[EFats]

On a recent trip to Japan, I opted to take the Q-S1 back "home" to where it was born! Along with the 01 Standard Prime and the 02 Standard Zoom. (Of course, I also had the requisite smartphone with me).

I had expected to be using the 01 lens most of the time since it was mostly going to be busy city shots around Tokyo, but surprisingly after I swapped out to the 02 on the first day, I almost never changed back. I found I used the zoom much more than I thought and the lens was still small enough for me to jam the entire camera into my pant pockets. (It's not comfortable, but in a pinch, it actually worked).

It was fantastic! I installed a wrist strap from an old point & shoot so the Q-S1 was frequently dangling from my hand. There is something to be said for a proper photographic tool. The smartphone was no match. Sure, it's more pocketable, but trying to fiddle with a phone one-handed, unlocking it & avoiding spurious touches on the screen was not fun. With the Q-S1, a flick of the wrist strap brought it into my hand and everything could be operated easily with a single hand. And it was fast, so easy to turn it on when I need to and just press the shutter button. I even got the hang of quickly adjusting the focus point when I needed to.

Battery life was excellent, during 10 days I charged it once. It was with me all day (I'd say 10-12 hours per day), turning on and off all the time and just snapping pictures throughout my trip. Cannot complain at all. I guarantee my old EOS M would not have lasted more than a day.

Screen was fine, I did have a small problem with polarized sunglasses when rotating the camera, but oh well.
Quite happy with the image quality except when using the 02 fully zoomed out, too much distortion for my taste. Otherwise the pictures were sharp, almost always in focus (maybe missed 2-3 shots the whole time?) and looked good.

So pleased I took the Q-S1 over my K-S2. The portability made a huge difference and the images are more than fine.
I so wish Pentax/Ricoh would come out with a successor to this camera! It's both capable and fun to shoot, it's the best travel camera I've ever had! I don't see myself using a smartphone instead of a "real" camera any time in the near future, not for any of my "real" trips. I mean it's a good backup, just in case, but there's no joy in it for me.
I can safely say in all my life, I've never had so much fun taking pictures on a trip! I'm never giving this thing up.

[fredralphfred]

I have to admit I was rather disappointed to see Pentax discontinue the Q line. By the time I was ready to purchase a compact camera, it was gone. I went with a Panasonic LX100, which I like, but I think the Q would have been more "fun". (Especially since I never wanted to pay the premium for the "colorful" K's, but many of the Q models were available in wild colors which I think befits their nature.)

[Cipher]

I installed a wrist strap from an old point & shoot so the Q-S1 was frequently dangling from my hand.

I've found that to the best way to carry a Q, I've even carried two at a time! The Q's light weight makes it easy to carry all day, and, as you noted, ready to take a picture with a flick of the wrist.


I've made wrist straps from wide shoelace material, nesting the ends together with superglue, they are very comfortable:

[CarlJF]

Unfortunately, most people don't look behind the spec sheet and completely miss the fact that the Q is an insanely efficient tool in the field. Some of my best pictures have been taken with a Q (original or Q7) and prints are on my wall standing shoulder to shoulder with others taken with my DSLR. Smartphones are not even close to what can be achieved with a Q....

I would love to see an updated Q with some of the now usual technology from RP. Accelerator chip (would probably do wonders with a 1/1.7" sensor), 5 axis SR, pixel shift, on sensor phase detection autofocus and all the small software things that are now common in RP cameras but didn't existed when the last Q was released (like clarity, skin tones enhancement, multizone WB...) with a improved blur control using modern algoritmhs as a bonus... But yes, I know, I don't hold my breath even for one second hoping RP will launch such a camera... I probably will have to stick with my Q7 until it dies then unfortunately have to move to something else.

[barondla]

I keep Nintendo Wii mote straps on my Q. Inexpensive (not counting Cipher's shoe lace) and strong. Love the Q and Q7.
Such a joy to work with vs battling a phone or large camera kit.

Thanks,
barondla

[zippythezip]

I keep Nintendo Wii mote straps on my Q. Inexpensive (not counting Cipher's shoe lace) and strong. Love the Q and Q7.
Such a joy to work with vs battling a phone or large camera kit.
barondla

Going down in the basement to find the kids old Wii, such a great idea =)

[EFats]

Unfortunately, most people don't look behind the spec sheet and completely miss the fact that the Q is an insanely efficient tool in the field. Some of my best pictures have been taken with a Q (original or Q7) and prints are on my wall standing shoulder to shoulder with others taken with my DSLR. Smartphones are not even close to what can be achieved with a Q....

I would love to see an updated Q with some of the now usual technology from RP. Accelerator chip (would probably do wonders with a 1/1.7" sensor), 5 axis SR, pixel shift, on sensor phase detection autofocus and all the small software things that are now common in RP cameras but didn't existed when the last Q was released (like clarity, skin tones enhancement, multizone WB...) with a improved blur control using modern algoritmhs as a bonus... But yes, I know, I don't hold my breath even for one second hoping RP will launch such a camera... I probably will have to stick with my Q7 until it dies then unfortunately have to move to something else.

Yeah, I don't think it will ever happen. The problem with Pentax (in my limited experience since came over from being a Canon shooter) is that the cameras will lose on paper pretty much every time. It is really hard to convey reading a review or watching a short video clip, how enjoyable it is to use these things.
How do you tell people, "Hey, the images are good enough, but with this camera, you'll have loads more fun!"

Especially with the Q's successor, it's going to be trounced by any smartphone, on paper....