[eddie1960]

Sun is my biggest issue with this. Since i am likely to use it for pancakes primarily lack of evf isn't as bad as if i wanted long lenses on it (SR helps, and i already use LV on the K7 (where it is pretty crappy) to improve my keeper rate on 1.4 lenses. I also think I will shoot more video with this since it is optimized for it. I just wish a 21xs kit lens was an option since i like that FOV more but if more xs lenses are coming (and that wasn't just speculation by Adam and his crew) then i can live with the 40 for now. Certainly more AF points and new rime also bode well for performance
I imagine the generic 3" lcd shades will fit so sun isn't a drastic issue

[boriscleto]

I also think I will shoot more video with this since it is optimized for it. I just wish a 21xs kit lens was an option since i like that FOV more but if more xs lenses are coming (and that wasn't just speculation by Adam and his crew) then i can live with the 40 for now.

No more XS lenses on the just released roadmap through 2013.

http://www.pentaximaging.com/files/pdf/lens_roadmap.pdf

But it was also stated that the roadmap is subject to change.

[rjcassara]

I know it's hard to believe, but there is a pool of potential camera buyers who do not want a DSLR.

They may find them too big or too intimidating with all the controls. These users have been sticking with P&S cameras, but increasingly they can get very similar capabilities from their smartphones. (Canon's recent disappointing quarter was due primarily to a drop in P&S sales)

When these customers want to get better IQ, they look to the mirrorless market.

That is why Pentax made the Q and now the K-01. I'm really happy about the aggressive pricing they took (I thought the body only would be priced at $899). It makes me believe in Ricoh's intent to grow the brand.

I'd like an EVF, but I assume it can be added to the hotshoe, much like the NEX-5 (which is clearly the product Pentax has targeted here.)

Plus, I imagine someone with a bunch of focus-group studies has figured out that they can sell more units by having the EVF as an optional extra versus including it and raising the price.

[GibbyTheMole]

What I like:

1) K-mount
2) Video capability & manual audio level control
3) Build quality is supposedly good
4) K-5 image quality at half the price

What I don't like:

1) No viewfinder (The big dealbreaker, IMO)
2) Ugly
3) Boxy
4) Lack of controls
5) Unnecessarily large for a mirrorless camera

Personally, I would've much rather they just upgraded the K-r a bit & eschewed all the ultra-modern design B.S. I'm still hoping they introduce an affordable traditional DSLR and that the K-01 isn't going to be the only affordable APS-C option in their lineup.

[jpzk]

I wasn't supposed to come back here to post until a full review was in but your timely post just made me change my mind.

I have trouble seeing things until I can well... see them. But I'm impressed. I'm still shooting a K20D, haven't decided to replace it now or wait until the next DSLR body comes out.

The 4928 x 3264 image size would be a big step up for me.

I do the majority of my shooting in AV mode, which the camera supports... no issue there. I'll miss TAV, it's nice to have when you want it, but I've used it maybe 5 times in 4 years on my K20D.

TAv is a permanent mode on my K5 with the DA*300 for me but I do also use AV for pretty much everything else with my K7 which I find a bit too large at times.
So, for me too, this wouldn't be a problem.

The most important feature I use on my K20D would be the EV control... and that is there an readily accessible.

SInce I work as a nature photographer, this is how I see this working. My K20D is in it's holster with the DA* 60-250 on it. Around my neck is this camera with my 21 ltd on it, for landscape work and snapshots. This camera can be used for any shot that doesn't require tracking... because any camera like this sucks at tracking wildlife. So sunsets, vistas from look outs etc.. this would be my camera of choice, although I do want to see some images verifying IQ.

This is the part that caught my attention ! I have been looking for a "backup buddy" for my K5 for situations just like you describe above. Albeit not really "pocketable" this K 01 does look like a serious contender for my search. Using the K-mount lenses I already own for vistas, sunsets etc ... makes sense.

I feel sorry for you guys who were looking for a K-5 replacement... but, you gave up IQ and focussing accuracy for AF speed and low light performance when you signed up for Pentax. So, essentially you weren't the kind of user Pentax was going to keep anyway. Personally I'm excited by the concept of having a great lens like my 21 ltd on a light small body. And should I choose, I already have 7 lenses for this camera, without spending an extra cent. I already carry a Pentax w10, so I'm used to the back screen viewfinder thing. For good weather, I see this more like a huge IQ improvement to the Optio W10 I always carry.

As well, I am not looking for a replacement for my K5 - this camera will likely be part of my gear for a few more years - and I find the IQ quite sufficient. So the K 01 would supposedly have the same/similar IQ, right? Assuming but quite confident that it would.

I swear, half the negative people who posted on here must work for Nikon and Canon. If they aren't getting paid for saying this absolute garbage, they're wasteing their time.

There will always be trolls around those forums - that's a fact of life !

Pentax is and always has been

Great legacy glass.
Great landscape and portrait lenses.
Adequate AF
Accurate AF
More bang per buck.

NIkon Canikon have always been... more hype than bang for buck. I know Andre Agassi and Maria Sharapove aren't the people I take my camera advice from, although if they want to give me tennis lessons, I'm in.

Fast Auto-Focus, producing acceptable results but with a predictably lower level of razor sharp images, and a predictably higher rate of unacceptable images.
Better high ISO performance.

It's amazing how many people come on here and complain about Pentax, who shouldn't be here, shouldn't be here because they should have bought something else in the first place. You don't buy something that doesn't do what you want, and then complain to the manufacturer because it is what it is. No one has ever said "Buy Pentax for the fast AF or the amazing low light performance." SO how did you losers ever get to Pentax in the first place? You can't read? You didn't do any research before you bought your system, what? Really if you want to discuss things, discuss things that make sense to Pentax users, not Canon and Nikon users. Those systems are different, not better.

Well said!

So lets talk to real Pentax users here. I'm getting tired of the whining crying Canon/Nikon wannabees.

Why come here and complain about Pentax's when you could be on a Canikon/Forum, complaining about the low rate of sharp images they produce and high almost 20% rate of un-acceptable out of focus images? Every release of a Pentax body shouldn't be an opportunity for you idiots to come on here an whine and cry. I think you're stupid, for buying in ot Pentax in the first place, if in fact you ever did...and I just end up thinking you're Canikon employees, trying to increase your sales during your lunch hour.

The thing is, if Pentax becomes what you Canikon wannabes want, then I won't have what I want. My Pentax systems work just fine for me. I like the 60% sharp image rate on teh auto-focus as compared to under 50 for comparable Canikon Systems. I like the 10% una-acceptable rate as opposed to 20% un-acceptable of similar Canikon systems, for the images I actually shoot. I want Pentax to be what it is, and not what you want it to be... so really... shut up.

Go play with your Canikon toys and get out of my face. Canon and Nikon make systems for you. Pentax makes systems for me, how long is it going to take you to get that?

I wish I had the guts to tell it the way you just did! Congrats!

Cheers!

JP

[tarsus]

The K-01 is deeply disappointing. The whole point of a mirrorless camera is reduced size and this camera is virtually identical in size to the Kx and only loses 8 ounces. Mirrorless needs either an EVF or a tiltable screen (preferably both) and this has neither. Being able to use K mount lenses is a plus that will not be useful because of the LCD only framing. Imagine holding this camera out in front of you with an 18-250 zoom? Not going to happen. As a main camera, it is missing too many features and as a backup it's too large. What is the point? I have waited patiently for Pentax to fill my shooting needs and have watched the last releases with dismay. The K-5, although brilliant, was way overpriced, the Q was silly, the recent point and shoot with two shooting buttons is a joke and now this. This camera has no purpose. I would even have purchased a new model Pentax SLR with great live view and a tiltable screen, ala Sony 580. I have been looking at Sony for mirrorless (and their SLRs) where you can have great live view, EVF and tiiltable screen. I am deeply invested in Pentax lenses and it is going to cost a ton of money to switch, but there is truly no hope that Pentax will join the 21st century. On the other hand, if I was a Canon shooter waiting for a mirrorless I would be ready to slit my wrists at the G1-X. Fixed lens four by zoom with a miserable optical viewfinder for $800? I wish you all the best and hope that Pentax comes up with something, someday that makes sense.

[unfocused]

The general concept is the way to go giving SLR users a highly compact travel companion using same lenses. But to do this without an articulated or eye-level viewfinder is a big mistake, I think, and considerably reduces the appeal. Also backward compatability is a big selling point but the initial blurb doesn't specifically mention a 'green button' function for this. Any such button needs to be ergonomically positioned under the right thumb for rapid use not lost somewhere on the top plate.

Marc Newson, who he? Never designed a camera before but plenty of furniture and suchlike. Are we supposed to be wowed by his name? It's hardly in the same league as the Contax-Porsche collaboration. I'd be much happier hearing it was designed by the Pentax/Ricoh boys. For me Newson's styling lets the side down. Pretty it isn't. And the slab-fronted new 40mm lens doesn't help. The K-01 is going to look more businesslike with the 43 Limited or the 15.

[Biro]

I can forgive the new camera's size because it allows the use of all K-mount lenses. But, as tarsus says, the lack of an EVF limits the camera's usefulness - and even restricts how many K-mount lenses one can use on it in a practical sense.

I give Ricoh some credit here because they probably wanted to get some kind of mirrorless option beyond the Q out there quickly. And I appreciate their commitment to the K-mount. But I can't see buying this myself. I have my K-5 and K200D and nine Pentax lenses. And I also have my micro four-thirds kit that I will continue to use for now.

The good news is... there is nothing to prevent Pentax from bringing out a mirrorless camera with a viewfinder in the future - and even near-future.

[noblepa]

I'm so glad I switched to Nikon. I would be very angry to see how instead of something to upgrade to from K-7/K-5 Pentax launches this. This is a really bad idea.

Aren't you angry that Nikon announced the J1, instead of the D400? I can imagine all those outraged D300 owners out there, who are now faced with such a dismal upgrade path.

BTW, we're glad you switched to Nikon, too.

[chuckp8]

As many have stated prior, the lack of a viewfinder is a deal killer for me... but!

Maybe there will be another version on the horizon for people looking for a replacement K5. They can split the line into mirror less/no viewfinder with single numbers (K1) and another model with a viewfinder that has a D attached to it (K1-D). That way they can use the same numbers by splitting the line in two.

Unlikely, yes, but hey, a guy can dream can't he? I still like Pentax, still happy with my K10 & K5 and look forward to their next move.

[Pioneer]

I am certainly interested. Now let's see some test results to find out how this baby can perform.

[noblepa]

I think that the missing viewfinder may not be as big a hindrance to sales as some here imagine. Remember, there is a whole generation of young camera users who grew up holding their digital cameras at arm's length and composing through the rear LCD.

If Pentax is to grow their market share, they need to bring in customers who have never owned a Pentax camera before. They can't survive, much less grow, by always appealing only to existing Pentax users. Eye-level viewfinders, or the lack thereof, are not big selling points to users upgrading from a compact point and shoot camera. That is probably the target market for the K-01, not K-5 users.

I think that K-r and K-5 users will not be disappointed for long. I suspect that at least one new dslr will be announced soon.

[hcarvalhoalves]

A mirrorless without EVF is like a car without steering wheel.

Complete failure for me. Pentax is losing touch with it's market, they wanna be different, but that's not exactly useful.

[oeriies]

Things I like, in order of importance:

1) K-mount (no other mirrorless gives you access to nearly as much first class glass, and this indicates Pentax/Ricoh's future commitment to the K-mount)
2) Sensor performance likely to be outstanding
4) XS lens
3) Physical appearance (new and interesting)
4) Price (reasonable)
5) Video capabilities (not important to me but good to see)

Things I don't like:

1) No viewfinder -- a dealbreaker (I owned a Sony Nex 5 and had to sell it because it was simply unusable in bright sunshine, and difficult to hold steady with anything longer than a pancake lens attached)
2) No weathersealing (this is a Pentax brand selling point and important to people like me who do outdoor photography)
3) Loss of TAv mode (this is where I live with telephoto lenses)
4) No articulating LCD screen (One way to compensate for the loss of stability that comes with no viewfinder and the consequence that you can't hold the camera against your face is to hold it at waist level against your torso as you would an old Rolleiflex. This is what I did with my Nex 5 by articulating the screen so I could look down at it. You can't do that with the K-01 -- bummer.)

Things others have commented on that don't concern me:

1) Size (The K-01 is significantly smaller and lighter than a K-5, which is good, but the idea that it has to be really small isn't compatable with using it with a range of lenses. The closest competitor in specs, the Nex 5, isn't pocketable with the standard zoom, nor is the K-01. Once you get to size that requires that the camera be carried with a strap or a bag, ergonomics are far more important than a few mm. The K-01 looks good on that score.)

Bottomline: I'm glad to see Pentax/Ricoh in the game. I was interesting in this camera before its release and saw myself buying it as a backup to my K-5. But without a good viewfinder, I can't use it. I look forward to the next iteration and to the forthcoming replacement for the K-5)

[Geoff H]

But put a viewfinder on it and then you'd have a camera as big as a KX? Is that the future for Pentax - no new KX but a weird looking pseudo SLR with AVF? The size is the biggest issue - if it's as big as an SLR but offers nothing beyond them at the same time as losing the viewfinder why buy one for a second body? A small SLR would do the same. I would hope any KX replacement will have the 16mpx and video capabilities - certainly the Nikon 3100 replacement will have and at a similar price.

Just a deeply puzzling camera for me. I really hope it works out and that there are many people looking for such a camera as I've been a 100% pentax man for 35 years and love my K5 to bits.