[jgnfld]

I remember a lot of quite negative commentary about the KP looks and in particular feel when it first came out. I rarely see this any more.

I smashed my K-70 a bit ago and replaced it--a bit hesistantly remembering all the negativity--with a KP. From the instant I picked it up the feel said WOW. Compact. Weight beautifully centred in the hand. Great looks to my (old fashioned?) eyes. And an order of magnitude more settings instantly available (over the K-70). With the large grip the 16-85 and 55-300 PLM--my most used outdoor/sailing lenses--feel just right.

Did people just get over it? Or what?

If the K-new has such a feel--and it may--I may be tempted even though I probably shouldn't be as there is so much to still explore with the KP. (And hopefully in a few months my K70 will return in working order as a backup...a 50-50 chance I figure).

(But I'm not trying to hijack my own thread here, please...this last is just a personal observation).

---

Last edited by jgnfld; 07-30-2020 at 08:31 AM.

[luftfluss]

I don't know where you read the "negative commentary" about the KP's looks and feel, but I recall mostly positive sentiments from reviewers. Even DPR, who don't exactly trip over themselves in finding praise for Pentax, described the KP as "handsome" and having "excellent" feel. The one relevant complaint against the KP was that it is heavy compared with similarly-sized mirrorless cameras.

[Gray]

I love the look of the KP - it's so reminiscent of the styling of Asahi Pentax SLRs, in the same way the DA 20-40 Limited is reminiscent of Takumar lenses. It shows the a care and respect for the AOC heritage by the Ricoh designers. I admire that very much. However much the styling may evoke a bygone era, the technology "under the hood" is almost magical.



Here's Wikipedia's photo of the Pentax 6x7 medium format camera. The simularity in styling is even more striking than the comparison with the ME Super above.

[Biff]

Sometimes for fun I'll do an online comparison of the KP with other brand cameras, and when it displays the cameras side by side every time I think how much better looking the KP is, even beyond other cameras supposedly admired for their "retro" looks. The KP often smokes them in performance and features too, even though it's sometimes a year or two older. Although the KP feature set is plenty for me for some time.

[ramseybuckeye]

I remember those comments, mostly about the grip, because it is different than almost any other Pentax camera they may be coming from. A lot of people do not like change, no matter what the change is, they don't even realize that they don't like change and then they usually adapt. When I got the KP and I noticed the difference in the grip right away, but it did not take long to get used to it.

I love the look of the KP - it's so reminiscent of the styling of Asahi Pentax SLRs, in the same way the DA 20-40 Limited is reminiscent of Takumar lenses. It shows the a care and respect for the AOC heritage by the Ricoh designers. I admire that very much. However much the styling may evoke a bygone era, the technology "under the hood" is almost magical.

I would agree all of this, and I have the DA20-40 Ltd, and that is a great look together, so good you could put it on a display shelf when I'm not using it, I might have to do that.

[Biff]

I have the 20-40 on my KP and completely agree: it's a perfect match functionally and aesthetically.

[MikeMcE]

The whining I heard was all about the “awful 3grips” that left the pinkie poking out. I’ve got long slim fingers and the big grip makes the KP a pleasure to hold and shoot..... without any pinkie action. I’ve always loved its traditional feel. Might be why I just bought a new one.

[robiles]

As a happy KP owner i can only say it is one awesome little camera - look, feel and functionality are all top notch, even if it takes a bit of time to get used to and configure the camera to ones liking.

It is a joy to use with lenses ranging from (size/weight wise) from the da 40 xs to the 55-300 plm. The largest lens that i have used on it is the 50-135, and the shooting experience (medium or large grip) is similar to the K3 - and that can only be improved by adding a bit of weight to both cameras (like a battery grip).

My theory is that a lot of negative feedback came from people that held the camera for a few minutes if any. I must admit that i use the kp a lot more than the k3 based on numerous reasons other than image quality (i for one find it hard to find differecrences other than high iso).

[mtngal]

I remember the comments when it first came out also. And yes, it was often from people who didn’t like the smaller form and grip sizes, they preferred something hefty like the K3. Since I was looking for a replacement for my K-S1 (aperture block), the KP was perfect.

I think that those who really didn’t like the ergonomics didn’t buy it. The folks who bought it discovered a really nice camera and one that was easy to adjust to. So the complaints about it’s ergonomics died away. Personally, I have no desire to go back to something like the K-3, I much prefer the smaller size and weight of the KP.

[SteveinSLC]

I bought it, and use it regularly. But I do fall into that camp of wishing that it were bigger. I've also had both the K-1 and 645z. And really do prefer the larger, full hand sized grip. Plus that would have allowed the KP to use the same larger sized battery. And it would feel better when trying to handhold the 150-450.

[Biff]

I plan to get the 150-450 at some point. Will likely get the KP battery grip then as well for a variety of reasons. Seems like that all would make a nice combo.

[kypfer]

I was one of those who were disappointed with how difficult I found the KP to use, especially with a long lens (150-500mm), but then discovered the ability to disable and lock most of the buttons and switches on the back of the camera which effectively gave me a much bigger area to put my right thumb without having to worry about inadvertently changing settings. The front e-dial is still unergonomic, compared to my earlier cameras, but I've learnt to live with it simply because of the results the camera is capable of


I've had my KP for 9 months now, just over 8k exposures, and I'm still learning about (and trying to remember to take advantage of) some of the more esoteric features. Fortunately this is where the 'User Modes' can come in useful. I can play about at home, with the book open, and set up a configuration and save it for 'playing with' the next time I go out ... made a couple more changes only today ... sometimes I think more than five User Modes would be handy


Inevitably - YMMV

[kevinWE]

I did a lot of researching before upgrading to the KP. I also read many complaints about the 3 grips. Many people declared all 3 grips were uncomfortable, none felt right. I ignored the complaints simply because my hands are not extremely large nor are they tiny, I figured the grips would work just fine for me and I was right. The large grip feels just fine on this camera to me, I have no complaints at all.

Some folks also complained that the large grip covered too much of the adjustment wheel which it seats over. I didn't find that to be the case at all. I can easily use the dial with no hassles.

Of course opinions will vary, but for me the camera feels right.

[carlb]

I'm a huge fan of the KP and find the grips absolutely fine to work with. But...........I think it would be great if they released a grip similar to what used to be available for the LX, that could be carved and shaped to an individual persons fingers/grip (although it would need to be made of a material that was easier to work with - the LX grip was like carving steel!!)

[DeKay]

I’m defiantly in the “I love my KP” camp. But I do wish that they included all 3 grips in the Australian market.
While I find the supplied medium grip just fine for my hands, I would have liked to try the large one just to see what it was like.
I’m also a bit disappointed that someone isn’t producing aftermarket wooden grips in various forms. Seems like a lost opportunity.