New Pentax K-S1 dSLR

Pentax has just officially announced the new K-S1 DSLR camera: a compact yet feature-packed 20.2-megapixel body with a unique design and new user interface designed to appeal to users of modern portable electronics.  In terms of specifications, this camera is classified as a mid-range body.  Thus, it falls just below the Pentax K-3 in the current DSLR lineup and incorporates technologies from the flagship as well as the Pentax K-50.

Based on the appearance of the Pentax K-S1 we were expecting to see a basic entry-level camera, but what we have here is a clear, targeted effort to regain customers who might have abandoned their DSLRs in favor of a smartphone or high-end compact.  The K-S1's redesigned user interface abandons some of the traditional controls of a DSLR it favor of what Pentax calls a "flat field UI".  This entails the elimination of the top mode dial and front control wheel in favor of having nearly everything on the back of the camera.  In addition, the K-S1's video mode is now accessed via the power switch on the top of the camera, which promises to provide considerably quicker and easier access to video than other Pentax bodies.  All this is made possible thanks to a new PRIME M II processor.