Pentax MX-1 Review
Image Customization
The Pentax MX-1 has a variety of settings that allow you to control how your pictures turn out without having to shoot in RAW or post-process.
Custom Image
Thanks to the custom image setting, the user is free to customize hue, saturation, and sharpness of JPEGs, though Pentax decided to simplify the custom image menu a bit. Compared to DSLRs, the MX-1 doesn't have as many settings within each category. The custom image menu also allows you to shoot in black and white or sepia.
We recommend that you configure the custom image settings to your liking before starting to use the MX-1.
These same settings can be applied retroactively to RAW files using the Pentax Digital Camera Utility software (included).
Shadow/Highlight Correction
The MX-1 offers a built-in shadow/highlight correction system, which is quite effective. Enabling one or both of these options will bring out more detail in bright and/or dark areas of your image, which is very similar to what one might expect from a well-processed RAW file. Below is an example of it in action. These corrections can also be set to "auto" mode, in which case the camera will decide when it is appropriate to apply them. Note that in order to accomplish the correction, the camera will boost the ISO by one stop, which could result in some loss of detail. There will also be a loss of contrast as a result.
ND Filter
The MX-1 has a built-in electronic Neutral Density filter which can compensate for about two stops of light, thus allowing you to shoot using settings (i.e. wide-open or minimum aperture) which would otherwise overexpose. This is a good feature to have just in case, though simply shooting in RAW will allow you to obtain very similar results.
HDR Mode
Unlike on other Pentax cameras, the MX-1's dedicated HDR mode only takes a single photo, and then processes the resulting data. This means that HDR photos are not subject to blur due to camera shake, and thus allows for easy hand-held HDRs. HDRs take about 3 seconds to process and there are three selectable presets: standard, strong 1, and strong 2. Each successive setting brings out more shadows and highlights while decreasing overall contrast.
