[Cyril_K5]

Ok, now is time! I bought my K-1, tested it, loving it, but is there anything that I don't like about it? Don't be surprised, I am French and I like a little bit of complaint and negativity
Yes there are so many things to love about the K-1, dynamic range, flipping screen, pixel shift, crop mode, gps and wifi, silent trigger (love the sound), but what about the things I didn't like?
1. Why did they invert the LV and image preview button??
What the hell? I had a K-5, K-5 IIs, K-3 and the live view button was always on the right side of the screen, meaning that you could use it as an exposure check with one hand, checking quickly if you have no blown out highlights or checking you bokeh. Why didn't they swap their positions??? Pentax please, could you upgrade the firmware and make this a customisable choice?
2. I can't get the idea behind the new "quick access" dial on the right
It is probably a well thought through design choice but why not using the rear dial and not sacrifice the top information LCD screen in size? Things like exposure compensation or ISO already have their own button, was it really necessary?? You can even program exposure compensation on the rear dial! Doesn't make sense at all to me...
3. Why is the focus selection button so small and so inaccessible?
The good news is that the auto mode in AF does a pretty good job so I rarely have to use this function
4. The SD cards accessibility
Not a big deal but I use a hand strap and I find the SD card on the back to be less accessible than the K-3 (card nr1 which is the one I use the most

For rest, I love my camera and wouldn't exchange it at any price for any other big brand camera!

[Adam]

1. Why did they invert the LV and image preview button??

I know, right? But I've gotten used to it.

2. I can't get the idea behind the new "quick access" dial on the right

I agree. A cool idea at first, but kind of pointless. Would rather have a larger top LCD- the one on the 645Z spoiled me.

3. Why is the focus selection button so small and so inaccessible?

Another good point. The button duplication sometimes gets on my nerves, too. Other cameras are better-designed in this respect.

IMO, there would have been room on the K-1 for decoupling of the 4-way pad and the WB/drive mode/custom image menu buttons.

But, at the end of the day, I guess you get used to the way things are. No interface is perfect unless you were to take the best of Pentax, Canon, Sony, and Nikon and fuse them all together.

[dakight]

The Live View and Playback buttons are inverted on the K-50 as well. I have no idea why they did that but I'll get used to it.

[npc]

I don't use straps so I have not run into SD card accesibility issues but I share the dissapointment for the other points.
I'll throw in two of mine as well:

1. Why there's a bump in the body at the base of the grip where all previous models are flat?
I guess it depends on your hands but it's exactly where my fingers fall naturally and it gets in the way

2. Fx buttons limited selection of assignable functions
For example - why is "select focal length" not available ? Really useful if you change legacy lenses often ... again maybe only few people would need it, but that's the whole point of having customizable buttons in the first place.

[biz-engineer]

That's because the K1 is an additive design: they did not design the camera as a whole, but they added up things on top of existing cameras designs, ending up in inconsistent design.

1. Why did they invert the LV and image preview button??

You have to get used to it, it's not a big deal, with repeated use over time, you get used to it, it becomes a reflex

2. I can't get the idea behind the new "quick access" dial on the right

I agree with that. It's something that was added but not designed together with the rest of the interface; Result is, some of the functions that are there do no require direct access, and other functions which would require direct access remained as they were on K3/K5. Also, the remaining lcd is small to the point that it displays nothing and they could have removed it completely. Anyway, it's there, it had weight and complexity, but not so much convenience at all. Typically designed from a conception of the mind rather than practical experience. Ok, I'll not use it, or perhaps only for ISO in manual mode, that's all (a single wheel would have been sufficient then).

3. Why is the focus selection button so small and so inaccessible?

This one pitfall , you'll have to live with since the hardware will not change until the next camera model, except if they change the firmware so that this tiny button is replaced by the center OK button (like it was on K10/K200D). Interesting is that in LV, the OK button is used to confirm the AF zone setting, but not for PDAF (gives a hint how logical the design is). I found a way around this: use user modes (user1,2,3,4,5) to preset different AF mode so I can switch AF mode directly with the left dial button, without having to lock AF mode to access drive modes. It's not the best but it can do the job. As for firmware change to use Ok button, I think I'll never see it implemented (they'd have to update the users manual etc). Last but not least, in the K1 you can fully customize the tiles in the INFO menu; that wasn't possible in previous cameras, so I reconfigured the tiles to the functions I use most often, you can also add AF modes there. Use case: just go back to single point AF and use the 4 ways controller to change the drive mode, or when AFC is used, leave the AF point selection open and use the smart dial wheel to change the drive mode.

4. The SD cards accessibility

I don't find it to be a big deal since taking sd cards in and out is not something i often do while shooting.

Don't forget that when we get a new camera, there's a time to get use to it and figure out how to use it in the best way. And if the ways K1 is meant to be used is so different from other cameras, Ricoh should tell me, but I can't find such use guide in the manual.

[surfar]

The Live View and Playback buttons are inverted on the K-50 as well. I have no idea why they did that but I'll get used to it.

I'm used to it already!

[Tan68]

I thought I would like the quick access dial but I have to shift my grip to use it. I planned to use it primarily to change ISO but using the ISO button is easier. So, I don't expect to use those two dials.. + as a few others have suggested, the smart dial isn't very necessary; switching between choices in the INFO menu would have been a good compromise. The LCD screen could have been bigger, some speed would have been lost, but some of the items won't be changed often and a button press to INFO plus rear command dial isn't much slower than shifting grip to reach smart dial..

I thought I would have to rock my thumb forward to reach the AF button, but it is angled away a bit so it becomes a bit of a stretch. If I do grip the camera so that I only have to rock the tip of my thumb forward, the bottom rear of the camera digs into my palm. The green button is very accessible and I have only to rock my thumb sideways to activate it. The ability to switch functions (AF>GB & GB>AF) would be great!

The live view button was moved so Tan68 doesn't keep invoking LV when he tries to use AF button (after being accustomed to K5)

I sometimes use 'flipping' as a euphemism for 'effing'. Consider adding that to your lexicon to use during your discussions of complaint and negativity :^)

---

Last edited by Tan68; 05-19-2016 at 03:05 AM.

The third command dial would have been enough. Simply select with the existing buttons if its iso or exp. compensation. And if you hit iso twice it still changes iso
It is well made on my K-7 but that toggling between iso or exp. comp. and whatever is on the rear dial can sometimes lead to confusion.
K-1 looks great nonetheless.
David

[Imp]

. I can't get the idea behind the new "quick access" dial on the right It is probably a well thought through design choice but why not using the rear dial and not sacrifice the top information LCD screen in size? Things like exposure compensation or ISO already have their own button, was it really necessary?? You can even program exposure compensation on the rear dial! Doesn't make sense at all to me...

I'd say keep the third wheel, but make the function dial menu driven - like say, put a button on the four-way control pad that allows you to choose what that wheel controls. Then you could still have an ISO/Exposure Comp adjustment wheel, which is the main point of the dial, i think, but you still have more screen space.

[Rico]

My theory behind the quick access dial and why it is there and so big is that the K-1 is seen as a field camera. The quick access dial is oversized to make it easier to change settings when you have gloves on etc when it is cold or inclement weather.

Remember also when Live View came in they moved the Preview button to the left then put the new Live View button where the Preview Button had been. This was a bit of getting used to when the K-5 came out.

[zmohie]

I will write in arabic
لم يجد في الورد عيبا سوى انه احمر/

[biz-engineer]

The LCD screen could have been bigger, some speed would have been lost, but some of the items won't be changed often and a button press to INFO plus rear command dial isn't much slower than shifting grip to reach smart dial..

On most videos I've seen about the K1, the user rotate the "smart" dial with the left hand, and use the right hand to turn the front and rear wheels. It is usable this way. There is one case where using the left hand to turn the smart dial isn't recommended: long lenses too heavy for their full weight to be supported by the lens mount, in that case tripod or monopod mandatory or simple don't use the smart dial when hand holding camera with long lenses, otherwise this may lead to damaging the lens mount.

[zeljko_pentax]

Guys I don't think that function dials are bad at all. My first impression after I unpacked it was ; OMG- why duplicating some functions. Total waste of space. But after couple of weeks, I'm finding it more and more useful. One day I was experimenting in low light and changing ISO with my thumb, on the run was really good and easy. Next time while doing some shots with 200 mm, shifting between crop and FF for better reach and framing with one easy turn of the wheel was God sent. Then after coming home I decided to upload some shots to my iPad and for switching Wi-Fi on and off I went straight to my more and more loved 'function wheels'. Doing some sport shots, on that given day I found the wheels most useful for consecutive shooting speed change. Maybe there are a few functions that I wouldn't use much but someone else probably would find them very useful. So IMO function dials are very good idea. I love 'em and wouldn't change them at all.

[TomTextura]

Not that I have a K-1 but that smart function dial taking over so much screen space seems to be the poorest of the new design features. ISO and exposure comp already have dedicated buttons and those are by far the most practical two settings you'd ever need to control from the new command dial. Would have preferred to have more info displayed on the LCD, particularly an EV bar, AF points, and AE meter.

[noelpolar]

Not that I have a K-1 but that smart function dial taking over so much screen space seems to be the poorest of the new design features. ISO and exposure comp already have dedicated buttons and those are by far the most practical two settings you'd ever need to control from the new command dial. Would have preferred to have more info displayed on the LCD, particularly an EV bar, AF points, and AE meter.

Me to....and I have one.