Pentax Announces new K-S2 DSLR

Now I have to admit, I have newer owned or used a Pentax camera and I know very little about their products.  However, I do know competition in the photo world is a great thing.

Last year Pentax offered a larger unsuccessful K-S1 DSLR that some called the worst camera of the year.  Well Pentax is trying to fix that problem by offering the K-S2.

The new K-S2 offers a 20MP APS-C sensor.  According to Pentax it is the world's smallest dust-proof and weather-resistand DSLR.

The camera offers a 3 inch LCD screen that can rotate 180 degrees to face forward for those high quality selfies we all love to take.

Instead of having actual anti-aliasing filter to deal with moiré, the K-S2 uses an innovative AA filter simulator that uses microscopic vibrations of the sensor during exposure to provide the same level of moiré reduction. The benefit of this feature is that the photographer can turn the filtering on and off as needed.  This seems like an innovative feature.  Canon recently released two versions of its high mega pixel 5DS and 5DS R cameras to deal with the filter option.  But Canon gives the choice of buying a camera with the filter (5DS) or without a filter (5DS R) but no option to turn it off and on.

Other features of the K-S2 include: an 11-point AF system with 9 cross-type points, a 77-segment metering system, continuous shooting at 5.5 photos per second, a nearly 100% field of view viewfinder, sensor dust removal, in-body shake reduction, an ISO range of 100 to 51200, 1080p video recording, and Wi-Fi and NFC.

You’ll be able to pick up a K-S2 in black, white, or black/orange starting in March 2015 with a price of $700 for the body only, $800 when with a kit lens.  Or you can buy a two lens kit for $900.

The new 18-50mm (27.5-76.5mm in 35mm terms) kit lens is also a newly announced product. It’s a weather-resistant lens that packs a retractable storage mechanism that gives the lens ultra portability without sacrificing optical quality. The small form factor pairs well with the K-S2, which is itself designed for portability.