The classic Pentax styling of the X-5 made me double take to realize that it wasn’t a DSLR. I also read over the specs for the lens a couple of times… You mean that it has a monstrous zoom yet it also has a very respectable wide? The 35mm equivalent of the lens is 22.3mm wide angle to a super telephoto 580mm.
The cameras features dont stop impressing you there, they also have an actual EVF, 16mp sensor and a high ISO sensitivity of 6400. The last shocker to me is the price, the big two Nikon and Canon have their comparable cameras priced around $4-500. Read on to see the price of this bombshell or check out the camera in black and silver over at B&H Photo Video.
When I first saw this camera I thought “oh, a new entry level DSLR from Pentax with a kit lens” little did I know that the unassuming camera would offer a lens that packed quite a punch. The lens has a significant 26x optical magnification and fills both the wide and tele sides quite well. The lens also features a macro ability to focus up to 0.4 inches close to the subject. Camera companies have done the research and have found that most people who buy DSLR cameras with a kit lens rarely graduate into new lenses so these all in one cameras are for that market.
The tilt able 3″ screen is said to work very well in bright situations but in case that doesn’t pan out as the truth the X-5 offers an electronic viewfinder. This viewfinder will allow you see your subject in any lighting. Having a viewfinder also allows an additional point of contact so your images will be sharper by holding the camera closer to your body.
The camera features a 16mp sensor that features low noise up to ISO 6400. This sensor is a CMOS backlit illuminated sensor which helps these smaller cameras in resolving less noise in poorly lit areas. The camera also features a Handheld Night Scene mode for helping people with camera shake in low light scenes by taking multiple images at once. When not using the night scene mode the camera will also help you produce sharper images by using its advanced shake reduction techniques that Pentax has been including in its cameras for awhile now. This sensor shift shake reduction works with both stills and video.
The X-5 features full 1080P video as we would expect and it does this at 30 fps. The camera also features both a high speed movie mode for slow motion and a time lapse mode for fast forward playback.
Its becoming more of a trend to offer a AA battery solution for convince and the Pentax X-5 does just that. There are also high speed shooting modes of up to 10fps which can shoot all the way up to 30 frames before the buffer fills. The camera also offers the typical built in filters and effects that have become quite common with consumer cameras.
Finally for the price bombshell, the Pentax X-5 will be available for $280 and should be shipping in September of this year.
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