Pentax K-50

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Pentax K-50
Pentax K-50 red.JPG
Pentax K-50 with pop-up flash extended
Overview
Type Digital single-lens reflex camera
Lens
Lens mount Interchangeable Pentax KAF3 and KAF2 mount compatible with Pentax auto-aperture lenses; older lenses supported in stop-down metering mode
Sensor/medium
Sensor APS-C 23.7×15.7 mm CMOS sensor
Maximum resolution 4928 × 3264 pixels
16.3 million effective pixels
Film speed ISO 100–51 200 in 1, 0.5 or 0.3 EV steps
Recording medium SD, SDHC, SDXC (Eye-Fi compatible)
Exposure/metering
Exposure metering TTL open-aperture metering with choice of: 77-segment evaluative, center-weighted & spot metering
Flash
Flash Built-in retractable P-TTL auto pop-up flash. 1/180s sync speed.
Shutter
Shutter speed range30-1/6000 s, Bulb
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Eye-level pentaprism, near-100% coverage, 0.92x magnification
General
LCD screen3", 921k pixels with AR coating, adjustable for brightness and color
BatteryLithium-Ion D-Li109 rechargeable battery or four AA batteries (with optional AA battery holder D-BH109)
Weight With battery and SD card: 650 grams (1.43 lb)
Without battery: 590 grams (1.30 lb)
Made in Philippines

The Pentax K-50 is a 16.3-megapixel mid-level Pentax digital single-lens reflex camera, announced on 12 June 2013. [1] It is the direct successor to the Pentax K-30 model, both of which are weather-sealed.

Contents

The main differences over the Pentax K-30 include a more traditional body design, 120 available body color combinations, higher max ISO range (up to 51 200), compatibility with Eye-Fi cards and an improved kit lens (Pentax K-30 included the DA L 18-55mm lens, while Pentax K-50 bundles a water-resistant version, the DA L 18-55mm WR, both with plastic mounts). [2]

Among APS-C mid-range DSLRs

Among competing APS-C mid-range DSLRs, the Pentax K-50 has the smallest body, although it is 4 mm wider than its nearest rival, the Nikon D5300. The body is made from stainless steel and polycarbonate resin, as is the Canon EOS 700D. The Pentax K-50 has an onboard microphone but lacks the audio-in port of most comparable cameras, limiting its usefulness to videographers. Pentax is the only company to include a weather-resistant kit lens, Pentax K-50 with DA L 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 WR, while the higher-model Pentax K-3 offers the 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 WR in one of its kits. The Pentax K-50 is available for around $300 (body only) and less than $400 with kit lens, as of the end of July 2015, which puts it at a very low price point compared to its competition (Canon EOS 70D, Canon EOS 700D, Nikon D5300, Nikon D7100 and Pentax K-3). [3]

Pentax K-500

The Pentax K-500 is an entry-level sibling of the Pentax K-50, sharing almost all of its features. The main differences between the two cameras are the K-500's lack of colored body options (only black), electronic level, weather sealing, and focus point visualisation through the optical viewfinder. As a consequence of the lack of weather sealing, this camera is bundled with the non-weather-sealed DA L 18-55mm kit lens, and most variants of the camera come with an AA battery holder included as opposed to the D-Li109 rechargeable Li-ion battery included with the K-50. However, the camera is still compatible with the aforementioned Li-ion battery.

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikon D50</span> Digital single-lens reflex camera

The NikonD50 is a 6.1-megapixel entry-level digital single-lens reflex camera, sold from June 2005 until November 2006 by Nikon. It was Nikon's first DSLR aimed at the consumer market, and sold for US$899. It uses the Nikon F mount. The D50 is similar to the slightly older D70 using the same CCD sensor, with a slower maximum shutter speed and slightly smaller size. However, it continued to offer the internal focus motor of prior autofocus film and digital SLRs; making it suitable for the use of autofocus with late film-era Nikkor AF and AF-D lenses. Future entry-level Nikon DSLRs would eliminate the internal focus motor and require these motors to be in the lenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">APS-C</span> Image sensor format

Advanced Photo System type-C (APS-C) is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the Advanced Photo System film negative in its C ("Classic") format, of 25.1×16.7 mm, an aspect ratio of 3:2 and Ø 30.15 mm field diameter. It is therefore also equivalent in size to the Super 35 motion picture film format, which has the dimensions of 24.89 mm × 18.66 mm and Ø 31.11 mm field diameter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canon EF-S 18–55mm lens</span> Camera lens

The Canon EF-S 18–55mm lens f/3.5–5.6 is a Canon-produced wide-angle to mid telephoto zoom lens for digital single-lens reflex cameras with an EF-S lens mount. The field of view has a 35 mm equivalent focal length of 28.8–88mm, and it is a standard kit lens on Canon's consumer APS-C DSLRs. In February 2017 Canon announced the new Canon EF-S 18–55mm lens f/4–5.6 IS STM with a smaller aperture, which made the lens 20% smaller according to Canon.

A kit lens is a "starter" lens which can be sold with an interchangeable-lens camera such as a mirrorless camera or DSLR. It is generally an inexpensive lens priced at the lowest end of the manufacturer's range so as to not add much to a camera kit's price. The kit consists of the camera body, the lens, and various accessories usually necessary to get started. A kit lens can be sold by itself outside of a kit, particularly the ones that are moderately expensive; for instance a kit lens included in a prosumer camera kit is often marketed as an upgrade lens for a consumer camera. In addition, retailers often have promotions of standalone low-end camera bodies without the lens, or a package that bundles a body with one or two more expensive lenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Full-frame DSLR</span> Image sensor format

A full-frame DSLR is a digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) with a 35 mm image sensor format. Historically, 35 mm was one of the standard film formats, alongside larger ones, such as medium format and large format. The full-frame DSLR is in contrast to full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras, and DSLR and mirrorless cameras with smaller sensors, much smaller than a full 35 mm frame. Many digital cameras, both compact and SLR models, use a smaller-than-35 mm frame as it is easier and cheaper to manufacture imaging sensors at a smaller size. Historically, the earliest digital SLR models, such as the Nikon NASA F4 or Kodak DCS 100, also used a smaller sensor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentax K10D</span> Camera model by Pentax

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentax K200D</span> Camera model

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentax K2000</span> Camera model

The Pentax K-m is a 10.2 megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera, announced on September 22, 2008, at the 2008 photokina trade show along with the DA-L series of lightweight, inexpensive lenses. It was discontinued in November 2009, being replaced by the more recent Pentax K-x.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentax (lens)</span>

Pentax lenses were first badged as Takumar. The Takumar branded lenses were well respected for their line of Super Takumar, which designated the high performance coating applied to the lens as well as the optical formulas used to make them. The majority of the industry at the time was still satisfied with the variations of the "plumb" coating process and later some of the two and three layer processes as well. Asahi Pentax soon introduced the Takumar Super-Multi-Coated line of lenses which was a 7 layer process as the industry had just caught up with similar forms of 5 layer multi-coated optics. Eventually Asahi Optical and Pentax slowly shifted much of their lens production under the Pentax name and transitioned some of the successful designs that were first introduced under the Takumar name to use Asahi/Pentax badging as well as beginning to use the "smc" abbreviation. Eventually the Asahi partnership disappeared and the Pentax name became solely used. Pentax lenses saw many feature changes to answer the market, such as: incorporating "Auto-Aperture" with the M42, the light weight and compactness with the 'M' series, Aperture Priority overrides with the 'A' series, and Auto-Focus with the 'F' series. Modern Pentax lenses for digital SLR cameras have seen the elimination of the aperture ring completely as found on Pentax DA and D-FA series lenses. They use the Pentax KAF mount. All of these lenses have an autofocus feature, either operated from the camera body or from an internal SDM motor. Pentax compatible lenses are also made by third-party companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canon EOS 500D</span> Digital single-lens reflex camera

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The Canon EF-S 18–135mm lens is a standard to short telephoto telezoom for Canon digital single-lens reflex cameras with an EF-S lens mount. The field of view has a 35 mm equivalent focal length of 29–216mm. With its 7.5× zoom range, it is placed into the superzoom category. Canon offers further lenses with even higher zoom ranges, such as the EF-S 18–200mm lens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentax K-x</span> Camera model

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canon EOS 550D</span> Digital single-lens reflex camera

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentax DA 18-55mm lens</span> Photographic lens

The SMC Pentax-DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL lens is a standard zoom lens for the Pentax K-mount. It is often sold as a kit lens with Pentax digital SLR cameras and has a 35mm equivalent focal length of 27–82.5mm. Its optical formula is made of 12 elements in 9 groups. There are two variants of this lens:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canon EOS 100D</span> 18.0-megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera

The Canon EOS 100D, known as the EOS Rebel SL1 in the Americas and EOS Kiss X7 in Japan, is an 18.0-megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera announced by Canon on 21 March 2013. It has been described as the "world's smallest and lightest DSLR camera", either currently in production or in the APS-C format. Canon uses a smaller version of the APS-C sensor format than some other manufacturers including Nikon, Pentax, and Sony, with a crop factor of 1.6 rather than 1.5. It weighs 407 grams including battery and memory card.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentax K-3</span> Camera model

The Pentax K-3 is a 24-megapixel Pentax high-end digital single-lens reflex camera with an APS-C sensor, announced on 7 October 2013. The Pentax K-3 is the successor to both the K-5 II and K-5 IIs models, which have a 16-megapixel sensor. The K-5 II had an optical low pass filter or anti-aliasing (AA) filter that can prevent the appearance of moire patterning on the captured image. This filter reduces the sharpness of the image, so Pentax also produced the K-5 IIs which omitted this filter. In the K-3, Pentax obviated the need for providing two separate models by including a selectable AA filter "simulator". This mechanism vibrates the sensor when switched on, slightly blurring the image in a way that replaces the function of the optical AA filter, providing the same benefit as the filter in the K-5 II and other cameras with an optical AA filter. When the AA simulator is disabled, the sensor records a sharper image, as in the K-5 IIs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikon D3300</span> Digital camera model (Nikon)

Nikon D3300 is a 24.2-megapixel DX format DSLR Nikon F-mount camera officially launched by Nikon on 7 January 2014. It was marketed as an entry-level DSLR camera for beginners and experienced DSLR hobbyist who were ready for more advanced specs and performance. It replaced the D3200 as Nikon's entry level DSLR. The D3300 usually came with an 18-55mm VR II kit lens, which is the upgraded model of older VR lens. The new kit lens has the ability to retract its barrel, shortening it for easy storage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentax DA 18-135mm lens</span> Photographic lens

The smc Pentax-DA 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 ED AL [IF] DC WR is an APS-C standard zoom and high-end kit lens for Pentax DSLRs, introduced in September 2010. As a kit lens, it was the higher-end option for the Pentax K-5, as an alternative to the lower priced SMC Pentax-DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL WR, and has continued in that role with subsequent Pentax DSLR models. It is also compatible with the K-01 mirrorless camera.

References

  1. "Pentax announces K-50 and K-500 mid- and entry-level DSLRs". 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
  2. "First impressions of the Pentax K50 and K500" . Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  3. Simon Crisp. "2013 Mid-Range DSLR Comparison Guide" . Retrieved January 31, 2014.

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