Pentax K-5 brings 16.2MP sensor, 'much faster' AF, and enhanced HDR to midrange DSLR party

Photokina is just about getting started over in Germany today, and Pentax has grabbed the opportunity to unveil its next K-series shooter nice and early. The new K-5 looks exactly as a leak earlier this month suggested, meaning it's an almost identical brother to the weather-resistant K-7. Of course, the big changes are taking place within, with a new 16.2 megapixel CMOS sensor -- said to be equivalent in performance to the one in the 645D -- a 100 to 12800 ISO range, 7fps burst mode, much-improved 11-point autofocus, and an overhauled HDR mode. ISO can also be jacked up to 51200 with a custom function, but we wouldn't expect to get the finest imagery out of that. Other specs include a 3-inch, 921k-dot LCD around the back, 100 percent viewfinder coverage, 1080/25p video, and (sadly) only SDHC memory card compatibility -- there'll be no SDXC action for the big spenders among us.