[Nicolas06]

I've seen a lot of reviews of Pentax cameras in youtube and I think most said that the K-1 didn't do well in the AF to which I strongly agree with. However, some simply said this with out bashing the camera. There are some things that I don't like about others systems but, I don't bash them. I think most of us know if someone would like to put a system down and to me dpreview really wanted to put down the K-1.

Still, as far as I'm concerned, we know how to judge a system and that's why we are with Pentax. I'm sure you'll all agree that whatever reasons you have for buying into Pentax is definitely over the opinion that dpreview published. Honestly, I really don't care about their opinion.

It is a bit like politics. When you try to get elected and convince people, you will not change the mind of 80% of people. Theses are already too focussed and lost for the short term whatever you do. But there are people that are not sure of their choice yet, they don't have that much strong opinion and may change their mind. You focus on theses people.

So if you are new to photography or had just a reflex with 1-2 APSC lenses and now decide you want to go to next level and upgrade then you'll check maybe a few reviews online... Many will just go to a shop really and ask the vendor.

Very few are active on a forum. Most people will see Pentax forum or dpreview as "read only" and that the part of people that already try to get informed seriously.

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Last edited by Nicolas06; 07-31-2016 at 03:31 AM.

[totsmuyco]

I agree with you Nicolas06. But there are some who do research on the web before buying something. If I want to buy Olympus, I would go to fourthirds-users.com. If I want to buy Nikon or Canon, I would go to their forum. When I bought my pistol, I did a lot of research particularly users' feedback. Then I made my decision.

I've used Canon and Nikon during the film days. Olympus was my first digital system 15 years after I've put down my film cameras. When Olympus killed 4/3, I had to choose a system. I was looking at Nikon but, my requirements just weren't met. I had heavy doubts with Pentax at first. But when I took the plunge with k-5II, I just fell in love with it. And that was due to a lot of research.

[Nicolas06]

In dslr the core audience is Canon and Nikon, they are >90% of the market.

For DSLR, Pentax is the third. player. But there not only DSLR in this world and there many brands. Sony, Leica, Panasonic, Olympus... Ignoring this doesn't help increase the company revenue. Pentax forum show that you can make some significant money just from Pentax audience. In the end, things add up.

This is also ignoring another bias: even if Canikon get most of the market, a good share of that is from sales on brick and motar stores were dpreview doesn't make money.

Amazon, dpreview owner showed that you can successfully make lot of money by selling less common things... Like Pentax gear or less common books.

[bazinga0313]

totsmuyco, I totally agree with you, but I guess ill just have to stick with my m42's, which I love, but a zoom would be nice.

[shiner]

Well, my silver K-70 arrived today and it is pretty cool. I'll get a lot of use from it, no doubt.
There is no "Selfie mode", which is a plus to me, lol. Instead, the WiFi/Fx2 top button can be assigned for other tasks- including one-touch "Night Vision LCD Display" Mode.

[totsmuyco]

Sure you can do a selfie. Swing out the LCD and twist it so that you can see yourself. Hold the grip with your left hand and press the shutter button with your thumb.

Enjoy your new toy and let us know how it does. I would surely love to see some high ISO low light feedback. My k-3II isn't as good as my k-5II in that area. But I still love both cameras.

[JPT]

Just tried this camera in the store to see what the new sensor AF was like. I used the lenses they happened have on the display, and they tended toward the consumer end the spectrum. My point of reference for LV is a K-01. It work significantly faster than that. Just first impressions, but . . .

DA18-135: reasonably fast, sure
DA 35 2.4 and DA50 1.8: very quick and sure
DFA50: macro slow, struggled to find focus at all
DA50-200: slow, hunted
DA18-270: average
DA17-70: slow, hunted
Some long slow Sigma (70-300?): Average

Some of the lenses now seem to be faster in LV than through the OVF.

In the hand, the camera just has a more conventional, serious flavour than the K-S2. I think it's the finish, appreciably on the top plate.

I had another try of this at the weekend, this time at a shop with some good lenses to hand. I'm still talking only about live view focusing only. The D-FA 70-200 and D-FA 150-450 worked fine, but nothing amazing. Actually, I don't know how fast they focus normally, so I don't have much of a point of comparison. The DA 16-50 was not very fast, but I think the limitation is very much in the lens itself.

The one that amazed me was the FA77. I have that lens and it focuses better on my K-01 than my K-5iis, which indicates it's a bit of a strange lens for focusing. In live view on the K-70, it was astonishingly fast - just zipping into focus almost immediately. The DA21 Ltd also focused very well.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be possible to try the video focus without a card inserted, so I couldn't try that. And remember that my observations are very unscientific.

[Zygonyx]

Thank you for feedback JPT.
Nonetheless, there's no reason why powered lens AF engine could be swifter with K-70 than with other bodies

[totsmuyco]

Maybe someone will do an AF test and upload it in YouTube like what they did with the sigma 18-300 vs. Tamron 16-300 using same camera bodies. This time, same lens different Pentax bodies.

[JPT]

Thank you for feedback JPT.
Nonetheless, there's no reason why powered lens AF engine could be swifter with K-70 than with other bodies

The lens motor is definitely stronger than the one in my K-5 IIs or K-01, but that has been the case since the K-3. What made it faster and more decisive is that it doesn't wobble at the end of the focus operation so much. Hopefully we'll start to get some more impressions from actually owners very soon.

[planteater]

Received mine from Srs Microsystems this afternoon but haven't had much chance to play. First impressions are favourable. If I really squeeze the grip on my K30 I can feel some flexing. This doesn't happen on the K70. The shutter is marginally quieter than than the K30 but still loud by modern standards. Lots more functions but the same number of controls will probably mean more menu diving but the three User slots will go some way to offsetting this. The Android app works well but is not intuitive. You can select focus point on the phone touch screen which is very cool, IMO.

It's the first time I've used an articulated screen and it's a revelation. This and the Wifi phone remote are going to be great aids to composition. Proper mirror lock-up too!

[shiner]

Sure you can do a selfie. Swing out the LCD and twist it so that you can see yourself. Hold the grip with your left hand and press the shutter button with your thumb.

Enjoy your new toy and let us know how it does. I would surely love to see some high ISO low light feedback. My k-3II isn't as good as my k-5II in that area. But I still love both cameras.

Of course, but the WiFi button feature has been dropped.

[Kuzma]

The first more or less detailed review (with video samples) now is available on this site. Well, now I am sure that I will not buy K-70. It´s viedo mode is awful like on other Pentax cameras. So there are no reason to buy it instead of K-3 II only because of a better screen. Therefore I will have to buy two cameras: one for photo and one for video. The dream about the time when I will shoot both photos and videos using my pentax lenses still is only a dream(

[Nicolas06]

The first more or less detailed review (with video samples) now is available on this site. Well, now I am sure that I will not buy K-70. It´s viedo mode is awful like on other Pentax cameras. So there are no reason to buy it instead of K-3 II only because of a better screen. Therefore I will have to buy two cameras: one for photo and one for video. The dream about the time when I will shoot both photos and videos using my pentax lenses still is only a dream(

Honestly I don't get this...

You want an all in one camera? There many availalble... Just not from Pentax.

So either your prioritize Pentax and the consequence you also have a video camera... And once that's decided, there no reason to complain. Maybe in a few years there will be the perfect hybrid model from Pentax and you'll even be able to sell your current video camera... In the meantime you can get a real pro level dedicated video camera that do things no hybrid camera can hope to rivalize... The latest RED have 8K recording with full sensor read at 60FPS and with a sensor surface similar to an FF. No standard still camera offer that. They only start to offer 4K not at 100FPS+ like the pro gear does and almost none do full sensor read.

Or you decide to invest in a camera made for that... GH4 or A7s as example, sell your existing gear and have an happy life with you all in one toy...

[Dipsoid]

Honestly I don't get this...

You want an all in one camera? There many availalble... Just not from Pentax.

So either your prioritize Pentax and the consequence you also have a video camera... And once that's decided, there no reason to complain. Maybe in a few years there will be the perfect hybrid model from Pentax and you'll even be able to sell your current video camera... In the meantime you can get a real pro level dedicated video camera that do things no hybrid camera can hope to rivalize... The latest RED have 8K recording with full sensor read at 60FPS and with a sensor surface similar to an FF. No standard still camera offer that. They only start to offer 4K not at 100FPS+ like the pro gear does and almost none do full sensor read.

Or you decide to invest in a camera made for that... GH4 or A7s as example, sell your existing gear and have an happy life with you all in one toy...

Honestly, I don't get "this". If a user is disappointed in Pentax not having a feature, people say "get another camera for that" yeah and everyone wants to spend thousands of dollars on camera equipment, especially when an entry level canon blows Pentax video quality out of the water. If Pentax wants to remain relevant, they must compete with the market and make their cameras more competent for video. In this day and age the market demands cameras to be stills AND video focused. There's less and less room in the market for a stills focused cameras, just like there's little room for a "call focused" cell phone. Look at Fuji, the other "stills focused" camera manufacturer, they know what's going on and have decided to up the ante in their video features. Requesting Pentax do the same is not "complaining" it's a legitimate criticism. I love my Pentax camera, I would like to stick with them for many rewards, it would be a shame to see them head towards the sunset because they can't adapt to the changing times. I'm not saying Pentax is doomed, I think they'll be around for a very long time. I think they'll just continue to become more and more niche.