K-01 gets bad review in What Digital Camera

**monochrome** · 07-01-2012, 06:14 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by K-9

Maybe they didn't market it as such, but that's where it sits price wise.

$249 to $849 is quite a jump for an entry level upgrader. I would have though more like a Nikon P500 or Fuji or Sony or Lumix superzoom - something $350 - $450.

I rather think Pentax markets this as a premium enthusiast hybrid, not a consumer camera. The feature set certainly fits my description better.

Last edited by monochrome; 07-01-2012 at 06:25 AM.

slackercruster · 07-01-2012, 06:37 AM

I have only taken about 300 shots with my K-01, as I just got it a few weeks ago. I like my K-01. I'd give the K-01 about a 92% grade. And I'd rebuy the K-01. The kit pancake lens is also better than I thought. Nice little gem Pentax designed.

Here are a few taken with the K-01.

The only things I don't like with the K-01 are the flimsy rubber side cover for the mem card. And the shutter release is kinda hard to actuate sometimes due to it is pretty flush with the body. The $10 lens cap is easy to lose. (I lost mine on the first shoot.)

Oh...wish it took 4 AA batts. But since it runs on the same batt as my 645D I sprung for K-01 to see what the deal was with mirrorless design.

All in all, I prefer the DSLR. But the K-01 is much better for low light cave shooting than the DSLR. And some other types of shots lend themselves to the K-01 over the DLSR. K-01 is much better at shooting on the fly stuff like zip lining than a DSLR. Sure, you can use LV with your DSLR. But if your busy hanging onto something you don't want to be pushing more buttons and screw around. The 'easy on' lever of the K-01 is fantastic! Switch on, live view, frame and shoot! Will work good with gloves in winter I suspect.

Also found a use for the K-01 when using a dual flash bracket. When shooting with a fisheye or super wide I use 2 flashes pointed at different angels to cover the scene. (High and low flash) The DSLR raises the 'on cam' flash too high to adjust in the postion I liked. The flash on the bottom would hit the top bar of the flash bracket. The K-01 left enuf room for adjusting the flash cause it had no prism and hotshoe was lower.

So DSLR and K-01 both have their uses. Have both cams in your kit!

Anvh · 07-01-2012, 07:18 AM

The kit pancake has the optics of a limited lens so what do you expect

I'm hoping that the K30 shoots like the K-01 when it's in liveview, that way you don't need to carry 2 camera's =]

slackercruster · 07-01-2012, 09:37 AM

Originally posted by Anvh

The kit pancake has the optics of a limited lens so what do you expect

I'm hoping that the K30 shoots like the K-01 when it's in liveview, that way you don't need to carry 2 camera's =]

The K-01 will be more quiet than the DSLR with no mirror noise. So it may have some advantage there with some type of shots. It is a little smaller footprint than a DSLR. I like that for some uses.

Some people complained about no optical viewfinder. (Me included, before I bought a K-01.) The K-01 is not rangefinder cam, it is a glorifed, high grade PS cam hat uses all the Pentax lineup of lenses. So that is what it is. And now that I own one and have used it, don't care a bit about no optical view. If I want an optical view, I'd go for a DSLR.

Last edited by slackercruster; 07-01-2012 at 09:47 AM.

Anvh · 07-01-2012, 10:55 AM

Originally posted by slackercruster

The K-01 will be more quiet than the DSLR with no mirror noise. So it may have some advantage there with some type of shots. It is a little smaller footprint than a DSLR. I like that for some uses.

But not if you're using liveview, it then flips the mirror up and makes the DSLR work as a K-01 basically but with the K5 it still flaps the mirror i believe but i hope they improve that with the K30 so sure you would have the mirror noise of flipping up when you start using the camera in liveview mode but for the rest hopefully it will be just like the K-01 during shooting.

07-01-2012, 06:37 AM	#32
slackercruster Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: NE, USA Posts: 1,302	I have only taken about 300 shots with my K-01, as I just got it a few weeks ago. I like my K-01. I'd give the K-01 about a 92% grade. And I'd rebuy the K-01. The kit pancake lens is also better than I thought. Nice little gem Pentax designed. Here are a few taken with the K-01. The only things I don't like with the K-01 are the flimsy rubber side cover for the mem card. And the shutter release is kinda hard to actuate sometimes due to it is pretty flush with the body. The $10 lens cap is easy to lose. (I lost mine on the first shoot.) Oh...wish it took 4 AA batts. But since it runs on the same batt as my 645D I sprung for K-01 to see what the deal was with mirrorless design. All in all, I prefer the DSLR. But the K-01 is much better for low light cave shooting than the DSLR. And some other types of shots lend themselves to the K-01 over the DLSR. K-01 is much better at shooting on the fly stuff like zip lining than a DSLR. Sure, you can use LV with your DSLR. But if your busy hanging onto something you don't want to be pushing more buttons and screw around. The 'easy on' lever of the K-01 is fantastic! Switch on, live view, frame and shoot! Will work good with gloves in winter I suspect. Also found a use for the K-01 when using a dual flash bracket. When shooting with a fisheye or super wide I use 2 flashes pointed at different angels to cover the scene. (High and low flash) The DSLR raises the 'on cam' flash too high to adjust in the postion I liked. The flash on the bottom would hit the top bar of the flash bracket. The K-01 left enuf room for adjusting the flash cause it had no prism and hotshoe was lower. So DSLR and K-01 both have their uses. *Have both cams in your kit!* Last edited by slackercruster; 07-01-2012 at 09:46 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Digital Camera Info Q review	conradj	Pentax Q	5	12-02-2011 08:11 PM
Digital Camera Info K-5 review	conradj	Pentax K-5 & K-5 II	7	06-10-2011 10:43 AM
What Camera Digital K-7 REVIEW (Take Two)	Adrian Owerko	Pentax News and Rumors	11	11-21-2009 07:58 AM
Digital Camera Review	GLXLR	Pentax News and Rumors	9	06-14-2009 07:16 AM
Digital Camera Review reviews DA* 55 f/1.4	Urkeldaedalus	Pentax SLR Lens Discussion	7	02-27-2009 09:29 AM

07-01-2012, 06:14 AM - 1 Like	#31
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by K-9 Maybe they didn't market it as such, but that's where it sits price wise. $249 to $849 is quite a jump for an entry level upgrader. I would have though more like a Nikon P500 or Fuji or Sony or Lumix superzoom - something $350 - $450. I rather think Pentax markets this as a premium enthusiast hybrid, not a consumer camera. The feature set certainly fits my description better. Last edited by monochrome; 07-01-2012 at 06:25 AM.

07-01-2012, 07:18 AM	#33
Anvh Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4,616	The kit pancake has the optics of a limited lens so what do you expect I'm hoping that the K30 shoots like the K-01 when it's in liveview, that way you don't need to carry 2 camera's =]

07-01-2012, 09:37 AM	#34
slackercruster Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: NE, USA Posts: 1,302	Originally posted by Anvh The kit pancake has the optics of a limited lens so what do you expect I'm hoping that the K30 shoots like the K-01 when it's in liveview, that way you don't need to carry 2 camera's =] The K-01 will be more quiet than the DSLR with no mirror noise. So it may have some advantage there with some type of shots. It is a little smaller footprint than a DSLR. I like that for some uses. Some people complained about no optical viewfinder. (Me included, before I bought a K-01.) The K-01 is not rangefinder cam, it is a glorifed, high grade PS cam hat uses all the Pentax lineup of lenses. So that is what it is. And now that I own one and have used it, don't care a bit about no optical view. If I want an optical view, I'd go for a DSLR. Last edited by slackercruster; 07-01-2012 at 09:47 AM.

07-01-2012, 10:55 AM	#35
Anvh Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4,616	Originally posted by slackercruster The K-01 will be more quiet than the DSLR with no mirror noise. So it may have some advantage there with some type of shots. It is a little smaller footprint than a DSLR. I like that for some uses. But not if you're using liveview, it then flips the mirror up and makes the DSLR work as a K-01 basically but with the K5 it still flaps the mirror i believe but i hope they improve that with the K30 so sure you would have the mirror noise of flipping up when you start using the camera in liveview mode but for the rest hopefully it will be just like the K-01 during shooting.