[NotSteve]

Going by some of the dumping on the K-1 from certain folks you'd think that Ricoh missed the boat, but in reading up about the Canon 6D II, I think one gets a bit of perspective. For Ricoh's single entry into full frame, K-1 measures up quite well in terms price and features and one also gets a sense of how Canon deliberately shortchanges features on their lower end models (USB 2.0, 1080p video, single card slot) to artificially segment their full frame offerings. The 6D II has a flip out screen, but to me it makes the K-1 screen seem that much more rugged, in keeping with expectations for a full frame camera.

I found the comments in this posting on Petapixel pretty interesting, plus you also get the sense very few of those who current own a 6D or are considering the 6D II have any idea the K-1 exists:

This is the Canon 6D Mark II

[lesmore49]

The OP said and I quote ..."For each Pentaxian buying K-1 another Nikon/Canon shooter jumped ship to Pentax ". I'm not sure about that. Could be, I just dunno. No way that I can figure out whether it's true or not and then the other issue, does it matter to me ? As long as Pentax sells enough quality camera stuff to keep rolling out new model Pentax equipment, no it probably doesn't matter to me.

Pentax has made equipment that works well for me. I generally take pix of vintage automobilia, occasional wildlife, family and friends....birthday, visitor stuff, etc. I also like to walk around and take pix that I see in the city/country that appeal to me.

That's what I like to do.

I don't do fashion shoots, don't shoot video. I have three digital cameras that can do video. My Canon G12, Pentax K5 and K-1.

I've tried out the video feature on the G12 and the K5 once each. I asked my wife to wave at me and did the video function for about 30 seconds. Did it before the warranty was up, wanted to make sure I was getting what I was paying from, before the camera warranties were up. Yup, the video works. I could see my wife waving and hear her dulcet tones recorded.

Now I've got to do the same thing with the K1 for the same reason and that will be probably it for video.

I still have my K10D, Km and use them. Mostly now with my K-5 I attach my Sigma 150-500 and use it for bird pics. I've got a lot of Pentax lenses for use on the K1 , but I have to admit that after 4 months I continue to be impressed with the 28-105...both of it's versatility as a good all around general purpose job and the picture quality. Wow.

Time to sign off. It's getting late for an old geezer and anyways I can't recall what the original question was, anymore.

Les

[ffking]

I found the comments in this posting on Petapixel pretty interesting

useful source of arguments for 1080 video, anyway

[ffking]

It's just struck me how ahead of its time the K-1 was, with USB-2 like the A9 and 1080 video like the 6Dii

---

Last edited by ffking; 06-29-2017 at 02:49 PM.

[Erictator]

It's just struck me how ahead of its time the K-1 was, with USB-2 like the A9 and 1080k video like the 6Dii

That may be the best post in this entire thread. Give that man a cigar!
Eric

[Uluru]

6D2 has full HD at 60 frames. K-1 doesn't have that. If the video is judged by results from other Canon cameras, then 6D2 will deliver better quality video too.
6D2 is made to be everyday's man FF DSLR; it is very light yet sealed, 25% lighter than the K-1, fast enough (6.5 fps), has finer and more sophisticated autofocus including Canon's dual-pixel focus. Overall, it has many nice little things balanced well.

K-1 has never pretended to be every man's FF camera. It is not.
I think there is a need for an FF from Pentax in the 6D2 category — lighter, more balanced, less MP — but I don't think it will come.

[Adam]

6D2 has full HD at 60 frames. K-1 doesn't have that. If the video is judged by results from other Canon cameras, then 6D2 will deliver better quality video too.
6D2 is made to be everyday's man FF DSLR; it is very light yet sealed, 25% lighter than the K-1, fast enough (6.5 fps), has finer and more sophisticated autofocus including Canon's dual-pixel focus. Overall, it has many nice little things balanced well.

K-1 has never pretended to be every man's FF camera. It is not.
I think there is a need for an FF from Pentax in the 6D2 category — lighter, more balanced, less MP — but I don't think it will come.

I agree, I don't think Pentax has the resources (at least for now) to market two FF DSLRs. That said, the K-1 is targeted at a very clear audience and it does what it's designed for very well (still image quality).

Adam
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[biz-engineer]

Going by some of the dumping on the K-1 from certain folks you'd think that Ricoh missed the boat, but in reading up about the Canon 6D II, I think one gets a bit of perspective. For Ricoh's single entry into full frame, K-1 measures up quite well in terms price and features and one also gets a sense of how Canon deliberately shortchanges features on their lower end models (USB 2.0, 1080p video, single card slot) to artificially segment their full frame offerings. The 6D II has a flip out screen, but to me it makes the K-1 screen seem that much more rugged, in keeping with expectations for a full frame camera.

Exactly. Canon will sell the 6D II , not thanks to a side by side comparison with the K1, the K1 is better. Canon will sell because if I go in any shop here, they want to sell Canon and they don't want to sell Pentax. The reason is, Canon give them goodies, which Pentax does not offer. So, the shops here promote Canon, as simple as that. But, very often in this forum, people always make the implicit link that Pentax has low market share because of the specs of the the Pentax cameras, and it's not true. Nowadays, if Canon were starting from a low market share position, they would have no chance to break through the market with what they currently offer. But since the have historically reached a high market share position, they use this strong old to continue to sell camera that feature/price wise aren't superior. Canon sensors are good but not as great as sensors provided in other brands, but a number of customers aren't so much into understanding this kind of detail and buy what they are recommended by the shops, and the shops recommend what makes more money for them.

[Kunzite]

The K-1 works because it's not a 6D-series camera.

[biz-engineer]

The K-1 works because it's not a 6D-series camera.

Man, today I bring my K1 to the office to show photos of the milkyway taken with the K1, 4 minutes exposure with DFA24-70 f2.8 zoom (f2.8.. not f1.4), star tracked with built in GPS (calibrated). At the company, everyone has Canon, Nikon and Fuji, non of them can do what I do with the PENTAX K1. We were discussing star tracking with the camera, and they said they can't make it sharp unless keeping exposure below 10 seconds, and they can believe tracking in built in the K1, so they want to see if it's true and asked me to show.

[Dan Rentea]

Nowadays, if Canon were starting from a low market share position, they would have no chance to break through the market with what they currently offer. But since the have historically reached a high market share position, they use this strong old to continue to sell camera that feature/price wise aren't superior.

Partially true. But if Pentax and Canon starts from zero, 5D Mark IV (which is the direct competition to K1) it will sell better than K1, despite the price. Why? Because K1 is a camera dedicated mostly to landscape photographers with tons of features in that regard, while 5D Mark IV is a workhorse camera.

Speaking about 6D Mark II, you get on an entry level camera:
- very good video performance (despite it is only full hd) with the excelent dual pixel af
- a brand new sensor which, if I'm looking at 5D Mark IV, 80D, 1Dx mark II, it is close to Sony sensors regarding dynamic range and overall performance
- a brand new processor
- 6.5fps
- 45 af points with the center point being dual cross type and also with 27 af point supporting f8
- anti flicker
- fully articulated screen with touch control
- wifi, NFC, bluetooth and GPS
- some weather sealing (the battery compartment cover, card slot cover, lens mount, terminal covers and buttons are weather-sealed)
- the very nice Auto white balance option between ambience priority and white priority settings (borrowed from from 5D Mark IV)
- ISO probably better than 6D which already had very good performance

It worth 2.000$? Maybe, maybe not. For me it's a very pleasant surprise regarding the things I was interested in: 6.5fps and 45 af points. This means that tracking will be far more achievable than before. If this camera would have had duals slot card, I think it would have been Canon's best selling camera for the next 4 years.

---------- Post added 06-30-17 at 10:28 AM ----------

Man, today I bring my K1 to the office to show photos of the milkyway taken with the K1, 4 minutes exposure with DFA24-70 f2.8 zoom (f2.8.. not f1.4), star tracked with built in GPS (calibrated). At the company, everyone has Canon, Nikon and Fuji, non of them can do what I do with the PENTAX K1. We were discussing star tracking with the camera, and they said they can't make it sharp unless keeping exposure below 10 seconds, and they can believe tracking in built in the K1, so they want to see if it's true and asked me to show.

That is exactly what I said above. It is a very oriented camera, not an all around camera. It's better for landscape than 6D Mark II, but nos as better than 6D Mark II for sports, BIF and video.

[Kunzite]

If Pentax and Canon starts from zero, a 5D Mark IV might not be possible for either brand/company
The K-1 is quite an achievement, for its price and low sales volume. I can think of improvements I'd want in a "Mark II" version, but I can't find any fault in Ricoh Imaging's decision to make this specific camera.

[redpit]

These discussions-comparisons are quite meaningless because everyone focuses on the qualities that he is interested in.

For me equally important characteristics are (K-1 Vs 6DII):
36Mpxl Vs 26Mpxls
1/8000 Vs 1/4000 maximum shutter speed
1/250 Vs 1/180 flash ss
204800 vs 104400 (40000 expanded to this value)

And I don't add in this comparison advantages for my needs that come from the IBIS of Pentax.

Anyway I have chosen my camera and I know what I want. For now I'm enjoying my K-1 and it will be of great surprise for me if a camera other than the K-1 replacement from Pentax will be better suited for me (with the price being one of the major values in this equation). If Pentax goes on strong like the last years that would be another real winner!

[dafbp]

... Canon will sell because if I go in any shop here, they want to sell Canon and they don't want to sell Pentax...

This is most likely related to what you said: when I had to buy a replacement camera mid-Saturday (because the airshow would go on until Monday and I'd miss the best bits), I couldn't find a K3 in stock for immediate delivery, had to buy a used K5iis. (K3ii came out a few months later, now waiting for its replacement)
Would that happen if I was looking for any other brand...? Think not.

[RonHendriks1966]

Pricing is something that changes a lot over time. Currently on offer for a limited time (I think two weeks) is a brandnew Sony A7 with 5 year warranty for only 799 euro! For a fullframe that is a sharp price.

To compare, the K-3ii is 899 euro.