Utilizatorii de camere foto compacte care s-au săturat de calitatea mică pe care o oferă dispozitivul lor dar totuși nu au disponibilă sau nu doresc să ofere o sumă foarte mare de bani pentru un DSLR, au primit o categorie aparte de dispozitive. Camerele foto compacte cu obiective interschimbabile sunt din ce în ce mai răspândite și căutate. Producătorii au observat acest trend și încep să investească în acest domeniu sume importante pentru dezvoltare.
Prima cameră foto de acest gen a fost Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, lansată la finalul anului 2008 în Japonia. În prezent Panasonic este la a treia generație a modelului, care a fost prezentat intr-o postare anterioară. Samsung, Olympus, Leica, Ricoh și Sony au intrat de asemenea în această horă, ultima deținând până de curând titlul de cea mai mică cameră foto compactă cu obiectiv interschimbabil prin modelul α NEX-3.
Acest titlu a fost atacat cu succes de către Pentax, care a lansat modelul Q. Pentru a putea ajunge la acest rezultat, Pentax a trebuit să reducă dimensiuni ale componentelor, inclusiv a senzorului de imagine care este de 2,5×5,8cm cu rezoluție de 12.4 megapixeli. Acest lucru aduce cu sine totuși și inconveniente, imaginile produse fiind de o calitate inferioară comparate cu imaginile produse de camerele competiției. Camera deține și capacitatea de a captura imagini în mișcare la calitate HD 1080p/30fps și compresie h.264, ecran LCD de 3 inch, senzor pentru reducerea mișcarilor în timpul capturării și pentru eliminarea prafului de pe senzor, bliț integrat cu un sistem interesant de culisare, filtre, setări și moduri personalizate oferite în meniul integrat în cameră și altele. Imaginile capturate sunt trimise către port-ul ce primește carduri SD, SDHC și SDXC.
Kit-ul oferit de Pentax conține corpul aparatului (alb sau negru) alături de un obiectiv de 47mm f1.9 în schimbul sumei de 800$. Oferta de obiective este completată de obiectivele 35mm, 100mm, 27.5-83mm și unul de tip fisheye de 160°.
Așteptăm momentul în care următoarea companie din domeniu va aduce încă un model în această categorie, dar mai ales momentul în care Pentax Q va fi detronat de pe primul loc din topul celor mai mici camere cu obiectiv interschimbabil, căci cu siguranță această poziție va fi atacată curând.
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Comunicatul de presă:
PENTAX UNVEILS THE PENTAX Q: The World’s Smallest, Lightest Interchangeable Lens Camera
GOLDEN, CO. (June 23, 2011)… PENTAX Imaging Company has announced the PENTAX Q – the world’s smallest and lightest interchangeable lens camera (ILC).* The Q offers the versatility and precision of an advanced DSLR in a body that is significantly smaller than every other digital ILC body available on the market today.
* The world’s smallest and lightest digital interchangeable lens system camera, as of June 15, 2011 (based on PENTAX research).
The camera’s tiny size, lightweight design, and superior image quality are made possible by an innovative PENTAX-developed imaging system. With a high-resolution 12.4 megapixel, 1/2.3 inch CMOS image sensor, the Q carves out an entirely new camera category that extends beyond traditional digital compact, APS-C or 4/3 digital cameras. The backlit sensor is a highly efficient light-gathering instrument that produces very little noise at high sensitivity levels particularly in low light settings. Further, the new Q lens mount is a perfect match with the new sensor and every interchangeable Q lens is designed for more advanced image quality than may be found on traditional compact digital cameras. This innovative PENTAX design is the foundation of the Q’s position as the world’s smallest, lightest ILC system with superior image quality.
Several important features of the PENTAX Q include:
• A newly designed PENTAX Q-mount lens system for convenient interchangeability with a variety of specialty Q lenses including prime, zoom, fish-eye and more.
• Exceptional image quality in 12.4 megapixels from the Q’s 1/2.3 inch backlit CMOS image sensor. Capable of producing 12 bit DNG RAW and JPG images, the backlit CMOS sensor is a highly efficient light-gathering instrument designed specifically to produce very low noise at high levels of sensitivity.
• Extremely compact, durable, lightweight, scratch resistant magnesium alloy body.
• The power and flexibility of traditional DSLR shooting modes such as Program, Aperture/Shutter Priority, and Metered Manual exposure control as well as highly convenient PENTAX Auto Picture and 21 scene modes for casual shooting, including new Forest and Stage Lighting options.
• A variety of creative modes, Smart Effect options, or camera settings that assign to the Q’s Quick Dial located on the front of the camera. Smart Effects modes enhance digital photography by applying a series of effects to images to achieve high quality finishing. Brilliant Color, Vintage Color, Warm Fade, Bold Monochrome, and Water Color are just some of the Smart Effects available and may be assigned on the Q’s Quick Dial.
• In-camera HDR capture mode shoots 3 images of varying exposures, blending them to bring out the details in even the darkest shadows and brightest highlights of extreme contrast shots.
• High quality motion video with stunning full 1080p HD clarity at 30 frames per second. The Q processes the full HD video using high quality h.264 compression for superior color and detail and offers creative video effects through custom image modes, digital video filters, and interval shooting.
• A sensor-shift Shake Reduction system with integrated DRII Dust Reduction for blur and dust free images even in low lighting.
• 5 frames per second continuous shooting mode for any fast action setting.
• Effortless bokeh control with the Q’s Bokeh Control filter. (Traditionally controlled through a DSLR lens’s aperture, bokeh is the out of focus part of the background that helps to emphasize the subject, drawing the viewer’s eyes to the most important part of the photo.) The Q offers a fine degree of extra control over image bokeh via an in-camera filter operation.
• Powerful USER modes allow the creative photographer to save a series of favorite camera settings, filters, and custom image modes for instant reuse.
• Shutter speeds range from 1/2000 to 30 seconds for freezing fast action or capturing long nighttime exposures. Bulb mode adds flexibility for low light photography and motion effects.
• A built-in popup flash adds the perfect amount of extra light to an image with a high extension to naturally reduce the redeye effect common to compact cameras. The Q’s flash is effective to 23 feet at 200 ISO, and covers a wide angle 28 degree field of view.
• Compatibility with the latest generation SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards for ultra-high capacity storage as well as outstanding image file portability.Along with the Q, PENTAX introduced the PENTAX 01 Standard Prime kit lens and an optional optical viewfinder. The unifocal standard lens has a focal length equivalent to 47mm in the 35mm format. The lens offers a natural perspective similar to that of the human eye and is ideal as a multipurpose, everyday standard lens for various subjects including landscape and portraiture. With a maximum aperture of F1.9, it performs superbly in dim lighting and may be easily adjusted for bokeh. Incorporating two high grade aspherical optical elements, this lens compensates various aberrations to a minimum.
Featuring high-end optics incorporating special optical glass elements and PENTAX exclusive lens coating technology, this lens delivers beautifully defined, high quality images that are sharp and high contrast even at the edges. The AF motor installed in the lens assures smooth, quiet focusing operation. The lens shutter mechanism allows the PENTAX Q’s built-in auto flash to be synchronized to the camera’s top shutter speed of 1/2000 second (or 1/250 second when using an accessory flash unit). This lens is also equipped with a built-in ND (neutral density) filter, which comes in handy when shooting with open aperture at bright locations or when using slower shutter speeds.
The shoe-mounted viewfinder attachment is an optional accessory. This External Viewfinder O-VF1 offers outstanding compositional framing, even in the brightest sunlight where viewing an LCD screen is traditionally a challenge. (Note: The Viewfinder offers framing marks for the Standard lens.)
The PENTAX Q will be available in white or black body models and shipped in a Standard Prime lens (available in silver) kit. Initially, the PENTAX Q system will ship in Japan. Anticipated shipping time to the United States is early Fall 2011 at around $800 for the standard lens kit.
The optional shoe-mounted viewfinder will be available at the same time for $249.95 USD. Each may be pre-ordered now on www.pentaxwebstore.com The PENTAX 01 Standard Prime kit lens will not be sold separately. More information is available here: www.pentaximaging.com/newsPENTAX Imaging Company is an innovative leader in the production of a variety of adventure ready digital cameras including weather-resistant digital SLRs and stylish, compact, waterproof cameras, as well as lenses, flash units, binoculars, scopes, and eyepieces. For more than 90 years, PENTAX has developed durable, reliable products that meet the needs of adventurous consumers and businesses. With headquarters in Golden, Colorado, PENTAX Imaging Company is a division of PENTAX of America, Inc.
