Along with its phenomenally expensive 645D - a snip at just £10,000 - Pentax also confirmed the launch of the K-5 at the Photokina show in Cologne.

Based on the K-7, the new interchangeable lens digital SLR camera will cost £1199.99 and comes with an 18-55mm WR kit lens. It also boasts a new high-speed, low-noise CMOS 16.28 effective megapixels image sensor with the company's PRIME II imaging engine.

There's an extra-wide sensitivity range between ISO 80 and ISO 51200 (when expanded via a custom function) and full HD-proportion movie recording at 1920 x 1080 pixels to expand the boundaries of high-quality visual presentation.

Adding other improvements and refinements — such as a faster autofocusing speed, an upgraded HDR (High Dynamic Range) function now usable in handheld shooting, Pentax claim this is a "better camera" all-round.

Backing up what the company says, the K-5 certainly felt good in the hand and is designed to be functional if a little on the boxy side. The external mic socket is a good inclusion and there's a certain industrial look and clunk to the mode selector dial on the top and the side switches as well.

The K-5 will be available from mid-late October 2010.

Check out more of our Photokina 2010 coverage on our show homepage