The Pentax Newshour (645D returns, more K-x, K7 gets ...Fry'ed)

We have an assortment of Pentax-related news, so we grouped them all together for expediency and readability. Please let us know if you like/don't-like this format!

The Pentax 645D Medium Format is ON again
It looks like NewEgg knew something and they preemptively cracked the shell of this eggsplosive story (oh stop!).

Dan Havlik and PDN Pulse were at the NYC launch of the Pentax K-x where Ned Bunnell revealed that the medium format digital 645D is _tentatively_ planned for a PMA 2010 release. Release, not announcement (assuming of course the nuance of release vs announcement was intended as such)!

Some of the previous 645D action:
+ rekindled at PIE 2009 (March)
+ frozen/unplugged in March 2008.
+ more 645D action, in reverse chronological order

Needless to say, considering the existential twists and turns of this camera, anything and everything is possible.

On the "stratigery" front, if they manage to pull this out successfully, it would give Pentax a boost of confidence, and sensor-size bragging rights over the other three traditional SLR manufacturers with their shiny 35mmFF sensors and DSLRs. And perhaps make them more tempting from a "partnership" point of view. And as it is often the case when someone makes an advanced flagship-type of product, there is a trickle-down effect, which positively affects sales of everything else in the product line-up.

More Pentax K-x launch action
There's still more K-x launch action that we didn't cover yesterday! We start with Photography Bay, attending the NYC launch and reporting their impressions and lots of pictures from the event!

Next up, we have two gadget-blog-style hands-on galleries, of pure gear-lust benefit, at Engadget and Pocket Lint.

The Pentax K-7 gets some Fry's love
Spotted in the latest Fry's circular (16-page newspaper advertisement pull-out section), in the camera section, is the Pentax K-7, advertised next to all the other cameras from the usual suspects.

It is not often that Pentax gets this type of attention in print MSM advertising, so this will surely please some Pentaxians.

Not only that, but Fry's also advertises a Pentax DSLR with a kit-lens for $430 (we assume it is the K2000/K-m).

(Unrelated, but be careful when you type K-7 and press publish without proof-reading. The letter "y" is right below the number "7" ;-)

New Pentax FanBoy collaborative blog by RH
Rice High has just started a new collaborative blog for Pentax FanBoys and he is inviting anyone interested in writing to join. Blogspot is free and anyone can get an account!