[pinholecam]

Here is a sample I managed to obtain to compare the 5.5 crop factor of the Pentax Q as compared to an APS-C camera using a telephoto lens.
Pls ignore WB differences as the sample from K5 was obtained from another shooter shooting at the same time as me and I have no control over the WB and processing.


K5 with Sigma 100-300/4 at 260mm




Pentax Q with FA*200/2.8

[mickey]

Just wanted to say that this a very informative thread and ignited my interest in the Q, primarily for he sensor crop.
Would still love to see some birding photos, if you managed to ake some.
The Q plus telephoto is interesting for me, and a possible cheaper alternative to buying a long zoom lens.

Lovely photos, and proof what can be achieved once one pushes a camera and resources to the limits and then some.

[glanglois]

Given what I didn't see in the latest Pentax announcements, I'm thinking again about the Q - in this case Q10. I thought I had my buying obsession under control but then I read these posts and saw the photos. Great job!

[palemale]

Much appreciated! I think the Q will turn out to be absolutely perfect for my particular needs.

[Docrwm]

Bringing back an old thread because the Q has dropped in price again and they updated the firmware to v1.1 with lots of nice improvements. This is a nice review, I'd like to know if you upgraded to v1.1 firmware and what your thoughts are on it?

[NickLarsson]

Bringing back an old thread because the Q has dropped in price again

I bought the Q partly because of the price drop and partly because of this review (and ndjedinak comparison vs RX100), so yeah, good idea to bring this thread back, maybe it will convert new people to the Q

[Docrwm]

I bought the Q partly because of the price drop and partly because of this review (and ndjedinak comparison vs RX100), so yeah, good idea to bring this thread back, maybe it will convert new people to the Q

How long have you had your Q and what do you think of it?

[NickLarsson]

How long have you had your Q and what do you think of it?

Well, it's been one week and I enjoy it

IQ-wise, it's clearly not the same league as my K-01 or K-r but for creative snapshots or street photography it does the job very well.
And thanks to its light weight I'm not bothered to take it everyday

[HSV]

A small out of topic question...why would somebody get a Q instead of a K-01, now that the price of the K-01 is so low?

For street, I would assume that the K-01 is small and light enough (except for it's weird colors and shape, it's fairly portable and unobtrusive).

[Sandy Hancock]

A small out of topic question...why would somebody get a Q instead of a K-01, now that the price of the K-01 is so low?

For street, I would assume that the K-01 is small and light enough (except for it's weird colors and shape, it's fairly portable and unobtrusive).

I have both. I bought the K-01 in late March, and I have used my Q daily for the last five weeks.

The K-01 is a nice street camera, especially with a DA21 and a DA40 in the pocket, but there is an order of magnitude difference in size and weight. The Q is *tiny*, as are the lenses. You hardly know you're carrying it around. I have it with me all the time.

[ndjedinak]

I have both. I bought the K-01 in late March, and I have used my Q daily for the last five weeks.

The K-01 is a nice street camera, especially with a DA21 and a DA40 in the pocket, but there is an order of magnitude difference in size and weight. The Q is *tiny*, as are the lenses. You hardly know you're carrying it around. I have it with me all the time.

I agree.

Another thing I've noted is the k01 generates interest, while no one even notices a Q.

There really is an order of magnitude difference.

The best thing I can say in the Q's favor is this: my wife took a shine to pentax after I bought her a Q. Later, I also bought her a k01. I used her Q so much I decided to buy myself one as my carry-everywhere camera, but before I did I carried her k01 to work for a few days. Although the k01 has lovely image quality, I found it too big, too bulky, and too conspicuous for my personality and shooting style. I could have bought either, but I bought another Q.

FW1.1 for the Q really improves focus speed a lot; I'm very impressed with the improvement as its more fluid to shoot and catches candid moments far easier now. Unfortunately, the noise reduction was cranked up, though, relative to FW1.01; you lose quite a bit of detail with this new NR setting. I started a thread on that. I'd love to see Pentax give a "NR off" setting that goes back to the old style--I personally love the grain and sharpness it gave. I have gone back and forth between the two firmwares, and I feel the focusing speed generally outweighs ultimate IQ benefit of the earlier firmware, as I mostly shoot kid stuff nowadays. I may backdate before I take the Q on a trip, though.

In any case, I love the Q: no joke its one of my favorite cameras in well over 30 years of photography. Great camera.

[Docrwm]

A small out of topic question...why would somebody get a Q instead of a K-01, now that the price of the K-01 is so low?

For street, I would assume that the K-01 is small and light enough (except for it's weird colors and shape, it's fairly portable and unobtrusive).

The K-01 is not that small. I keep hearing that but when I handled it next to my K-x and the Q they had on the K-30 Tour it just wasn't a meaningful difference in size from the K-x and it was HUGE compared to the Q. Add to that the fact that it struggles to focus, or just work, with a variety of lenses (please don't slam me, I am going on user reports here at PF) and you have a couple really good reasons to go with the Q. Another is that the 5.5 crop factor makes the Q a serious macro tool and a telephoto giant

[alamo5000]

Great review! I wouldn't mind testing one of these out myself...

And I love Singapore

[reeko]

thank you for this great review.

I just received my Q

[jva59]

Thanks for exceptionally helpful review. I ordered my Q this morning.