[stevebrot]

It’s big. It dwarfs my D40x.

As noted above, the D40x is a completely different class of camera, even when compared to the D80. To be fair, Nikon FF cameras of similar vintage to your D40x make the K-1 look petite.

The other thing I noticed is that in part because of the larger grip it’s hard to do thing with my right hand without also supporting the camera with my left.

Some would argue that one-handed shooting is not a good thing. I figure, if you have the hand and arm strength, do it. I am 6' 2", 220 lbs and shoot with a K-3 and it is a little heavy for one-handed for me.

The shutter button: This is one thing I genuinely don’t like about the K-1.

You are not alone. I have not yet played with a K-1, but many users are unhappy with the button feel. FWIW, other model Pentax cameras are not that way.

I've looked at that top info screen once. The D40x doesn't have one. I'm not sure if it's because I'm just not used to looking for it or what, but I found myself looking at main screen for the camera info. The top info screen just seems small and cramped.

It will grow on your, particularly if you are shooting in dim light with the rear display turned off. Too bad they decreased the size, though.

Thanks for sharing your impressions and do have fun with your new camera.


Steve

[Scintilla]

Honestly, I see no difference. But I use back button focus so that might be the difference. I'm not trying to find that "half-press" point, which seems to be the root of the complaints. Works just fine for me using back button focus.

I usually have back button focus set on my K-30, but I still find myself doing the shutter button half-press a lot, either pressing it to wake up the camera or holding it to get the SR system to kick in -- need to wait until you get the SR icon in the viewfinder. Is the K-1's SR activated similarly (when it's turned on at all, of course)?

[jatrax]

need to wait until you get the SR icon in the viewfinder. Is the K-1's SR activated similarly (when it's turned on at all, of course)?

AFAIK, yes. Though waiting on SR is not something I seem to worry about since the k-5 I guess. Never noticed it being a problem on the k-3 or the k-1 but that might be me. On the k-x and k-5 you did have to wait until it spooled up. Never owned a k-30 or -50 so no idea on those.

I usually have back button focus set on my K-30, but I still find myself doing the shutter button half-press a lot, either pressing it to wake up the camera

Waking up the camera is a valid point, but I've not had any issues with that and the button. Actually since the camera is asleep I don't think it matters if you use a half press or full press to wake it. Anyway, it's not been a problem for me.

[serothis]

Sorry if you already knew that, not sure if that feature was offered on your old camera.[COLOR="Silver"]

I made a bad attempt at a joke...because the back button focus is on the back…and I would have to go to the back of the camera to hit use...

But in all seriousness, the D40x doesn’t have the back button focus. So this is something I’ll have to learn to use. (the D40x also doesn’t have live view or focus peaking or any of these fancy features. )

As noted above, the D40x is a completely different class of camera, even when compared to the D80. To be fair, Nikon FF cameras of similar vintage to your D40x make the K-1 look petite.

The D500 seems to be bring back the good old days. It’s huge for an aps-c sensor camera.

Some would argue that one-handed shooting is not a good thing. I figure, if you have the hand and arm strength, do it. I am 6' 2", 220 lbs and shoot with a K-3 and it is a little heavy for one-handed for me.

One handed shooting isn’t ideal but I take my dog on trail walks quite a bit. Sometimes it's one handed shot or no shot. BTW one of the huge selling points for me was the SR for this exact purpose. I plan on putting it to the test this weekend.

Thanks for sharing your impressions and do have fun with your new camera.


Steve

I’ll have an update on the handling aspect when I get out and use it more extensively. I’m still looking for buttons but I don’t find that I’m especially lost when I need to find something. All-in-all it’s fairly intuitively laid out. So far, I’m impressed.

[fromunderthebridge]

You know, many people complain about the mushy shutter button, but I've kind of grown to like it. YMMV of course. The point being that while I miss the decisive click, this actually works better for me.

Before I pressed the shutter button too hard, which sometimes made my hand sway a little (hard to say if it impacted actual image quality, but still). Now I squeeze the shutter like a trigger and it seems the camera more or less reads my mind in when I actually intend to take the picture (consequently leads to less shake and possibly better results at least for hand held macro). Don't know if years of computer games have made my hands exquisitely sensitive to actuation pressure or what, but works for me .

[pathdoc]

I saw the finger roll tip on YouTube recently (thank you, Angry Photographer), but I'm not sure it's helping - this may be because I have a fair bit of experience of rifle shooting with a two-stage trigger and doing this helps me treat the shutter button in a very similar way (soft squeeze rather than jerky stab), so the roll technique isn't that much of an improvement for me. Mind you, it's possible I'm already subconsciously running a variant of it, and the awkwardness is a matter of trying to do consciously what I've been doing unconsciously for a while now.

Both sorts of shooting help each other, but in both cases I much appreciate the use of a support (bipod for rifle, tripod for camera) to get improved results. I'm not that good - yet.

[monochrome]

^^ I've posted elsewhere I like the new shutter button action. It doesn't feel mushy at all to me. It does require a lighter touch than my K-3 but it helps steady my hands.

I don't recall the relatively high sensitivity has cause an accidental click.

[micromacro]

BTW one of the huge selling points for me was the SR for this exact purpose. I plan on putting it to the test this weekend

I would say that SR on K-1 is outstanding. I can shot with 300mm at 1/100 and no shaking at all. I can shot from the riding car another riding cars or distant subjects on highway, and again, no notice of shaking at all. Love it. And the shutter button feels great, imo.

My only complain is that grip a bit deep for my hand because it hurts my big finger, but I got used into it, and can live with that. I still keep my K5iis for birding and auction which fits like a glove.

You got lots of things to read about new to you system, and the new format as well. I'm kind of lost with FF after cropped cameras, but it's so much joy to learn.
Pentax menu is simple, logical, and explains a lot.
PF is one of the best and helpful photo forums ever.
Enjoy your new toy!