After playing with the new Pentax K-S2 DSLR for a while on the show floor of CP Plus 2015, the camera kind of grew on me. Its color selection is diverse. I liked the Forest Green model, particularly. Like the K-3, it is weather resistant and durable, but it felt a bit too boxy and plastic for me to think it could withstand some of the punishment I can unleash on a camera. The functions and controls of the K-S2 are laid out nicely. Its feature set is impressive, and everything from the Sensor Shift Shake Reduction to its anti-aliasing filter simulation to built-in Wi-Fi is easily accessible on its compact body.
The K-S2 has a swiveling LCD, too, and an accurate focusing system. It is paired with the HD PENTAX DA 18-50mm f/4-5.6 DC WR RE Lens, which is also an interesting character, with a lock button to release the zoom mechanism. It possesses a good focal range for this APS-C shooter (27-75mm equivalency) but it doesn’t adjust too smoothly and feels a bit vulnerable. That, however, is the tradeoff for its very compact, lightweight design. Together, the camera and lens are a comfortable, portable, feature-heavy DSLR team.
I was also able to check out the HD PENTAX D FA* 70-200mm f/2.8 ED DC AW lens. It is a large, comfortable zoom that's incredibly fast and confident when acquiring autofocus. Also, the manual focus ring was very smooth and located in the perfect spot to support the lens and adjust focus with just one finger. I found it a bit larger than need be, but functionally very impressive. The HD PENTAX D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 DC AW lens was just a beast. With its red dot sight, it found focus and tracked well, but it, too, was very big, even for such a powerful zoom range, and its rings didn’t rotate too smoothly.
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