The Pentax K-5 Limited Silver follows in the footsteps of last year's K-7 Limited Silver, by taking the existing K-5 body, and installing a new reinforced glass cover over the LCD, which is said to be shock-resistant and scratchproof, making it rather more durable than the plastic cover plate from the standard K5. It also replaces several of the black body parts with ones in a silver finished, intended to match that used on several of the company's FA-series lenses, and which will now also be available on three of the DA Limited lenses. The silver-colored parts on the K5 Limited Silver include the top and bottom panels, plus the upper surface of the popup flash strobe, the panel comprising the bottom of the viewfinder prism and lens mount surround, the microphone jack cover, the shutter button, the power dial and the metering mode dial.

The K-5 Silver also changes quite a few other points beyond this, though. Most notably, the hand grip has been reprofiled, which should make it more comfortable in use. Also, the recoloring of the body goes further than that in the K-7 Silver. The K5 Silver's mode dial (with the exception of its top surface), and eight of the buttons -- lens release, ISO, exposure compensation, flash, Raw/Fx, playback, delete, and autoexposure lock -- have also been changed to match the finish of the silver panels. So has the small screw-in cap for the flash sync terminal.

As with the K-7 Silver, the rear panel surrounding the LCD display and the controls it contains all retain their black finish, and so do both front and rear dials, as well as all of the textured hand grips. Finally, the silver on red "SR" badge on the camera's front has been changed to a silver on black badge (unlike the gold on black badge of the K7 Silver), while both the Pentax and K-5 logos have been changed to use black print.

The K-5 Limited Silver will ship with the current Pentax K-5 v1.02 firmware, and should new updates be released after launch, it will of course be upgradable using the same updates as the standard K-5. The bundled software CD will be the same as that which ships with the K-5, and which isn't quite up to date with that available from Pentax's website. One change from the K-7 Limited hasn't, we believe, made it into its current equivalent. Our current information suggests that the K-5 Limited won't include the exclusive focusing screen that shipped with the K-7 Silver. That focusing screen, which hasn't been available to purchase separately, included several extra markings to help with rule-of-thirds composition.

In other respects, the Pentax K-5 Limited Edition is identical to the current camera. The Pentax K5 sports a number of significant changes from the K-7, including a brand-new 16-megapixel sensor, 7 fps burst shooting capability, and an unusually wide expanded ISO sensitivity range of 80 to 51,200 equivalents. The Pentax K5 also includes the company's latest generation, 11-point SAFOX IX+ module, which yields improved low-light focusing, as well as more accurate and stable AF overall. Pentax has also updated its high dynamic range mode in the K-5, enabling handheld HDR shooting, and providing a greater degree of control over the look of the HDR effect that can be achieved in-camera. Other creative additions include the latest Custom Image and Filter effects from the K-r, such as an overhauled Cross Process function, Bleach Bypass effect, and more. Also updated is the Pentax K-5's movie recording function, which now captures videos at up to Full HD (1080p) resolution, and the K5 also now allows use of some of its filter effect functions during movie recording. Read our Pentax K-5 preview for more information...

Priced at around US$1,700 body-only, availability for the Pentax K-5 Limited Silver has been set at April 2011. We don't currently have information on the total production volume planned for the K5 Limited Silver, although we understand that it will be in relatively limited supply in the US market, and would expect the same to apply overseas as well. Three DA-series lenses are slated to be available with a silver body color. These include the smc PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2 AL Limited Silver, smc PENTAX-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited Silver, and smc PENTAX-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited Silver. Pricing and availability wasn't announced at press time.

Pentax K-5
General
Camera Type	SLR
Manufacturer	Pentax
Model Number	North America: K-5
Dimensions	5.2 x 3.8 x 2.9 in. (131 x 97 x 73 mm)
Weight	26.4 oz (748 g)
Planned Price	$1,750
Planned Availability	October 2010
Image Capture
Sensor Type	CMOS APS-C (approx. 1.12 in. diagonal) 16.93 megapixels (total) 16.30 megapixels (effective)
Filter Type	RGBG
Focal Length Multiplier	1.50
Aspect Ratio	3:2
Image Dimensions	4928 x 3264 (16.1 megapixels) 3936 x 2624 (10.3 megapixels) 3072 x 2048 (6.3 megapixels) 1728 x 1152 (2.0 megapixels)
Capture Speed	Standard: 3.7 frames per second for 9999 frames Continuous: 6.5 frames per second for 31 frames
Image Quality	4 levels
Image Preview / Review
Viewfinder	Yes, SLR type; eye-level pentaprism, 100% coverage, 0.92x mag., 21.7mm eyepoint, -2.5 to +1.5 diopter 99% field of view
LCD	3.0 in. diagonal 921,000 dots (approx. 307,000 pixels) 99% field of view
Playback Zoom	32.0x max
Lens
Lens Type	Interchangeable Lens 3x optical zoom 52mm lens thread
Lens Mount	PENTAX KAF2 (KAF2, KAF, KA)
Image Stabilization	Yes
Focal Length	18.0 - 55.0mm (actual) 27 - 83mm (35mm equivalent)
Aperture Ra ge	f/3.5 - f/22 (wide) / f/5.6 - f/38 (tele)
Focusing System	SAFOX IX+, 11 point (9 cross type focus point in the center), with light wavelength sensor Has AF assist lamp Manual focus possible
Focusing Range	Normal: 10" - 4,081" (25 cm - 9,999 cm)
Exposure
ISO Sensitivity	Auto, 100-12800, expandable 80 to 51200
Shutter Speed	30 - 1/8000 second
Exposure Modes	Aperture, Shutter, Manual
Metering Modes	TTL open-aperture: 77-segment, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure Compensation	+/- 5.0EV in 1/3EV increments
White Balance	Image Sensor - Auto, daylight, shade, cloudy, fluorescent (D, N, W, L), tungsten, flash, CTE, manual (up to 3 settings), Kelvin temperature (up to 3 settings)
Internal Flash	Guide Number: 13 Modes: P-TTL, Red-eye reduction, Slow-speed sync, Rear Curtain Sync. High-Speed Sync and Wireless Sync also available with PENTAX dedicated external flash. Range: Depends on lens
Flash Exposure Compensation	+/- -2.0EV in 1/2EV increments
Creative
Scene Modes	Sensitivity Priority, Shutter and Aperture Priority
Self Timer	Yes, 2 or 12 seconds
Movie Format	AVI (Motion JPEG) with audio
Storage
Recording Medium	SD/MMC including SDHC, SDXC
File System	FAT16, FAT32, complies with Design Rule for Camera File System (DCF)
File Format	14-bit RAW (.PEF, .DNG), JPEG (EXIF 2.21)
Connectivity
Video	High definition: Yes (HDMI) Standard definition: Yes, NTSC / PAL switchable
Computer	USB 2.0 High Speed
Other	Mini HMDI, DC input, wired remote, 3.5mm external stereo mic jack
Power
Battery Type	Lithium-ion rechargeable
Battery Form Factor	Proprietary D-LI90; optional D-BG4 Battery Grip
Product Bundle
Software	Software (CD-ROM) S-SW110
Battery / Charger	1 x Proprietary D-LI90 Lithium-ion rechargeable battery and charger
Other
Digital Print Order Format (DPOF) compliant	Yes
PictBridge Compliant	No
Internal Microphone	Yes
Internal Speaker	Yes
Tripod Mount	Yes
Remote Control	Yes, Optional Wired or IR
Notes	New 16.3MP CMOS APS-C sensor with ISOs up to 51200, sensor-shift shake reduction, 1080p HD video at 25fps, 11-point SAFOX IX+ AF system, 100%, 0.92x viewfinder, electronic level with tilt scale, improved in-camera HDR, SDXC compatible with firmware update, weather sealed magnesium allow body on stainless steel chassis.
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Pentax K-5