Pentax Q in the Flesh

zxaar · 09-04-2011, 03:19 PM

Originally posted by snostorm

+1 !

I don't like the fact that you can't turn high ISO NR completely off. This would be my preference, to work in jpeg with no NR, but I can work around this by shooting higher ISO in RAW and doing batch conversions. I doubt if any of those who have posted samples have tweaked the image settings, so I'm not sure how the jpeg output would be with the settings I'd probably use though.

There is one more thing that i did not like based on my handling so far. The thing is as soon as you put the camera into aperture priority mode it goes into auto iso only. Can not seem to chose iso by myself.

Blue · 09-04-2011, 04:46 PM

Originally posted by zxaar

@Blue

We can go on for 100 thousand pages. Based on all the text you have written - Enjoy your point and shoot SLRs, dSLRs and Point and shoot MFs (if you ever buy). If some security personnel ever stop you because you are carrying dSLR , you can show print of what you wrote to him and convince him that it is actually a point and shoot. Enjoy your point and shoots, its not worth arguing with you.

A security person isn't going to be stopping me because of a dSLR. That is a very weak argument to justify carrying a Q. I actually do have a 6x7 but I would check it. They all have to go through the screeners on the conveyor at the airport, even cell phones. The E-P1 gets treated by TSA and foreign equivalents no differently than the K20d, K200d, *istD etc. Its video cams the TSA have been requesting removed from bags and ran separately and they specifically have not been including dSLR cameras.

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1248.shtm

Quote:

You may carry one (1) bag of photographic equipment in addition to one (1) carry-on and one (1) personal item through the screening checkpoint. The additional bag must conform to your air carrier's carry-on restrictions for size and weight. Please confirm your air carrier's restrictions prior to arriving at the airport.
Air carriers may or may not allow the additional carry-on item on their aircraft. Please check with your air carrier prior to arriving at the airport.
Our screening equipment will not affect digital cameras and electronic image storage cards.

zxaar · 09-04-2011, 05:02 PM

@Blue

I wasn't talking about security at airports.

At some events sometime they ban dSLRs and allow only p&s. I was talking about that security.

Anyway, the person who got you and me loggerheads is off to other threads. It would be fool of you and me to argue because of him. So enjoy whatever you have. And me would enjoy some engineering stuff for next days (my first hobby).

Blue · 09-04-2011, 05:24 PM

Originally posted by zxaar

@Blue

I wasn't talking about security at airports.

At some events sometime they ban dSLRs and allow only p&s. I was talking about that security.

Anyway, the person who got you and me loggerheads is off to other threads. It would be fool of you and me to argue because of him. So enjoy whatever you have. And me would enjoy some engineering stuff for next days (my first hobby).

I always check events in advance. If there is an issue with "pro" type gear which is what they usually consider dSLR, then I take something like the e-P1, GF2 or LX3. For music events thats what I take most of the time anyway. For NCAA football games I often take a dSLR but make sure to not take too large a lens for the stadium and situation because the concern by the various Universities is inadvertently bopping people in the head. As far as the other person goes, I argue with him as much as everyone else.

Blue · 09-04-2011, 05:33 PM

Originally posted by zxaar

There is one more thing that i did not like based on my handling so far. The thing is as soon as you put the camera into aperture priority mode it goes into auto iso only. Can not seem to chose iso by myself.

That is a problem I have with the e-p1 when in video mode, automatic ISO only.

zxaar · 09-04-2011, 05:47 PM

Originally posted by Blue

That is a problem I have with the e-p1 when in video mode, automatic ISO only.

Yepp this could be annoyance sometimes. I shoot 95% of time in manual mode but it could be really irritating for someone who uses Av mode very much.

(Still this part is pretty nebulous, need to check the manuals to confirm this).

zxaar · 09-04-2011, 06:18 PM

It seems user can set the range of Auto ISO from 125 to 6400. (Based on manual) So if I have to set it to say iso400 max would solve the problem. (But it would create another one that in full auto mode it would not go to iso6400).

**barondla** · 09-04-2011, 06:19 PM

On DSLR I shoot AV about 80% of the time and manual the rest. Does that even make sense on the Q? Lens is 1.9 wide open to what F8? That only gives a 4 aperture range to select. Somehow the ND filter also comes into play. Maybe Pentax is afraid, with so few apertures, it would be easy to run out of adjustment room. So they activated auto ISO. I hope not. My Minox B film spy camera always shoots at F3.5 ( there is no aperture to adjust). I will make do with it either way.
thanks
barondla ( wish it would arrive)

frank · 09-04-2011, 06:30 PM

Originally posted by zxaar

There is one more thing that i did not like based on my handling so far. The thing is as soon as you put the camera into aperture priority mode it goes into auto iso only. Can not seem to chose iso by myself.

No, you definitely can choose ISO just like you use any other Pentax dSLR camera. That's what I've done on mine in the past two days, and I use Av only

frank · 09-04-2011, 06:34 PM

Originally posted by Blue

I would like to see it next to a GF2 or GF3.

I had GF2 before, it's just a little bit smaller than GF1. Q is still a lot smaller than GF2... Never had or held a GF3 yet ...

zxaar · 09-04-2011, 06:38 PM

Originally posted by frank

No, you definitely can choose ISO just like you use any other Pentax dSLR camera. That's what I've done on mine in the past two days, and I use Av only

Thank you for clarification. Menu is same as dSLRs so it is easy to switch between the cams.

I will also get mine as soon as I find out how much money i need to pay this month to credit card. Did lot of shopping last two months with credit card and bill is going to be big.

frank · 09-04-2011, 06:42 PM

Originally posted by rawr

Cool pictures Frank.

What does the Q look like when it has a big flash mounted on it's hotshoe? Since the Q is so tiny, the combination must look funny. Also - is the hot-shoe a normal, regular one?

I haven't tried external flash yet. Will give it a try tonight or tomorrow night ...

frank · 09-04-2011, 06:56 PM

Originally posted by barondla

On DSLR I shoot AV about 80% of the time and manual the rest. Does that even make sense on the Q? Lens is 1.9 wide open to what F8? That only gives a 4 aperture range to select. Somehow the ND filter also comes into play. Maybe Pentax is afraid, with so few apertures, it would be easy to run out of adjustment room. So they activated auto ISO. I hope not. My Minox B film spy camera always shoots at F3.5 ( there is no aperture to adjust). I will make do with it either way.
thanks
barondla ( wish it would arrive)

So far I only shot w/ F1.9 to F2.8, never stopped down further than that. I feel the DOF is great enough at F2.8, and it's pretty deep even wide open. As I said above, you can set ISO to either auto (with an upper range set by user) or specific one. Just press ISO button on the fourway button and select. Switch of AF point and four-way button functions are the same as the one on K5: press and hold to toggle. AF seems to be faster than K5 in LiveView mode, or even faster than my GF1.

I played the camera for a whole day, took nearly 200 shots. It's definitely a very fun camera to play with. It is very portable, and feels great in hand. The only thing I don't like (other than high ISO performance, which is as expected anyway for such a small sensor) is the DOF control, even at F1.9, the DOF isn't enough to isolate the focused subject and the background, unless either the subject in focus is very close or the background is far. But the photos are very sharp even at F1.9, I feel no need to stop it down even shoot at a target 10m away.

Looking at the photos, it's definitely different from those out of all the p&s cameras I ever used, but definitely can't compare w/ m4/3 or APSC dSLR that's for sure. It's a fun party and walk around camera which I'm sure most people would enjoy using, but don't expect too much out of it, especially if you wanna compare with m4/3 or APSC cameras.

pinholecam · 09-04-2011, 07:12 PM

Originally posted by frank

So far I only shot w/ F1.9 to F2.8, never stopped down further than that. I feel the DOF is great enough at F2.8, and it's pretty deep even wide open. As I said above, you can set ISO to either auto (with an upper range set by user) or specific one. Just press ISO button on the fourway button and select. Switch of AF point and four-way button functions are the same as the one on K5: press and hold to toggle. AF seems to be faster than K5 in LiveView mode, or even faster than my GF1.

I played the camera for a whole day, took nearly 200 shots. It's definitely a very fun camera to play with. It is very portable, and feels great in hand. The only thing I don't like (other than high ISO performance, which is as expected anyway for such a small sensor) is the DOF control, even at F1.9, the DOF isn't enough to isolate the focused subject and the background, unless either the subject in focus is very close or the background is far. But the photos are very sharp even at F1.9, I feel no need to stop it down even shoot at a target 10m away.

Looking at the photos, it's definitely different from those out of all the p&s cameras I ever used, but definitely can't compare w/ m4/3 or APSC dSLR that's for sure. It's a fun party and walk around camera which I'm sure most people would enjoy using, but don't expect too much out of it, especially if you wanna compare with m4/3 or APSC cameras.

The camera should do well for 3 things. Street; Long tele (planes; birds; animals) with adapter; Macro (with adapter).
Having played with the GF1 with 14/2.5 and 20/1.7, I've found that the DOF is a big advantage for street photos.
A lot more tolerant to focus errors or subject focus shift. Small package; Good light gathering ability at large f-stops but twice the DOF, meaning ISO stays down to within 800 in most cases which I get the DOF and sharpness advantage to stopping down.
Very often on the m4/3 camera "f4 and be there" works as well if not better than "f8 and be there".
I bet the Q will be the same, but better focus speed is a big bonus.

Hoping to see your sample shots soon.

**ManuH** · 09-04-2011, 08:02 PM

Originally posted by zxaar

@Blue

We can go on for 100 thousand pages. Based on all the text you have written - Enjoy your point and shoot SLRs,

You'd argue till you are Blue (pun intended

in the face. Seriously, a P&S is a camera with limited controls. As such I wouldn't count a Lx-5 as a P&S even if it's small. And the Q is definitely not a P&S.

09-04-2011, 04:46 PM	#1157
Blue Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,377	Originally posted by zxaar @Blue We can go on for 100 thousand pages. Based on all the text you have written - Enjoy your point and shoot SLRs, dSLRs and Point and shoot MFs (if you ever buy). If some security personnel ever stop you because you are carrying dSLR , you can show print of what you wrote to him and convince him that it is actually a point and shoot. Enjoy your point and shoots, its not worth arguing with you. A security person isn't going to be stopping me because of a dSLR. That is a very weak argument to justify carrying a Q. I actually do have a 6x7 but I would check it. They all have to go through the screeners on the conveyor at the airport, even cell phones. The E-P1 gets treated by TSA and foreign equivalents no differently than the K20d, K200d, istD etc. Its video cams the TSA have been requesting removed from bags and ran separately and they specifically have not been including dSLR cameras. http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1248.shtm Quote: You may carry one (1) bag of photographic equipment in addition to one (1) carry-on and one (1) personal item through the screening checkpoint. The additional bag must conform to your air carrier's carry-on restrictions for size and weight. Please confirm your air carrier's restrictions prior to arriving at the airport. Air carriers may or may not allow the additional carry-on item on their aircraft.* Please check with your air carrier prior to arriving at the airport. Our screening equipment will not affect digital cameras and electronic image storage cards. Last edited by Blue; 09-04-2011 at 04:54 PM.

09-04-2011, 06:18 PM	#1162
zxaar Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: kobe/japan Posts: 510	About Av Mode and Auto ISO It seems user can set the range of Auto ISO from 125 to 6400. (Based on manual) So if I have to set it to say iso400 max would solve the problem. (But it would create another one that in full auto mode it would not go to iso6400).

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09-04-2011, 03:19 PM	#1156
zxaar Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: kobe/japan Posts: 510	Originally posted by snostorm +1 ! I don't like the fact that you can't turn high ISO NR completely off. This would be my preference, to work in jpeg with no NR, but I can work around this by shooting higher ISO in RAW and doing batch conversions. I doubt if any of those who have posted samples have tweaked the image settings, so I'm not sure how the jpeg output would be with the settings I'd probably use though. There is one more thing that i did not like based on my handling so far. The thing is as soon as you put the camera into aperture priority mode it goes into auto iso only. Can not seem to chose iso by myself.

09-04-2011, 05:02 PM	#1158
zxaar Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: kobe/japan Posts: 510	@Blue I wasn't talking about security at airports. At some events sometime they ban dSLRs and allow only p&s. I was talking about that security. Anyway, the person who got you and me loggerheads is off to other threads. It would be fool of you and me to argue because of him. So enjoy whatever you have. And me would enjoy some engineering stuff for next days (my first hobby).

09-04-2011, 05:24 PM	#1159
Blue Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,377	Originally posted by zxaar @Blue I wasn't talking about security at airports. At some events sometime they ban dSLRs and allow only p&s. I was talking about that security. Anyway, the person who got you and me loggerheads is off to other threads. It would be fool of you and me to argue because of him. So enjoy whatever you have. And me would enjoy some engineering stuff for next days (my first hobby). I always check events in advance. If there is an issue with "pro" type gear which is what they usually consider dSLR, then I take something like the e-P1, GF2 or LX3. For music events thats what I take most of the time anyway. For NCAA football games I often take a dSLR but make sure to not take too large a lens for the stadium and situation because the concern by the various Universities is inadvertently bopping people in the head. As far as the other person goes, I argue with him as much as everyone else.

09-04-2011, 05:33 PM	#1160
Blue Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Florida Hill Country Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,377	Originally posted by zxaar There is one more thing that i did not like based on my handling so far. The thing is as soon as you put the camera into aperture priority mode it goes into auto iso only. Can not seem to chose iso by myself. That is a problem I have with the e-p1 when in video mode, automatic ISO only.

09-04-2011, 05:47 PM	#1161
zxaar Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: kobe/japan Posts: 510	Originally posted by Blue That is a problem I have with the e-p1 when in video mode, automatic ISO only. Yepp this could be annoyance sometimes. I shoot 95% of time in manual mode but it could be really irritating for someone who uses Av mode very much. (Still this part is pretty nebulous, need to check the manuals to confirm this).

09-04-2011, 06:19 PM	#1163
barondla Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: midwest, United States Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,714	On DSLR I shoot AV about 80% of the time and manual the rest. Does that even make sense on the Q? Lens is 1.9 wide open to what F8? That only gives a 4 aperture range to select. Somehow the ND filter also comes into play. Maybe Pentax is afraid, with so few apertures, it would be easy to run out of adjustment room. So they activated auto ISO. I hope not. My Minox B film spy camera always shoots at F3.5 ( there is no aperture to adjust). I will make do with it either way. thanks barondla ( wish it would arrive)

09-04-2011, 06:30 PM	#1164
frank Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,202	Originally posted by zxaar There is one more thing that i did not like based on my handling so far. The thing is as soon as you put the camera into aperture priority mode it goes into auto iso only. Can not seem to chose iso by myself. No, you definitely can choose ISO just like you use any other Pentax dSLR camera. That's what I've done on mine in the past two days, and I use Av only

09-04-2011, 06:34 PM	#1165
frank Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,202	Originally posted by Blue I would like to see it next to a GF2 or GF3. I had GF2 before, it's just a little bit smaller than GF1. Q is still a lot smaller than GF2... Never had or held a GF3 yet ...

09-04-2011, 06:38 PM	#1166
zxaar Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: kobe/japan Posts: 510	Originally posted by frank No, you definitely can choose ISO just like you use any other Pentax dSLR camera. That's what I've done on mine in the past two days, and I use Av only Thank you for clarification. Menu is same as dSLRs so it is easy to switch between the cams. I will also get mine as soon as I find out how much money i need to pay this month to credit card. Did lot of shopping last two months with credit card and bill is going to be big.

09-04-2011, 06:42 PM	#1167
frank Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,202	Originally posted by rawr Cool pictures Frank. What does the Q look like when it has a big flash mounted on it's hotshoe? Since the Q is so tiny, the combination must look funny. Also - is the hot-shoe a normal, regular one? I haven't tried external flash yet. Will give it a try tonight or tomorrow night ...

09-04-2011, 06:56 PM	#1168
frank Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Singapore Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,202	Originally posted by barondla On DSLR I shoot AV about 80% of the time and manual the rest. Does that even make sense on the Q? Lens is 1.9 wide open to what F8? That only gives a 4 aperture range to select. Somehow the ND filter also comes into play. Maybe Pentax is afraid, with so few apertures, it would be easy to run out of adjustment room. So they activated auto ISO. I hope not. My Minox B film spy camera always shoots at F3.5 ( there is no aperture to adjust). I will make do with it either way. thanks barondla ( wish it would arrive) So far I only shot w/ F1.9 to F2.8, never stopped down further than that. I feel the DOF is great enough at F2.8, and it's pretty deep even wide open. As I said above, you can set ISO to either auto (with an upper range set by user) or specific one. Just press ISO button on the fourway button and select. Switch of AF point and four-way button functions are the same as the one on K5: press and hold to toggle. AF seems to be faster than K5 in LiveView mode, or even faster than my GF1. I played the camera for a whole day, took nearly 200 shots. It's definitely a very fun camera to play with. It is very portable, and feels great in hand. The only thing I don't like (other than high ISO performance, which is as expected anyway for such a small sensor) is the DOF control, even at F1.9, the DOF isn't enough to isolate the focused subject and the background, unless either the subject in focus is very close or the background is far. But the photos are very sharp even at F1.9, I feel no need to stop it down even shoot at a target 10m away. Looking at the photos, it's definitely different from those out of all the p&s cameras I ever used, but definitely can't compare w/ m4/3 or APSC dSLR that's for sure. It's a fun party and walk around camera which I'm sure most people would enjoy using, but don't expect too much out of it, especially if you wanna compare with m4/3 or APSC cameras.

09-04-2011, 07:12 PM	#1169
pinholecam Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: North Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,706	Originally posted by frank So far I only shot w/ F1.9 to F2.8, never stopped down further than that. I feel the DOF is great enough at F2.8, and it's pretty deep even wide open. As I said above, you can set ISO to either auto (with an upper range set by user) or specific one. Just press ISO button on the fourway button and select. Switch of AF point and four-way button functions are the same as the one on K5: press and hold to toggle. AF seems to be faster than K5 in LiveView mode, or even faster than my GF1. I played the camera for a whole day, took nearly 200 shots. It's definitely a very fun camera to play with. It is very portable, and feels great in hand. The only thing I don't like (other than high ISO performance, which is as expected anyway for such a small sensor) is the DOF control, even at F1.9, the DOF isn't enough to isolate the focused subject and the background, unless either the subject in focus is very close or the background is far. But the photos are very sharp even at F1.9, I feel no need to stop it down even shoot at a target 10m away. Looking at the photos, it's definitely different from those out of all the p&s cameras I ever used, but definitely can't compare w/ m4/3 or APSC dSLR that's for sure. It's a fun party and walk around camera which I'm sure most people would enjoy using, but don't expect too much out of it, especially if you wanna compare with m4/3 or APSC cameras. The camera should do well for 3 things. Street; Long tele (planes; birds; animals) with adapter; Macro (with adapter). Having played with the GF1 with 14/2.5 and 20/1.7, I've found that the DOF is a big advantage for street photos. A lot more tolerant to focus errors or subject focus shift. Small package; Good light gathering ability at large f-stops but twice the DOF, meaning ISO stays down to within 800 in most cases which I get the DOF and sharpness advantage to stopping down. Very often on the m4/3 camera "f4 and be there" works as well if not better than "f8 and be there". I bet the Q will be the same, but better focus speed is a big bonus. Hoping to see your sample shots soon.

09-04-2011, 08:02 PM	#1170
ManuH Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Montreal Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,249	Originally posted by zxaar @Blue We can go on for 100 thousand pages. Based on all the text you have written - Enjoy your point and shoot SLRs, You'd argue till you are Blue (pun intended in the face. Seriously, a P&S is a camera with limited controls. As such I wouldn't count a Lx-5 as a P&S even if it's small. And the Q is definitely not a P&S.