As many might not have realized, I have relocated to Southeast Asia to document the Surfing boom that is taking over the region. All boardsports, whether it be surfing, skating, wakeboarding, etc have become the latest craze to hit this part of the world.
Armed with my arsenal of Pentax equipment, and because of their dedication to weather sealing, I am well prepared for the task. I also incorporate the use of customized housings designed by SPL Waterhousings in collaboration with Pentax Imaging USA. SPL is the only custom housing maker that makes specialty products for the Pentax line of SLRs.
On the eve of the Pentax K5, rumors spread like wildfire about specs and performance, but only one thing concerned me, and that would be its size. With ever advancing technology, it was only a matter of time that the K series would evolve to match performance features of cameras 4X the size and 4X the price, while still retaining the features that make Pentax, "a Pentax": Small, durable, and of the highest image performance.
I knew that the engineers would crack the 7FPS barrier and this enters the realm where working sports photographers can maximize their ability to reproduce the imagery they wish to display. I feared that this advancement might possibly change the overall dimension, perhaps due to a need in a larger motor. The gods have answered my prayer, and the evolution the new Pentax K5 is still wearing its old armor. The K5 is identical in size to the K7, essentially preserving the usability of my current water housings.
With durable weather sealing in a mag-alloy shell, compact size, and swift performance the new Pentax K5 is looking to be the action photographer's dream come true.
It also incorportes HD video with perhaps the simplest operation using the shutter release as a trigger. In designing our waterhousings, Sean Labrie at SPL gives high praise to Pentax for making use of the HD video easy and efficient. Other camera makes have incorporated an additional awkwardly placed button to begin recording. With the Pentax, video is initiated with the shutter release button, and it makes video recording much easier when using a pistol grip.
** these images were shot using the K7, just imagine what I will be doing with the all new K5. Stay tuned...
This is only a short 11 second clip, but it is quite effective in showing the ease of use while in the water.
