I was surprised to found out this morning that the Pentax K-1 was given a big new feature via firmware update announced today.
Among some software improvements and other small tweaks, firmware update 2.4.0 gives the Pentax K-1 support for Astrotracer Type 3. Which if you’re not in the Pentax world don’t worry, I’ll explain why this is such a big deal.
Pentax models have supported sensor movements to track celestial objects for a long time now. How it worked was using a external GPS accessory, or in the case of the 2016 Pentax K-1 a built-in GPS. Using this with some clever math and calibration allowed the camera to detect where you were pointing in the sky and move the sensor to compensate for the rotation of the earth. This allowed long exposures with pin point stars.
And as amazing as it is, it had it’s limitations. It didn’t work well with telephoto lenses. A 50mm was about the longest I ever did, and in the astro world, that would still be considered very wide.
Then when the Pentax K-3 III camera out several years later it was released with support for a new version of Astrotracer: Type 3.
I have a video explaining the process years ago on the Pentax K-3 III which you can watch below, but I’ll summarize. Astrotracer Type 3 works by taking a preview shot of the star trails, and from that can detect how they are moving. From this detection, the camera can then compensate the movement by moving the sensor. And it’s freakin’ good.
This means no calibration, no GPS (which drains power anyway), and it worked awesome with my 300mm lens on a crop body. That’s a tight field of view!
So, I’m stoked to say the least that Pentax decided to upgrade their older 2016 Pentax K-1 with this feature. Yay for camera manufactures supporting older models when they can. If it works anything like it did on the Pentax K-3 III, it’ll be amazing.
