[Bui]

Hello,

I'm going to purchase a K-01, and I would like to ask you if this camera is good for casual video shooting? I have a Pentax DSLR (KP), but I don't do video with it because it's a bit heavy, and the file is big. I don't shoot video a lot, and normally I use my Samsung S7 when I need that, but since I'm going to get the K-01, and it's mirror-less camera, I don't know if it could be a better option for that?

Thank you.

[VoiceOfReason]

It does a decent job, but it is almost as heavy as some DSLRs. Remember it is 5 year old tech though.

[grispie]

I'm going to purchase a K-01, and I would like to ask you if this camera is good for casual video shooting?

I sold it once i had the K3. Found K3 video to be far better & i expect your kp to also be far better.

The k01 with a lens is indeed still big & heavy as well. If you plan to get it anyhow.. ok, but i would't recommend to buy it especially for the video department, you may as well use the kp.. Handheld is an issue, you are aware i guess.

For casual shooting, it does handle rather nicely though.

[shardulm]

I have been shooting K-01 videos for a while with the DA* 16-50 manual zoom and manual focus. The videos are large file size wise.. but they were good. Of course they were all on tripod shooting events.
The only concerns I had were the battery life and I have found ways around it. But its pretty stable and gives good results even at 1600 ISO after a little bit of clean up. ISO1100 is a sweet spot for low lights and 1600 would be a stretch though.

[Na Horuk]

but since I'm going to get the K-01, and it's mirror-less camera, I don't know if it could be a better option for that?

I think the K-01 is as good/bad at video as any other modern Pentax DSLR. It is very compact, so that is a plus. But the video still suffers from having less than optimal codecs and slight jello effect from digital SR.
The filesize is just as big. Ideally you would run the file through a video developing software to fix some artifacts, maybe improve it a little, and reduce the file size (Encode it into mp4 or something).

For casual video, the Pentax system is ok. Some of the people on this forum even got stunning video with it. You can find some threads and video samples in the video forums. But that took a lot of careful planning and accessories, tools, and assistants (or a lot of work). I never got such good results, myself. If you want to be serious with video something like Sony or Canon is probably a better choice. But having dual systems is annoying, I agree. K-01 is a cool camera, I enjoy it a lot because it is so compact and has a good sensor. But its not as fast as modern mirrorless cameras, and its video is a generation or two behind.

If you get a K-01 you should update its firmware to the latest one, as that helps with things like AF. Good luck

[PiDicus Rex]

How good is the K-01 for video?

Damn good, just plan ahead with the framing, and try to eliminate as much background detail as possible, to force the variable bitrate of the CoDec to be used in the foreground.
If you're shooting deep-focus - say a 24mm landscape with focus to Infinity, try to eliminate as much movement as possible - use a tripod and pan slow as possible.

The files, are not 'Large',...
Roughly, 100Mb per minute, and only 19megabits/sec.
For comparison, on my Cion, I can fill a Terabyte hard drive with less minutes footage then the K-01 gets on a 16GB SD Card
And that's in ProRes, not CineDNG Raw.

---------- Post added 31-01-18 at 12:10 PM ----------

The only concerns I had were the battery life and I have found ways around it.

Using Manual lenses, I get three to four hours continuous recording, 19minutes at a time.

Using DA lenses with AF and auto Iris, will use the battery life faster, but no where near as quick as a Canon, a 550D gets about 45minutes per battery, and a BMD pocket Cine camera gets about 15 minutes.