While Pentax may not be a very well-known name in India, the Japanese company has a strong background in photography. After launching its full-frame K1 DSLR, the company has announced an advanced entry-level DSLR called the K-70.
Much like its Canon and Nikon counterparts — the 750D/760D and the D 5500, respectively — the Pentax K-70 features an articulating LCD screen that seems to have become the norm for the segment. However, unlike the 760D, the Pentax DSLR doesn't feature a top LCD.
At the heart of the new Pentax K-70 is a 24MP APS-C-sized sensor, powered by Pentax's PRIME MII image processor. The company claims a newly-developed image accelerator unit allows the camera to amplify its ISO sensitivity up to 102,400. However, the company strangely never used any adjectives to describe the quality of the image produced at this ISO setting. Nikon D5500 as well as Canon 750D and 760D also feature 24MP sensors, seemingly adding yet another requisite to the list of category standards.
What Pentax offers but isn't a feature in the advanced-entry-level cameras from Nikon and Canon's stables is weather-sealing. Pentax says the K-70 is dustproof and weather-resistant, two features normally found in its higher-end models. It is also claimed that the camera will work without a hitch even if the mercury hits -10 °C.
The Pentax K-70 also features the Pixel Shift Resolution System found in the full-frame K-1 DSLR. With this feature, the camera is reported to be capable of shooting images in great detail and precision. The camera shifts the sensor, thus capturing four images, and combines them to create one image.
The camera also features in-body image stabilisation, Wi-Fi that enables remote shooting, and can fire away at six frames a second with a buffer of up to 40 images.
The camera shoots video at up to full-HD resolution at a rate ranging between 60 and 24 frames per second. The camera is reported to also allow users to auto-focus (AF) while on live-view mode. The hybrid AF system features only 11 AF points, whereas Canon 750D and 760D's AF systems feature 19 AF points and Nikon D5500 has a 39-point AF system. The Pentax DSLR is also capable of shooting at shutter speeds of up to 1/6,000 sec.
While Ricoh, Pentax's parent company, hasn't said much about when the camera will be out in the market, it has revealed that the Pentax K-70 will carry a $649.95 price tag in the U.S.
