Originally posted by Paul MaudDib Who's the one telling other people what to buy now?
Don't listen to me, then. Listen to Pentax UK's general manager. He couldn't come up with a good reason for you to buy this product. The guy selling you the camera can't even find a reason it's better than their competitor. That should be a pretty good hint you're being sold a bill of goods. You should buy it for the mirrorless features like, um... design. Yeah, that's it, it's all about design.
in fact it
is all about design. thats EXACTLY what its all about. that will be this cameras downfall as a consumer product because too many people will be unable to differentiate a camera designed and engineered as a camera and a designer who designed a camera. if you approach it from the viewpoint of a camera buying consumer you likely just won't get it, wether you think its ugly or not. there is no good reason to buy this camera, from a the viewpoint of a camera user (other than the very cheap K-5 sensor behind a Kmount of course) but thats not the reason this camera exists. thats not what Marc Newson created.
im not really defending the camera in any way, but I think before anyone opens up to voice their 'opinion', they need to take some time to get to know the designer and get an understanding of where this camera comes from, because it doesn't come from Pentax. this was an excersize in design and brand awareness more than it was in camera engineering. I'm sure its an excellent camera in its own right so we shouldn't discount it in that regard, but we need to be approaching it from the right viewpoint and we need to educate ourselves on the philosophy behind it before we go offering our ignorant opinions. I think thats the least we can do to be respectful to Pentax if nothing else.
I find it hilarious really that we are already arguing over what the K-01 should have been, and why did they do this or leave that out, etc. nobody has yet stopped to realize that what we have here is not what Pentax came up with and said, 'here is our serious entry into the MILC segment.' what we have is something wholly designed by an outside designer. what good does it do to judge and dissect a camera based on design and engineering philosophies of a camera company, and the wants and desires of the average consumer when you are working with a piece of equipment designed to appeal to neither? 99% of you don't get it and you are too hung up on your own ignorances to ever get it. thats fine really in the big picture, but you all look a bit silly. 'what the K-01 should be/should have been.' thats akin to asking why a Picasso doesn't look like a Michelangelo. you can't expect them to. and you can't expect this camera to adhere to the standard design and engineering philosophies that are used to create the average consumer camera.