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Rumors: Pentax K20, K200 debut in January

Take it with a grain of salt, but the rumor mill predicts Pentax will announce the K20D and K200D SLRs in January along with some new lenses.

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Pentax's current K10D CNET Networks

The latest rumor has it that Pentax plans to announce two new SLR models, the K20D and K200D, on January 24, a week before the Photo Marketing Association trade show that begins.

A now-defunct discussion thread on a Chinese Web site, helpfully archived at DCHome.net and supplemented by postings at Bigbigcar.com and PhotoMalaysia forums, includes a few supposed details about models that would presumably replace the K10D and K100D:

The alleged K20D has a 14-megapixel sensor of the smaller APS-C size, a 14-bit analog-to-digital converter (for better tonal gradations than typical 12-bit converters but leading to larger raw files), a live-view LCD, the same weather resistance as the K10D, and better sensor-shift shake reduction. The lower-end K200D is supposed to have a 10-megapixel sensor and a bigger memory buffer for longer stretches of continuous shooting.

Also a possibility are three new lenses, all appearing on a Pentax road map document (click for PDF): a 60-250mm f/4 to be announced in December and a 200mm f/2.8 and a 300mm f/4 to be announced with the cameras in January.

Rumors, some appearing derivative, also cropped up at DPReview and PentaxForums.

(Via Photography Bay.)