Pentax K-x

Lens & Sensor

The camera has an approximately 1.5x magnification factor, so the kit 18-55mm lens shoots like a 27-83mm lens on a 35mm camera. The three shots below show the zoom range from widest angle to maximum zoom.

Zoom Ratio Examples
18.0 mm	35.0 mm	55.0 mm

The 23.6 × 15.8mm CMOS sensor has a gross resolution of approximately 12.9 megapixels, and an effective resolution of 12.4 megapixels. The sensor has a dust reducing coating in addition to a sensor shake system. If manual sensor cleaning is required, the Dust Alert feature lets you take a photo of a bright, solid-colored surface and get an image map showing where dust was detected.

Viewfinder (7.75)

The penta-mirror viewfinder is reasonably bright and comfortable, though eyeglass wearers will need to shift the camera a bit to see both the full scene and the information bar at the bottom of the screen. The field of view is approximately 96%, the magnification about 0.85×. The diopter adjustment is a slider at the top of the viewfinder, indented in the eyecup so it won’t be moved accidentally. The diopter adjustment range is approximately -2.5 to +1.5m^-1^.

The illustrations below shows the viewfinder display, first the full screen, then an enlarged view of the information readout.

Display(s) (4.40)

The LCD is an adequate but uninteresting 2.7-inch 230,000-dot display. LCD brightness can be adjusted along a 15-step scale, with a black-to-gray gradated strip displayed on screen while you move the slider. LCD color can also be adjusted to your liking, though this won’t affect the actual color in the photos you shoot.

The illustration below shows the on-screen information display when shooting stills. It may not be the most graphically appealing arrangement, but it’s very practical, providing easily legible readings for key shooting settings and readings plus reminders of digital filters and custom image settings in effect (so you’re less likely to forget the funky setting you used for a previous shot and ruin the next one), and even at-a-glance reminders of the functions mapped to the four-way controller.

The movie mode info display provides a similar level of detail, including customized image settings along the right side.

The shooting info display is clear and comprehensive.	Your movie shooting settings are visible at a glance.

Secondary Display

As with most low-cost SLRs, there is no separate monochrome LCD to display shooting settings.

Connectivity (2.00)

There is a single jack, located on the left side of the camera, with a proprietary connection for data and AV output. Unfortunately, the cable required to connect to a TV isn’t included in the box, requiring an additional $14.95 purchase (if you can find the I-AVC7 cable at all). This was less of an issue with previous Pentax SLRs, but this one has video recording capability, so output to a TV set is a pretty mainstream activity. Also missing is an HDMI port for connecting to a high-def TV, despite the fact that the K-x does shoot in 720p video mode.