[jogiba]

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Conclusion - Pros and Cons

Pros:
•Excellent photos quality; low noise through ISO 1600 in low light and 6400 in good light
•Eye-catching design (love it or hate it) with solid build quality
•Huge lens selection due to use of K-mount; all lenses will have shake reduction built-in, courtesy of sensor-shift IS system
•Lots of manual controls, two customizable buttons, and sixteen custom settings
•Beginners will appreciate auto scene selection, tons of scene modes and special effects
•HDR and highlight correction features improve image contrast
•Handy focus peaking feature makes manual focusing a snap
•Time-lapse (still and movie) and multiple exposure features
•In-camera RAW editing
•Records Full HD video (1080/30p) with stereo sound, full manual controls, and image stabilization
•Powerful flash (for an ILC)
•Stereo mic input
•Best-in-class battery life
•Full, printed manual in the box (a rarity these days)

Cons:
•Autofocus system lags behind the competition, especially in low light
•Chunky body defeats the purpose of mirrorless design; ergonomics leave something to be desired
•Display on LCD screen can be hard to see in bright light
•Redeye a problem, no in-camera removal tool
•Unusually severe rolling shutter effect in movie mode, exacerbated by SR vibration reduction
•No continuous autofocus in movie mode
•Frustrating rubber flap over memory card slot and I/O ports; some buttons are hard to reach
•Continuous shooting in RAW mode limited to 1 frame/sec
•No built-in EVF, (and no provision for adding an external one)

Pentax K-01 Review: Digital Photography Review

[joe.penn]

Better than what I thought it was going to be - the K30 with it's feature set should be up near 80 and should help bolster more sales for Pentax, can't wait for it to get released...

[Chaos_Realm]

Better than what I thought it was going to be - the K30 with it's feature set should be up near 80 and should help bolster more sales for Pentax, can't wait for it to get released...

I think that it "should" do well, but It will depend very heavily on canons next release and nikons next release.
I think from memory (but don't quote me on it) the 60D was due for replacement and the D5100 was also due, I'd say probably the direct competitors. So maybe they are going to take Pentax's release and top it with theirs? What I can see working in the k30's favour is that it will be getting into the market before these other canikon's.

[Philoslothical]

I think they were quite generous. There are an awful lot of dealbreakers for a lot of people in that list of cons.

[twitch]

I was seriously considering buying the K-01 until I handled it in store, the size and weight put me off. The OM-D had the opposite effect, went from looking "blah" on paper to loving the size and way it felt in hand.

[pinholecam]

I'd agree with most of th econs, but :

•Redeye a problem, no in-camera removal tool

What the?? ....
Looks like they really need to fill up that list of cons


Though I don't dislike the K-01 (in fact I may consider one for MF K-mount lenses when its price drops a bit), lets just hope Pentax works on the cons and come out with an improved MILC next round. It took Panalympus 3 rounds to get it right for m4/3.

[Tonto]

I see the K-01 as an value entry into K mount or a compact body for existing K mount users- its basically a vehicle for small primes. As long as it is compared with other MILC cameras in these reviews it will always get a low score.
My chief concerns are the AF tests and the QC issues in this review. These two factors are not good publicity for Pentax no matter what cameras are coming in the future.

[sjwaldron]

Not a terrible review. I've only had my K-01 for a few days, but I already know I'll be a bit more positive about the camera once I get to writing my review. I just recently wrote about replacing the entire yellow grip with black (long story). It's honestly not that difficult, so the gripe they have with the card door does miss one positive aspect about it... It's easy and probably pretty cheap to replace if it gets damaged or torn off, try that with a solid memory card door.

[gazonk]

Given how quirky the camera is, the review isn't really too bad. The complaint that worried me most was:

•Unusually severe rolling shutter effect in movie mode, exacerbated by SR vibration reduction

- because I think that may be the case for K30, too, then?

[Rondec]

Given how quirky the camera is, the review isn't really too bad. The complaint that worried me most was:


- because I think that may be the case for K30, too, then?

But why would that be only true for the K-01 and not for preceding cameras, like the kr and K5? I certainly don't see it badly with the K5 (of course it exists) and SR doesn't seem to make it worse when it is there.

[gazonk]

But why would that be only true for the K-01 and not for preceding cameras, like the kr and K5? I certainly don't see it badly with the K5 (of course it exists) and SR doesn't seem to make it worse when it is there.

Dunno. I hope forum members who own both the K-5 and the K01 can give their opinion!

[hcc]

The DPreview.com review is a great disappointment IMHO because of the lack of originality. It is in fact a reworded review made by DCResource.com. I do not have an issue with the review by DCResource, but DPreview simply shows a lack of creativity, originality and integrity.

My 5 cents...

[Macario]

What I do not get from the review (and other reviews) is the complain that it isn't thin and small. They alwaves rave about the nex series being so thin. But what is the point if you slap a huge lens on it, you can't put it in your pocket anyway then.
The ones form Olympus and panasonic make more sense, when pared with a pancake lens. That it pocketable. I don't think Sony has a lens that would make the nex series pocketable (I could be wrong though)

[D0n]

having finally handles the k-01, I can say this... it isn't small, but when used with various lenses, it feels right. The nex with a lens the size of the 16-50* would be ridiculous.

so Pentax has a little cult niche cam that absolutely blows the competition away in terms of image quality.

I hope the next mirrorless from Pentax addresses the live view hdmi out for me. I so want the k-01 for video.... but a couple niggles kept me from buying...
SO CLOSE that I"m sure ther'll be a new camera coming that will be perfect, and soon...

[jogiba]

What I do not get from the review (and other reviews) is the complain that it isn't thin and small. They alwaves rave about the nex series being so thin. But what is the point if you slap a huge lens on it, you can't put it in your pocket anyway then.
The ones form Olympus and panasonic make more sense, when pared with a pancake lens. That it pocketable. I don't think Sony has a lens that would make the nex series pocketable (I could be wrong though)

Nex-5N with $400 A mount adapter :



Nex-5N with 35mm F1.4 and manual adapter:


K-01 with 85mm F1.4:


K-01 with 50mm F1.4 FA :