[JimC1101]

Well it is a 20MP sensor over the 16MP K-30 but I don't think that will be a huge difference. I have a K-30 and love it, and I don't think that there are any of the other manufacturers in this level of camera is better than the K-30, but the K-S1 is not trying to be the K-30; nor it shouldn't. To me, the K-S1 is an entry level camera with very advance features but still, more in line with an entry level model. That is ok because the target market is more in line with the video of the 20 something group of users who will be interested. Weather sealing, they won't care. Dual dials, they won't care. Looks different then what their friends have ? Heck yeah. The style is to be cool....without acting nerdy....take great pics....but not some photography nerd. Pentax is getting it right. I would never trade my K-30 for any other camera, but I am not in the same target market that Pentax is trying to hit. Those of us who spend time on this forum as I do, are truly passionate about our photography, and the things you spoke about earlier matters to us. The group that are looking to buy this camera are not surfing all the time on Pentax Forum or DPR like we do, they are on Facebook or Twitter or Instogram, That is why a lot of people posting about how bad the K-S1 is because they are looking at it from their own perspective, not on from the perspective of other younger groups who will love it for what it is. When that group will go to a concert or a rave or to Coachella, they will think it is really cool to have the cam they have with them that has LED's on it. Totally cool man.


From the marketing perspective, I think Pentax is doing it right on this one.

[ogl]

I'd say that in addition to a higher res sensor, the AA simulator, new image processor, and most importantly, its significantly smaller size are all pretty major changes. Maybe they are not the ones you want, but saying it is 95% K30 is rather disingenuous. By your criteria, the K3 is arguably 95% K30, too.

NO. K-3 is another level.

AA simulator - who cares about this useless invention? It's the most unclaimed feature.
We don't know how good it's second version of M processor, but JPEG samples are not better than K-30/K-50's JPEG pictures.
Smaller? Why do you think it's advantage? A lot of user don't like small cameras.

Have a look
Side by Side Comparison: Digital Photography Review

Don't forget - K-S1 has no second wheel, no WR, has weaker flash, no good grip and strange control. Smaller buffer. 5 RAW is the level of 2005.
And higher price than K-50.
And you can buy K-5II at lower price. Don't you?

[WillWeaverRVA]

Some samples from the K-S1 have appeared on Ricoh Europe's page:

PENTAX K-S1 - RICOH IMAGING EUROPE S.A.S

[ogl]

I don't care K-S1. It's not bad camera,

I don't like the direction of Ricoh's thoughts. All Pentax cameras look solid. ALL.
K-S1 looks....as glam rock's time...Lost in times.

[JinDesu]

Some samples from the K-S1 have appeared on Ricoh Europe's page:

PENTAX K-S1 - RICOH IMAGING EUROPE S.A.S

Amusingly, the EU photos come from NYC. I wonder if the US photos will be from a EU city.
And goddamn, someone at Queensboro Plaza was shooting with the KS-1!? If only I had spotted that person.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Amusingly, the EU photos come from NYC. I wonder if the US photos will be from a EU city.
And goddamn, someone at Queensboro Plaza was shooting with the KS-1!? If only I had spotted that person.

I know, the railfan in me was like, "holy crap, I've been there before and I've taken photos of subway trains too!"

[Clavius]

Smaller? Why do you think it's advantage? A lot of user don't like small cameras.

I agree with OGL here. Users that want a small/light camera typically don't go for DSLRs at all. For the kind of money a user has to fork out for the K-S1 there are a lot of smaller camera / lens combo's.

[JimC1101]

Imagine if Pentax would have released the K-S1 as a FF and it was the camera we have all been waiting for for years...with the LED's et al. I think we would have been sitting in stunned silence right now. :P

[ChristianRock]

Small and compact DSLRs are a Pentax tradition since the 70s. I can't help but think people complain for the sake of complaining.

Y'all seem to be doing your best to kill a camera that isn't marketed towards you at all. Why do you bother?

[Biro]

No touchscreen, no native wifi, big K-mount lens with noisy autofocus. The problem with the K-S1 is that it's not going to appeal to its intended market: mobile-interface shooters. There've been only two devices that have resonated with this market in the past decade: the iPhone and the GoPro camera. Pentax and the rest of the traditional camera industry still don't have a clue about how to reach these people and I have to wonder what Pentax's next crack at mirrorless will look like. I just have to shake my head.

[y0chang]

They abound in the mirrorless world. Nikon 1, Samsung, the others mentioned.

I would be all for a collapsible kit lens, if possible. Use in-camera distortion correction for jpegs. The fact that no one beyond Nikon (correct me if I'm wrong) has one for DSLRs tells me that it's either technically difficult or just not worth pursuing in a no-frills lens. The Nikon, btw, shaves a little over a centimeter in length. So, noticeable but not dramatic.

What pentax needs is a pancake zoom like the Samsung 20-50 kit lens. That covers an APS-C sized sensor with a relatively large registration distance (for Mirrorless), People want zooms but don't want the bulk. I personally would like Pentax can leverage its know-how of pancake optics to create a very nice compact zoom lens. Imagine a DA 16-35mm WR pancake zoom about the size of the old FA 24-50mm ...I would buy that for lightweight traveling even though I have several lenses already in that range.

[JPT]

I went to the Pentax Forum in Shinjuku, Tokyo today to see whether they had a model on display yet. They didn't have one to try, but they had models of all the colours in a display case. The first thing that struck me was that everyone has been blinded by the lights. What a load of fuss about nothing! You can switch them off! Of course these non-functionals models didn't have the lights on and all you can see is an almost unnoticeable black slit going up the front. With the lights out of the way, you can appreciate the design for what it really is.

The straight-on front view seen in most of the photos kind of accentuates it's uniqueness. I don't think it's the most flattering view. In reality it just looks more conventional - like a compact, dense DSLR. In terms of styling, it reminded me of the K-30 more than anything.

The colours looked different to what I expected from Ricoh's publicity shots. They all have the matt "silky" finish that some order models of the K-30 had, not smooth shiny plastic. It makes the actual finish look quite different from the publicity shots from Pentax. The colours are much more subdued and this makes the bright colours look more subtle and tasteful. On the other hand, the brown and grey ones looked almost drab. I was especially surprised that the "Moon Silver" version is quite dark. Unfortunately, it won't match your silver lenses. The ones I liked were both of the blue ones, the white one, the orange one and above all the midnight black, which has a cool lime green side panel.

Finally, some information that I hadn't seen before from a Japanese article:
https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ja&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF...%2F&edit-text=
- Because of Prime M II, the K-S1 has the diffraction correction function that was added to the K-3's firmware.
- The K-S1 is not meant to be the successor to any model. It is a new and unique model.

[ChristianRock]

The NX2000 with its 3.7" touchscreen was a bust apparently, so Samsung got rid of it for the NX3000.

So a touchscreen might be overrated.

The swivel screen, however, might be more important, but it would not allow the camera to be as small. So it was a design decision.

That's the camera Ricoh came up with, for the market they are trying to reach. If this makes you sell your K-3, I think that's a reflection on you and not on Ricoh/Pentax.

[shaX 07]

It's funny how everyone in here is a Marketing & Demographics expert. I'd like to see all of the research and data that indicates nobody in the world wants a K-S1. Please share with us your evidence

[Kenntak]

No touchscreen, no native wifi, big K-mount lens with noisy autofocus. The problem with the K-S1 is that it's not going to appeal to its intended market: mobile-interface shooters. There've been only two devices that have resonated with this market in the past decade: the iPhone and the GoPro camera. Pentax and the rest of the traditional camera industry still don't have a clue about how to reach these people and I have to wonder what Pentax's next crack at mirrorless will look like. I just have to shake my head.

Can you really reach a person that is content with an iPhone anyway? Would you waste resources and money trying to do that?

When I was young many people would buy disposable cameras, and not simply for a particular trip--they would also use them as their main camera! Maybe we were the iPhone people of the day--not having any inclination to spend money on a better camera. Today, I appreciate good cameras and the art of photography--and I don't use an iPhone to take my pictures.