A camera is a mass of sophisticated technology. At the same time, it is the crystallization of the dreams of the photographer and the passion of the developer. The thoughts and obsessions involved do not necessarily show up in the specs. However, it is in those thoughts and obsessions that we can find the true essence of the camera. High performance is taken for granted. We are seeking something that exists beyond high performance, something that appeals to the sensibilities, something that generates excitement. A camera is not just a tool for recording images, it is also a tool for expressing yourself. The APS-C format, the medium format, and now the 35mm full-frame format considered the starting point of the SLR: In every era and every format, PENTAX creates cameras with personal expression as the ultimate function.
PENTAX digital SLRs are born from a consistent development concept. Which is to seek a higher dimension of image quality than can be imagined based on the image sensor size and the number of pixels. Particularly in the APS-C digital SLRs developed up to now, by making good use of the merits of an imaging surface somewhat smaller than 35mm film, we have sought both high image quality and the superior portability provided by a compact body. Now we are ready to take the technology accumulated in that process and the knowhow gained over time and apply them to the 35mm full-frame format. For film SLR users, it would not be enough for us to just provide image quality higher than film. So we asked ourselves: What can we do to create new value suited to this digital age? For this camera, PENTAX was committed not only to high image quality but also to everything from shooting functions to new operability features. This required an unprecedented development period. Discarding all fixed ideas and thoughts of compromise, we embarked on a no-limits quest for the ultimate form for a 35mm full-frame camera. The result is the PENTAX K-1.
History フィールドカメラの雄を標榜するペンタックス一眼レフカメラの進化の歴史。
The act of seeing the actual light gathered by the lens. As if the viewfinder has become one with the eye, subject and photographer face each other. That is the true joy of the SLR camera. To take this joy with you into the outdoors, the camera should be as small and light as possible, and it needs field capabilities such as dust and weather resistance. At PENTAX, we have developed compact and durable SLRs since the film era, in the process creating many field cameras famous for their high performance. This includes the medium-format ASAHI PENTAX 6×7 and PENTAX 645, which feature overwhelmingly superior portability and which greatly advanced landscape photography with their superb imaging power. In 35mm film cameras, we developed the PENTAX LX, a pro camera featuring superior dustproof and weather-resistant construction, and the PENTAX ME, the world’s smallest and lightest camera of its type when it was introduced. These were revolutionary creations which made camera history. Furthermore, in each era PENTAX has brought into practical use trailblazing functions useful when shooting out in the field. Picking up the PENTAX K-1, you will see that it fully carries on this rich tradition. There is five-axis, five-shutter-step SRII in-body shake reduction, a flexible tilt-type LCD monitor which freely tilts to any angle, and the ASTROTRACER celestial-body tracing function, which utilizes SR. There is also an unprecedented level of practical operability. As a field camera developer that has never stopped evolving, PENTAX has distilled its essence into this one camera.
Note: Designations such as world’s first and world’s smallest are based onour company research performed at the time the product was introduced.