Pentax to Announce K20D in January 2008

It has been a while since we had some decent, bone-chilling rumors, but the wait is over and this time, the rumor mill has some "news" about Pentax. If you are not aware, the only news about Pentax over the last period have concerned the merger/take-over (they've changed their statements so many times nobody knows or cares anymore) with/by Hoya.

The "rumors floating around the web", as photographybay puts it, are actually drifting from a Chinese forum, so all of you Pentax aficionados, don't scream with joy yet!

Apparently, Pentax or Hoytax, if you prefer, is prepping two brand new DSLR models with quite some enticing specs that will replace the current K10D and K100D. Judging from the specs, both of them are quite impressive and should give Pentax good leverage against Nikon and Canon.

The flagship model, the K20D, will supposedly boast a brand new proprietary CMOS sensor with no less than 14 megapixels. Pentax must have realized, just as Nikon did (although nobody knows for sure who's the manufacturer behind 35mm full-frame FX sensor), that it was about time to develop their own sensor for the flagship model. The new imaging unit goes hand in hand with a fresh 14-bit Raw A/D image processor that will probably yield better tonal gradations and dynamic range.

Another important, albeit not revolutionary, rumored feature is the generous 3-inch LCD that will make image reviewing quite a pleasure. Other pro features include AF trimming/programming for different lenses and a PC sync port.

The other rumors refer to the K200D, with a 10-megapixel Sony sensor, 12-bit image processor, 11 autofocus points and the same 3-inch LCD. Although the K20D specs do not mention anything about the speed, the K200D will be rather limited in this regard. Three frames per second for a 10 Raw file burst is not impressive by anyone's standards.

As always, keep in mind that these are just rumors, but hey, history has taught us that rumors can be quite accurate sometimes. One more thing, official announcements from Pentax should be expected around January 24, 2008.

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