour LCD Monitor:3.0″, 640 x 480 Standard VGA Resolution, Approximately 920,000 Colour Dots, 170° Degrees of View both Vertically and Horizontally
e-Wheels Control:Front and Rear Wheels
Green Button:Yes, Directly Under the Rear Wheel
Exposure Modes:Green Mode, Hyper Program (P), Sensitivity Priority (Sv), Shutter Priority (Tv), Aperture Priority (Av), Shutter-Aperture Priority (TAv), Hyper Manual (M), Bulb (B), X-Sync (X), User and Movie
Metering System:New 77-Segment Multi-Pattern Metering System, which Divides the Frame Equally in 7 x 11 Segments, Vertically and Horizontally Respectively; More Advanced Algorithm for Higher Exposure Accuracy
Metering Modes:Evaluative, Centre-Weighted Average, Spot;
Selected via Dedicated Metering Mode Level at Camera Top
AF System:New SAFOX VIII+ AF SystemLayout Same As SAFOX VIII (11-Point, 9 Crossed);Improved in Speed and Accuracy
Focusing Modes:AF-S, AF-C, MF; Via Dedicated Focusing Mode Selector Level
Dedicated AF Button:Yes
Dedicated AF Point Selector:Yes: Central, Auto and User Select
Built-in Flash (RTF):Yes, Manual Pop-Up
Built-in AF Assist Light:Yes
Orientation Sensor:Yes
Shake Reduction:Pentax Original SR System which is Capable of Compensation Shakes in Up/Down, Left/Right and Rotational (Clockwise/Counter-clockwise) Directions
SR Activation:Preset by Camera in Different Modes or Manually Activated/Deactivated by the User via System Menu
Image Tone Modes:Seven Modes: Bright, Natural, Portrait, Landscape, Vibrant, Monochrome, Muted (for Delicate, Subdued Colours); Actual Effect Previewable under LV or Digital Preview Mode
Image Parameters:Saturation, Hue, Contrast, Sharpness, Filter Effect, Toning, Key and ContrastHighlight/Shadow; Actual Effect Previewable under LV or Digital Preview Mode
White Balance Presets:Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent Light, Tungsten Light, Flash, CTE (Emphasizing the Colours of Sunset Scenes) and Incandescent-Tinted Fluorescent Light
Manual White Balance:Yes: Manual Measurement, Presets and Fine-Tuning (for Green Vs Magenta and Blue Vs Amber)
Supported Colour Spaces:sRGB (Default) and AdobeRGB
Other Features:HDR (High Dynamic Range) Mode (One Composite Image from 3 Exposure Bracketed Images), Dynamic Range Expansion, Auto Distortion and CA Corrections, Multiple Exposures, Copyright Credits Attachment, Dedicated RAW Button, 16 Digital Filters
Controls Around Shutter Release:Optical/Digital Preview; Two Separate Buttons for ISO Speed Selection and +/- EV Compensation / Top LCD Panel Backlight/Illumination
Direct Control System for Basic Functions:With the Four Ways / “OK” Buttons for WB, Flash, Drive and Image Tone Mode / AF Point Selection Activation
Standard Digital Controls:Play/Delete (at Upper Left), Info/Menu (at Lower Right)
Dedicated One-Touch RAW Button:Yes
PC Sync Socket:Yes
IR Remote Control:Yes, Front and Rear Receivers
I/O Ports:Left: DC In, PC/AV, HDMI Out, Mic In; Right: Cable Switch Connector
Battery:New Type High Capacity Rechargeable Type D-LI90, 7.4V/1900mAh (Nominal), Support up to 980 Shots Without Flash
Storage Media:SD and SDHC Cards
Dimensions:130.5(W) x 96.5(H) x 72.5(D) mm (5.1 x 3.8 x 2.9 inches)
Weight:670g (22.9 oz.), Body Only (Without Battery and SD Card)
750g (26.5 oz.), Loaded and Ready (With Battery and SD Card)
Software:Pentax Photo Laboratory (with SILKYPIX RAW-data processing engine developed by Ichikawa Soft Laboratory), Pentax Photo Browser and Two Other Utilities
Kit Lens:DA 18-55/3.5-5.6 AL WR (Water/eather Resistant)
Optional Accessory:Vertical Battery Grip D-BG4, Weather-Sealed and Cold-Resistant, Support Either Another D-LI90 or Six AA Batteries, Provision of Extra Shutter-Release Button, Preview Lever, e-Dials, AE-Lock, Green Button and AF Button

Source

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