Editor’s note: Chris got some hands-on time with the Pentax K-x yesterday at the Pentax press event.  He passed along a number of photos to share; however, he’s busy at the Pepcom event today.  I wanted to get these hands-on images in front of you and highlight some of the key specs on the Pentax K-x.

The Pentax K-x headlines with a 12.4-megapixel CMOS sensor and video capture capability at 720p and 24fps.  It packs a lot into a very small package at a very affordable price point – $650 for the single lens kit.

One of the more subtle, yet serious shooter features, is an 11-point AF system with 9 of those points being cross-type sensors.  To put that specification into perspective, the much pricier Canon Rebel T1i offers a 9-point AF system with only cross-type sensor found at the center AF point.  Better yet, the Canon 5D Mark II also has 9 AF points with a single cross-type sensor on the center point.  So, Pentax is taking entry-level users seriously by spec’ing the K-x well above its price-point.

The Pentax K-x also matches the sensitivity of the Canon Rebel T1i with a range of ISO 100-12800 equivalent.  We don’t have any samples to share yet; however, this is a bold spec that’s raising eyebrows.

What the Canon Rebel T1i and Nikon D5000 can’t do is provide image stabilization for every lens attached.  The K-x has a sensor-based stabilization system, so no matter which lens is on the camera, the K-x will be working to reduce camera shake-induced blur.

As you can see from the photos here, the K-x is a rather compact DSLR, particularly when fitted with the wide angle smc-DA 15mm f/4 ED AL Limited lens shown above (top).  Compact DSLRs have been quite the trend lately – Sony downsized its entry-level shooters without much more of a change and Nikon just dropped the compact and simple D3000 on the scene.  The Pentax K-x fits rather nicely into the gamut of entry-level DSLRs with its compact size and feature set.

Hopefully, we’ll get our some time to take a closer look at the K-x soon and see if the performance and image quality are on par with the spec list.  For now, it looks like Pentax has a real winner on its hands.  If the K-x tastes as good as it looks (although the jury is still out on the red version), the K-x will definitely deserve some consideration on everyone’s entry-level DSLR shopping list.

More hands-on pics of the K-x below.

The color options of the new camera are arguably stylish and trendy.  While I will stick with a matte black finish for my camera, not everyone has to be so boring.  As a consumer oriented camera, the K-x offers red and white flavors as well, including a matching kit lens.  If you’re in Japan, you can mix and match your own camera colors to cover the entire spread of the rainbow.