[snake]

I consider this to be one of the best magazines on the market and fully trust most of their reviews, but I admit I was a bit surprised by such a low score.




Their reviews of the XPRO-1 gave it a 92% score.

Other scores from the magazine:

Q - 80%
GX1- 90%
OM-D E-M5 - 90%
NEX-7 - 88%

K-5 - 90%
K-r - 87%
Sony A77 - 92%
D800 - 94%
5d MKIII - 94%

X100 - 90%
X10 - 91%

If that's the case, it will push Pentax to clean up some of the rough edges in the successor, that's all. The score isn't terrible, I guess, but it seems the type of rough edges are not ones that are easily overlooked for them. Either way, no big deal. Pentax will break back with the next model in response, hopefully they'll figure out how to speed AF by using some hybrid tech, like what Ricoh uses on their compacts, for instance.

[mugund]

Seriously? Who reads this shit anyway? They spent exactly one paragraph mentioning the focus peak, but wasted a whole page complaining about the AF and design.

AF speed is one of the most important things in a camera after image quality
How many people in the general category are interested in a manual focus? Most people need good cameras to record their family events etc so they take some things for granted. Not all of them are photographers.

[monochrome]

AF speed is one of the most important things in a camera after image quality
How many people in the general category are interested in a manual focus? Most people need good cameras to record their family events etc so they take some things for granted. Not all of them are photographers.

AF speed is irrelevant for this camnera. We're not photographing sports/action with a K-01. We're taking still stills.

Whatever. It isn't AF speed that's the issue its inability to lock when there isn't contrast. So focus on an edge and recenter. Been doing that with an SLR for 40 years.

[Medium FormatPro]

It's not just this specific example of a review, but where exactly do these people get their reviewers??

Very few articles do any type of proper research. They just take the camera out of the box and shoot about a hundred pics or so and then try to review and compare. IF they actually researched then their reviews would be considerably more accurate.

There are a lot of cameras that in fact do have a nitch market. The Pentax K-01 is one of them; just as the existing Leica mirrorless is, just as their future Leica Monochrom will be.

To this date; I'd still buy the K-01 all over again. No other mirrorless to date can match it on the facts, specs, or image results. We'll see further examples of exactly this over time, yet such examples still exisit today

[snake]

It all boils down to the fact that people just have to try before they buy. That's all.

[rjm]

There are a lot of cameras that in fact do have a nitch market. The Pentax K-01 is one of them; just as the existing Leica mirrorless is, just as their future Leica Monochrom will be.

Or, you know, the reviews could, you know, be accurate?

[monochrome]

Or, you know, the reviews could, you know, be accurate?

Nope. Not accurate. Completely misses the entire design ethic (not the visual design) of the camera and devotes 1 paragraph to its key strength (focus peaking - for MF). Completely missed on the grip. Misapprehends the benefit of the mass. Attributes AF noise to the camera and misunderstands in-body screw drive. ETC. - but I quit after 4 pages of this BS.

He's a noob - lot of words with no discernment.

---

Last edited by monochrome; 06-30-2012 at 05:51 AM.

[Medium FormatPro]

Agreed, not at all accurate.

Plus true photographers only need a few items; a quality image, some above average build quality, and a good variety of accessories.

Take a look at any Leica rangefinder; such as the M9 (any version), the Leica mirrorless cameras or even the upcoming Leica Monochrom. Btw the Monochrome is expected to almost fly off the shelf - even at it's incredibly high price. Last time I checked (outside of the S2) most Leica's don't have a grip on them. The form is about as basic as it can get.

Some of these reviews are almost along the lines of a gasoline engine mechanic trying to figure out a diesel. Who hires these people; and where's the accountability?

[luftfluss]

AF speed is irrelevant for this camnera. We're not photographing sports/action with a K-01. We're taking still stills.

The problem is that if the K-01 is an upgrade for P&S shooters, they will be unhappy with any perceived regression in AF functionality.

[monochrome]

The problem is that if the K-01 is an upgrade for P&S shooters, they will be unhappy with any perceived regression in AF functionality.

Does Pentax actually market the K-01 as an upgrade from P&S or is that something we've inferred?

[Ron Boggs]

I perceived the K-01 as a snapshot version of the K-5 which I already liked very much...so I bought one. Don't know what the video whines are, the K-01 is a tremendous upgrade of video capability over the K-5...but I'm only basing that on my results not the tech reports so...

For fun I'll try the vid function in a dingy wrestling room in an hour...coaching a national training camp (yeah, I know it seems like a disconnect from my freelance wildflower and other macro stills that I'm best known for--some might suggest yin and yang).

I'll try to report tomorrow evening. Could be interesting since my first large vid project with the K-5 was also in a Greco Roman wrestling training facility out in Cali spring '11...that's when I learned that even in standby, if the camera is ON in video mode you will be heating the sensor to eventual failure...minimize standby time and I haven't ever overheated the sensor since...

[Medium FormatPro]

No such video overheat issues with the Pentax K-01. Something must have been made differently between the two models, but... I have seen (and personally run into) issues where the length of the video can be capped off limited to less than fifteen minutes per segment.

Originally posted by luftfluss The problem is that if the K-01 is an upgrade for P&S shooters, they will be unhappy with any perceived regression in AF functionality. Does Pentax actually market the K-01 as an upgrade from P&S or is that something we've inferred?

Very few semi-pro or even full scale professional level slr cameras could ever match even an entry level p&s for fast focus, focus lock, or tracking focus ability. Cases in point... One could purchase about any Sony p&s and it will outdo focus on literally any of the Sony slr models, from the entry level A series all the way through the A900. The same goes for all of the Canon models as far as I'm aware; although not sure about the G1X.

Again I have two Sony p&s; one with 10x optical, the other with 20x optical - yet no Sony slr with any lens could match either of those two.

[K-9]

Does Pentax actually market the K-01 as an upgrade from P&S or is that something we've inferred?

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

[RonHendriks1966]

For fun I'll try the vid function in a dingy wrestling room in an hour...coaching a national training camp (yeah, I know it seems like a disconnect from my freelance wildflower and other macro stills that I'm best known for--some might suggest yin and yang).

Very interested in that. I think my K-01 is much easier to handle with moviefunction then the K-5 with the enourmous large files.

[wlachan]

The urge to retain the K mount have clouded their judgement. Pentax should have scraped the Q project and produced a competent mirrorless system to begin with. The K-01 is a relic that got the worst of both worlds. They have successfully avoided direct competition by producing something that the market doesn't want.