[zwmg]

Hi,

I own the Original Q since it first came out, with the 01 and 02 lens. I'm not a hobby photographer but only own it to take good telephoto pics on vacation and macro pics at home. Besides that I most of the time use my smartphone camera (S7 Edge, iPhone 7). As I travel the world and see a lot of places and animals a telephoto lens camara is a must have. This is why I ordered the 06 lens a few days ago too. My question is if the Q-S1 is worth the around 150€/200$ upgrade from my original Q?

I know it's faster, esp on start, which is quite important when on Safari. And picture quality is better too. But because of the different chip it has technically less zoom. And build quality feels way cheaper than with the Original magnesium Q.

So my questions are if you guys think it is worth the upgrade. Most important is telephoto zoom and macro too. Is picture quality that much better?

And do you think after all these years it is still worth upgrading to the Q-S1? Or do you think there will be a newer model sometime next year? Or will the Q line be discontinued after all?

Is video quality better than on the Original Q?

Sorry for my not so perfect english!

Thank you all!

[BigMackCam]

Hello and welcome to the forums - glad you could join us; and please don't apologise for your English... it's excellent

The larger sensor in the Q-S1 (and the Q7 on which it is based) offers a wider field of view, and I generally find the images are sharper. High ISO performance is also better. Build quality isn't quite so good, but it's still very good. I can't comment on the video, as it's not a function I have any interest in or use for.

It's difficult to say if it's worth "upgrading", as I'm not sure the Q-S1 really is an upgrade over the original Q... The sensor merely gives them both slightly different strengths and weaknesses. I have the Q and Q7, and I really like them both individually. If I had to pick just one, it would be the Q7 because of the improved IQ... but I actually enjoy the Q more

[Tony Belding]

My personal favorite is the Q7. The build quality is not bad at all. If you are concerned about losing a wee bit of telephoto reach, there's no reason why you have to give up your original Q. It's good to have a backup camera on hand, right?

And yes, we have been told (repeatedly) that there will be new cameras in the Q series, but nobody really knows when or what to expect from them.

[zwmg]

Thx for your quick answer.

The Q7 is sold out everywhere here on ebay and amazon besides the yellow model on amazon.co.uk. My fave color but it looks too much like a toy. I'm a little afraid there will be no new Q model and then when it's announced no new Q-S1 anymore on amazon or ebay.

I'm going on a trip to Australia in February and want the best possible Q camera with me for wildlife. And I guess the best Q is and will be the Q-S1! Still if a new Q would be announced I would kick myself... So image quality will be improved significantly? Night shooting will happen a lot too.

Then I guess I will go and try the Q-S1.

Any more opinions?

[The Squirrel Mafia]

If your camera works fine, hold off untill at least April 2017. That might be where they announce a new Q if they have one at all. The next date would be September 2017.

I'm on a similar boat waiting for the next Pentax APS-C flagship, but then other manufacturers are also enticing me. Hahaha!

[CarlG]

I´ve got all of them. Prefer the Q7 (especially in yellow!).

[CarlJF]

I have a Q and Q7. The Q7 is significantly improved over the Q and is overall a better camera. Although the built quality isn't at the same level as the original Q, it's not cheap either and is very good.

Is it worth the upgrade ? It's a tough question to answer. Mainly because every signs show that the Q line is actually a dead end, even if not officialy discontinued. So, with this mind, it's difficult to wholeheartedly recommend anyone to spend more money on this system. That said, if you find a Q7/QS-1 on sale or on the used market at a good price, it could still be interesting since you already own some lenses. At 200$, it's not a bad deal and I don't think you would regret upgrading from the original Q for this price. This is about what I paid a few months ago to upgrade my Q to a Q7 and I'm quite happy with this purchase. I haven't used the Q even one time since I got the Q7...

[Tony Belding]

Is it worth the upgrade ? It's a tough question to answer. Mainly because every signs show that the Q line is actually a dead end, even if not officialy discontinued. So, with this mind, it's difficult to wholeheartedly recommend anyone to spend more money on this system.

To somebody who routinely shops on eBay for M42 thread mount gear, your statement does not compute.

Plus, as already mentioned, Ricoh executives have stated in two different interviews that the Q system will continue. It was put on the back burner for a while due to the K-1 rollout.

[surfar]

Q7 if you can find one, I read that the minor upgrade to the QS1 doesn't work with the 6 lens.That lens is my favourite(I have 2), and the non existent grip on the QS1 doesn't enhance it either.

[zwmg]

Thx for your comments. Appreciate it.

I definitely wanna stay with the Q series as it's crazy small, not only the housing but esp the lenses. Other competitors have similar housings but the lenses are at least twice the size and weight, if not more. So yeah, I will stay with the Q line.

This is why I opened this thread. IF it won't get any upgrades, it will get hard to find another Q7/Q-S1 in the future. Here in Germany no new Q7 can be found in any online shop. Q-S1 only in body only package most of the time, almost no kits available here anymore.

The only option I would have on the Q7 would be the yellow one from England. I love yellow, my fave color, but as a camera? It looks a little like an underwater cam
And, most importantly, the silver/black lenses look stupidly with the yellow/black cam. I know it's just cosmetics but if I spent that much money color combination has to look at least ok!

I've read that video quality is a little better with the Q-S1. Can anyone confirm that? Photo is my priority but esp when doing Safari or wildlife trips video shooting will be needed some situations when I don't have the time to change cameras.

I like the oldstyle Q/Q-S1 design a little more but for me the reason to upgrade is quality improvement so I want the best Q cam available.

[zwmg]

Q7 if you can find one, I read that the minor upgrade to the QS1 doesn't work with the 6 lens.That lens is my favourite(I have 2), and the non existent grip on the QS1 doesn't enhance it either.

What exactly do you mean with "minor upgrade doesn't work with the 06 lens"?

06 lens is on the way and will be my most used lens I guess. What doesn't work with the Q-S1 but does work with the Q7?

[surfar]

Continuous video AF is the only new feature added to the QS1, I read it doesn't work with the 06 lens.It works with the other lenses apparently.I cant remember where I read it either, the only other changes to the latest Q were cosmetic.


EDIT.


OK, just found where I read that, it was in one of the reviews....however,that reviewer has since edited his review saying he returned his QS1 due to some faultiness.So maybe it was just his individual camera.???

---------- Post added 11-04-16 at 08:14 AM ----------

The Q7 is sold out everywhere here on ebay

Look on US ebay, theres Q7s in the US and Japan.

[zwmg]

Too expensive. And risky cause of warranty. I would need to pay 25% customs and tax.

Yeah, I read and heard that somewhere too that the 06 lens and video autofocus on Q-S1 wouldn't work.

So do you all think the Q7 is the (way) better camara over the Q-S1? Then Pentax must have something done really, really wrong, like with the Q10.

[reh321]

Too expensive. And risky cause of warranty. I would need to pay 25% customs and tax.

Yeah, I read and heard that somewhere too that the 06 lens and video autofocus on Q-S1 wouldn't work.

So do you all think the Q7 is the (way) better camara over the Q-S1? Then Pentax must have something done really, really wrong, like with the Q10.

When I was buying my camera, everything I saw indicated that the Q-7 and Q-S1 were essentially equal in everything that matters to me (*). I bought a Q-7 primarily because they were cheaper at the time than Q-S1's were ... and because I like Q-7 styling {I wanted to get a silver/black one,because they look so much like a rangefinder camera of forty years ago, but I got a yellow/black one because I got a really good deal on a used-like-new one {shutter count < 5}.


(*) I don't do video, so I didn't read those portions of reviews and shouldn't make any public comment on how cameras differ with respect to video.

[surfar]

So do you all think the Q7 is the (way) better camara over the Q-S1? Then Pentax must have something done really, really wrong, like with the Q10.

No, its exactly the same internals bar the video AF....both the Q7/QS1 are excellent cameras(although I don't own the QS1)...Ive read the QS1 performs a bit better in low light than the Q7.


The Q and Q10 are both pretty good, difference being a smaller sensor than7/S1.....Q is magnesium body, stereo microphones...Q10 is plastic and slightly bigger than Q & one mic, this shape is identical to Q7


Edit, ok,you own Q(I forgot)...I didn't have to tell you the features and construction,sorry.