[JinDesu]

I guess we shouldn't go by DPReviews forums, considering the news of the price has the comments laughing at it.

[TaoMaas]

Right now the Fuji XP1 is #1 on Amazon for camera sales and the Pentax D-01 is #17.

Interesting...do you always let Amazon tell you which camera is better than another without handling either?

[DaveBlack]

Fuji is a company with less mass market name recognition than Pentax for the average camera buyer. They have been completely out of the ILC segment for 5 years now. They will pass Pentax with the X-mount because they can use K-mount and M-mount adapters and open a lot of doors with a lot of people who never would have thought twice about Fuji. If Pentax had released an MX-D and announced and M-mount adapter I think Pentax would have had a home run.

What does PRIME M mean exactly? is it better than what is in the K-5? What are the advantages?
What makes you think the IQ of the Pentax K-01 will be better than the Fuji X-PRO 1? They have the same Sony sensor. Fuji has removed the AA filter and changed the color array.

The lens road maps appears to make it clear that there are not FA lenses under development. There are no fast primes under development. The 85mm f/1.4 and 135mm f/1.4 are not going to happen anytime soon. You need fast high quality glass, then call Sigma. You want slow, plastic zooms that all overlap in focal length? Call Pentax. The 1.4xTC was on the last lens road map that Pentax released 5 years ago. Still on the road map. Still "vaporware". Is there something really exciting on that map I missed? I was more bothered by what was no on the road map more than impressed by what was. Do we need another 50mm? Another 40mm? What is the WOW lens on that road map?

The Fuji Pro X-1 is going after the high-end Leica want-to-be buyers. The waiting list for pre-orders are very high. They are going to make a bunch of money on this camera.

The K-01 is going for what appears to be either the low-end P&S upgrader market or the hip designer market. Hopefully they will sell enough to make it worth while.

The lens roadmap is nice in that we finally for a roadmap and it does look like there is a future in K-mount. From the map it looks like a mid-level product future. The two long lenses 135-400 and the 550 does fill a gap that needs filling. I really don't know if I will want these two lenses and I really want a lens longer than my DA*300 because they appear to be mid-level lenses so I will have to wait and see how the lenses test out and how actual users like the lenses.

I really don't see why there isn't a fast sealed 24 and a fast sealed 28/29. Back in film days the 35mm is a very useful length and we still don't have a equivalent lens for digital. Then the 43 was suppose to be a perfect length of film and we don't have an equivalent yet. It is just tough to understand. Also a zoom wider than 12mm is needed. It looks like we will have two new wide-angle zooms to go with the already very good 12-24, but non goes wider than 12. It just doesn't make sense.

Just please bring back the FA* lenses as updated DFA* lenses.

[Frogfish]

Uh, that 10% I meant for the Fuji body. I believe K-01 will go down in price faster than Fuji. X100 in my country managed to retained the price even six months had passed!

If you want an AF lens on that body then you're going to have to shell out another $599 minimum ! So it's not $1,700 it's $2,300 or an adapter and MF lenses only.

As for sales, maybe there was distribution problems due to the events in Japan / Thailand so it wouldn't be at all surprising if any new product maintained it's initial price until the manufacturing and distribution caught up with bak=ck orders.

EDIT. Yes they had manufacturing & distribution issues.

Unfortunately, Fujifilm's Taiwa-Cho factory -- responsible for producing the X100 -- was located just twenty miles from Sendai City, one of the hardest-hit areas by a major earthquake and tsunami that devastated much of the northeastern coast of Honshu, Japan on the afternoon of Friday, March 11, 2011. Three days later, Fujifilm revealed that while, thankfully, none of its staff at the plant were injured, the facility had sustained some damage, necessitating a halt in production of the X100, right as the camera was reaching the market. The rest of the company's digital camera line was unaffected, being manufactured in other areas.

[K1D27H]

If you want an AF lens on that body then you're going to have to shell out another $599 minimum ! So it's not $1,700 it's $2,300 or an adapter and MF lenses only.

As for sales, maybe there was distribution problems due to the events in Japan / Thailand so it wouldn't be at all surprising if any new product maintained it's initial price until the manufacturing and distribution caught up with bak=ck orders.

EDIT. Yes they had manufacturing & distribution issues.

Unfortunately, Fujifilm's Taiwa-Cho factory -- responsible for producing the X100 -- was located just twenty miles from Sendai City, one of the hardest-hit areas by a major earthquake and tsunami that devastated much of the northeastern coast of Honshu, Japan on the afternoon of Friday, March 11, 2011. Three days later, Fujifilm revealed that while, thankfully, none of its staff at the plant were injured, the facility had sustained some damage, necessitating a halt in production of the X100, right as the camera was reaching the market. The rest of the company's digital camera line was unaffected, being manufactured in other areas.

And that would be something I am not going to shell out in the foreseeable future.

Hmm... that might explain the dust on the front element of the viewfinder...guess it is a souvenir from Japan earthquake, then.

[westmill]

Whats the point in compairing the fuji Xpro1 with the Ko1 ?
The fuji is just in another class altogether. Its a bit like compairing The Nikon D40 to the New D4. If you are going to judge it, judge it for at least what it is.
the new Ko1 is just a simple compact camera that has interchangable lenses and can
produce the kind of quality capable from an SLR. The best thing I can see and its main selling point is that newcomers buying lenses etc can later upgrade to an SLR without
the need to buy lenses. The downside to me also, is the cost in the first place.
They might as well buy an SLR in the first place.

[Frogfish]

The lens roadmap is nice in that we finally for a roadmap and it does look like there is a future in K-mount. From the map it looks like a mid-level product future. The two long lenses 135-400 and the 550 does fill a gap that needs filling. I really don't know if I will want these two lenses and I really want a lens longer than my DA*300 because they appear to be mid-level lenses so I will have to wait and see how the lenses test out and how actual users like the lenses.

If you want a lens longer than the DA*300 then the 550mm is going to be an excellent option since the only other way you can there now (without forking out $thousands on a 600mm or 250-600mm, if you can find them !) is the 300+AFAx1.7 or a Sigma Bigma / Bigmos or (more megabucks) a Sigma 500/4.5. If the 550mm is f5.6 then it should come in at or under $2,000 and that would suit the majority of birders/wildlife shooters who can't afford the megabucks for a f4 / f4.5.

If you switch brands then you are looking at over US$7,000 for the Canon 500/4 (and up to $13k for the 800mm or add a TC for another 500) or their cheapest prime is a 400/5.6 (still well over US$1,200 - for that give me the stellar Pentax 300/4 any day) and in the Nikon camp US$6,500 for the Nikon 500/4.5 or nearly $2k for the 80-400/4.5 -5.6 (no thanks !) up to over $10k again (all list prices without any discounting). Otherwise the cheaper offerings from both Canon & Nikon are .... Sigma or Tamron !

[fearofhummingbird]

I am a FujiFilm X100 user and soon to be XP1 owner. Many years ago I used and loved Pentax equipment. My first camera was a Spotmatic.

The K-01 will have exceptional IQ and the ability to use legacy Pentax glass is also a winner. But it appears to me Pentax decided the price point they wanted to hit and designed the camera accordingly. It looks to me that Fuji decided what a new camera had to be to appeal to enthusiasts and just let the design and build drive the requisite price.

There is no way an enthusiast photographer is going to buy a camera without an eye level viewfinder. Composition is the first thing we do with out cameras. All the lenses in the world are worthless if I can only view the frame on a little screen at arms length. The new camera is nothing more to me that a cell phone.

If Pentax just build the thing with a very good viewfinder, they could have charged hundreds more and it would still sell very well.

[fearofhummingbird]

Pentax needs to decide who they are targeting? If point and shoot upgraders, well they don't have legacy glass anyway. If they want a commited Pentax user with legacy glass, then they need to market a more functional camera.

[Fontan]

Can you define "runaway hit?"

Didn't think he could. Not surprised.

[DaveBlack]

If you want a lens longer than the DA*300 then the 550mm is going to be an excellent option since the only other way you can there now (without forking out $thousands on a 600mm or 250-600mm, if you can find them !) is the 300+AFAx1.7 or a Sigma Bigma / Bigmos or (more megabucks) a Sigma 500/4.5. If the 550mm is f5.6 then it should come in at or under $2,000 and that would suit the majority of birders/wildlife shooters who can't afford the megabucks for a f4 / f4.5.

If you switch brands then you are looking at over US$7,000 for the Canon 500/4 (and up to $13k for the 800mm or add a TC for another 500) or their cheapest prime is a 400/5.6 (still well over US$1,200 - for that give me the stellar Pentax 300/4 any day) and in the Nikon camp US$6,500 for the Nikon 500/4.5 or nearly $2k for the 80-400/4.5 -5.6 (no thanks !) up to over $10k again (all list prices without any discounting). Otherwise the cheaper offerings from both Canon & Nikon are .... Sigma or Tamron !

Yes, I do know my options. A few weeks ago I was ready to buy a Sigma 500/4.5 but B&H had them out of stock. Now with the 550 on the roadmap I just might wait to see if the image quality is equal to the Sigma I will buy the Pentax. If not and if the lens isn't out of stock I will buy the Sigma. I do love my DA*300/4.0 but it is just not long enough.

[aleonx3]

I sincerely think if Pentax wanted something to compete against the X-Pro1 they would've made one, not the K-01. Who knows? Maybe they're just not telling us, or letting leaks out. Come CP+ and Photokina and they might drop a nice surprise no-one ever expected because of all this talk about the "ugly" K-01.

I would rather think that the K-01 was the answer to the positioning of the Nikon V1 or the P-series, and to Canon's G-series (though they are not ILCs). With all due respect (and in every way just curious) what made you think the K-01 was Pentax's answer to the Fuji X-Pro?



Hmm, thanks for that info on the Oly! Will look more up on that camera.

I am thinking about the same thing; most naysayers are comparing the k-01 with the x-pro1, where in fact, it may not be as simple as that. Fuji has no other product line to protect whereas Pentax has to make it so that if the mirror-less k-01 with almost identical features as k-5 will mean taking away sales of existing product k-5. I like the idea of using a legacy body similar to the MX film camera (and bundle with an adapter for k-mount lens) similar to x-pro1, but I think it will likely be a successor of k-01 line. I also think that they should keep the k-5 (a very solid camera IMHO) running as long as they can until there is a suitable replacement (not just minor improvements) is ready.

[jpzk]

If you want a lens longer than the DA*300 then the 550mm is going to be an excellent option since the only other way you can there now (without forking out $thousands on a 600mm or 250-600mm, if you can find them !) is the 300+AFAx1.7 or a Sigma Bigma / Bigmos or (more megabucks) a Sigma 500/4.5. If the 550mm is f5.6 then it should come in at or under $2,000 and that would suit the majority of birders/wildlife shooters who can't afford the megabucks for a f4 / f4.5.
Having some lengthy experience with my DA*300/4, sometimes used with the AFA 1.7X TC, I am hoping that RicohPentax will produce such a 550/5.6 with the same IQ as the DA*.
As you mention below, the alternative(s) is (are) much much more expensive.
If you switch brands then you are looking at over US$7,000 for the Canon 500/4 (and up to $13k for the 800mm or add a TC for another 500) or their cheapest prime is a 400/5.6 (still well over US$1,200 - for that give me the stellar Pentax 300/4 any day) and in the Nikon camp US$6,500 for the Nikon 500/4.5 or nearly $2k for the 80-400/4.5 -5.6 (no thanks !) up to over $10k again (all list prices without any discounting). Otherwise the cheaper offerings from both Canon & Nikon are .... Sigma or Tamron !

Good post !

JP

[westmill]

I am a FujiFilm X100 user and soon to be XP1 owner. Many years ago I used and loved Pentax equipment. My first camera was a Spotmatic.

The K-01 will have exceptional IQ and the ability to use legacy Pentax glass is also a winner. But it appears to me Pentax decided the price point they wanted to hit and designed the camera accordingly. It looks to me that Fuji decided what a new camera had to be to appeal to enthusiasts and just let the design and build drive the requisite price.

There is no way an enthusiast photographer is going to buy a camera without an eye level viewfinder. Composition is the first thing we do with out cameras. All the lenses in the world are worthless if I can only view the frame on a little screen at arms length. The new camera is nothing more to me that a cell phone.

If Pentax just build the thing with a very good viewfinder, they could have charged hundreds more and it would still sell very well.

Thats just how I think too. Who seriously needs high IQ in a compact camera ? I think its a bit bonkers. Most photographers dont require more than five milion pixels to my way of thinking. Appart from a few pros that sell there work to clients demanding huge files. Lets be honnest here lol For most photographers there pics never go bigger than there PC screen. I used to have the Olympus E1, 5 million good big pixels. It produced biting sharp 12 x 16 prints though. I then switched to Nikon and bought the D300 with its 12 million pixels. The truth is though, I only did this because I too had clients wanting bigger file sizes. The simple truth is, you cant see the differance on prints or a PC screen unless blown up 100% or gigantic prints.
Some pros though always have a high quality compact so they never go anywhere without a camera. If these are not pocketable though there
is hardly any point.

[DaveBlack]

Comparing the K-01 to either the E-M5 or the Pro X-1 is a little odd. All three are in different class and marketed to different niches.

K-01 is marketed to the K-mount lens user and to the hipster market. In a designer body. Cost is relative low and image quality will be very good.

The E-M5 is marketed as a rugged sealed camera. It is in a faux slr style body. The same market the K-5 is marketed for. The image quality is going to be good but not better than the K-01. The lens selection for m-4/3 is good with more coming. The camera will be slightly smaller than the K-01.

The Fuji Pro X-1 is marketed to the Leica want-to-be owners. Camera is about the K-01 size and is a very classic faux rangefinder. Image quality will be extremely high.

Still a little odd to be compairing the three cameras. Back in the film days it would be like compairing a P&S ( Olympus XA2) to a SLR (Nikon F-4) to a ranglefinder (Leica M-4).

I am more interested in see what Ricoh has in store for the two dslr cameras being released later this year. I am guessing that the K-01 will be a bottom of a three tier K-mount APC-S system. I can image a hybrid viewfinder being used in the mid and high level cameras in this system. This will make one forget that the K-01 lacks even an EVF port for an add-on EVF.

So if I have to decide right now between the three cameras I would pick the E-M5 (if the rumors are true about it) because I like the slr syle, rugged, seal body. The auto focus is supposted to be better and it was really good with the previous E-P3. The native lens selection is better.

Still I am more than welling to wait and see what the two dslr cameras are going to bring us. The interview with the Pentax R&D person did mention smaller camera bodies with 100% viewfinders.

Dave