The New Pentax X-5 Digital Camera: From Macro to Megazoom

Pentax has introduced a new 16MP point-and-shoot digital camera designed for the photographer who wants a high resolution, versatile camera that can travel anywhere. Compact enough to carry every day, but with DSLR-like handling, the Pentax X-5 digital camera, available in either black or silver, is called a megazoom. And Pentax means MEGAZOOM! The lens on the X-5 has enough zoom range to take, really, any kind of photo. From super-telephoto close-ups all the way to a macro mode that can focus as close as 1 centimeter, the lens on the X-5 is a versatile, full-service gem with a 35mm equivalent focal range of 22.3–580mm.

At the ultra wide-angle lengths you can take shots of expansive landscapes or get everyone at the dinner table in the same shot; with the 580mm super-telephoto length you can pull distant subjects very close for detailed wildlife shots or observational city images. The standard focal lengths in between are great for portraits and family snapshots—and don’t forget about the macro mode, which allows for sharp details at incredibly close range. Flowers and artistic abstracts, for example, can pop with color and detail with this incredible lens, which will automatically switch to macro mode when it detects a subject close to the lens.

Every type of image is delivered in high-resolution quality, thanks to the X-5's 16MP sensor and state-of-the-art image processor with Super Resolution technology. Crisp details and fast performance are the order of the day in both still photo and video mode. Full HD 1080 video at 30 frames per second is ready to go with just a turn of the Quick-set mode dial; no fumbling through menu setups to grab a spontaneous video. With an HDMI output, screening your videos on an HDTV or on your handheld device is as easy as connecting a cable and pushing Play. You can even play back your videos with creative slow motion and time-lapse features, for added drama.

The X-5 is ergonomically designed like a DSLR with easy handling and control and, like a DSLR, its impressive diopter-adjustable 260,000-pixel Electronic Viewfinder offers clear views of your subject, even in bright light. It’s great to be able to look through this viewfinder and see all of your action in clear detail with the camera’s display information neatly in view as well. For composition and playback, the X-5 also has a large, 3.0” tiltable LCD screen, which will allow you to compose your image creatively. Tilt the screen down if you need to reach high to compose a shot, or up if want to view the LCD as you shoot discreetly from your hip. The LCD screen, with 460,000-pixel resolution, is also perfect for clear playback of your photos and video and its tilt capability makes it easy to show your images to friends. Apropos, the X-5 is compatible with Eye-Fi wireless SD memory cards, which means you can automatically and wirelessly upload images directly to your computer for editing and sharing.

With such an adroit lens, capable of shooting macro as well as super-telephoto images, the Pentax X-5 has included an image stabilization system that is as impressive as the lens. Triple shake-reduction technology is a hybrid system that assures the photographer of sharp, blur-free photos and videos when shooting at full telephoto or even when shooting with limited light. A mechanical sensor-shift-type mechanism combined with digital SR (Shake Reduction) for stills and video means that even the difficult shots that usually suffer from camera movement come out sharply in focus. Combining such a full range lens with an image-stabilizing system that can control it is what makes the X-5 an ideal camera for so many situations. It could be the only camera you will need.

Because it is designed to be an everyday go-to camera, Pentax has supplied the X-5 with assistive modes that make it absolutely user friendly. Auto Picture mode can do all the heavy lifting for you. It recognizes the scene you are shooting and selects the best camera settings based on 16 shooting options, including Landscape, Portrait, Candlelight and Pet. Handheld Night Scene helps you create gorgeous night shots, without blur and without flash, by combining multiple, identical images into one sharp composite photograph. Fast Face Detection quickly recognizes up to 32 faces and helps you create perfectly focused and exposed portraits. These are the functions that truly allow you to simply point and shoot.

Add to these functions a burst rate of up to 10 shots per second and creative filters that allow you to take playful “Toy Camera” and Instagram-like images, and in-camera processing tools that can stretch your images or combine them into collages, and you have a camera that can do it all. The Pentax X-5 is a camera to carry with you and enjoy. In no time, you’ll be having fun capturing images of the world around you.