[Kunzite]

And "they started first!" is a professional attitude?

[Alex645]

....and now B&H has listed the KP as their co-winner pick for best mid-level DSLR for 2017:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/buying-guide/recommended-ds...2017:-DSLRs-of

Considering the 40+ DSLR bodies they could've picked out of 5 in 4 categories, that is impressive.

[mee]

....and now B&H has listed the KP as their co-winner pick for best mid-level DSLR for 2017:

Recommended DSLRs of 2017 | B&H Explora

Considering the 40+ DSLR bodies they could've picked out of 5 in 4 categories, that is impressive.

It looks like they only picked from cameras released this year.. so not 40+ available. Still it is a nice mention.

[gm4life]

Seriously these guys have no idea what they are talking about. As a KP owner I can say with a straight face it delivers the goods... Is it earth shattering, hell no! But it is compact, classically styled, has great high ISO and has cool interchangeable grips and takes AWESOME photos. This past September in the Black Hills I was blown away by it - I had it my 15 Limited, 20-40 Limited, 55 * and my 300 * and was blown away by what it would do.

[surfar]

Seriously these guys have no idea what they are talking about

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

A serious lens comparison, i wonder if they were comparing camera straps...looks like the one off the KP was OK!

[jddwoods]

Tamron SP 24-70mm F2.8 G2 vs Sigma Art 24-70mm F2.8 OS Shootout (At Beakerhead) - YouTube

A serious lens comparison, i wonder if they were comparing camera straps...looks like the one off the KP was OK!

I did really like this Tamron vs. Sigma video, this is what I would like to see more of from them. I did also notice the Pentax neck strap.

[Rondec]

This video has been beaten into the ground, but I would just say again that it is a tough call. I can't imagine the Oscars, for example, picking the "worst five movies of the year." And yet that would be an easier task than picking the worst five cameras of the year since there really are some terrible movies put out that they should pay us to watch, but I don't honestly think there are bad cameras. Because the whole point of a camera is to take photos and everyone of these cameras mentioned do that and do it well (if you know what you are doing).

It would probably be a better title to say "the cameras we didn't really connect with that were released last year," but I suppose that wouldn't generate the same traffic that this does. Or maybe just "cameras that don't have good enough video for our purposes."

[TDvN57]

For those that complain about the size of the grip on the KP, ask them to pick up a Leica fitted with a large lens, and then comment abt KP again.

Love my KP and it's performance compliments my 645z.

Look at in-camera image stabilization allowing me to use just about any lens with a K-mount and have image stabilization, not to mention the reduction in weight for moving this technology from lens to sensor. Talk about high iso performance where I can get a decent picture at iso25k. Talk about having a mechanical shutter and electronic shutter. Then read the marketing materials that KP is pitched as an intro dslr, (whereas the K3 is a pro range). Then please tell me again what is innovation...

[MiguelATF]

I realize this is an old and well-worn thread, but rereading it I found and find it amusing.

I also have to be honest and admit that some of the comments made by different posters - about what kinds of people or photographers the KP was designed to appeal to - apply to myself.

Ages ago, I spent decades shooting with analog Pentaxes - Spotmatics and the MX's. Fine cameras with even finer lenses that somehow fitted my hands and my eyes better than the insanely clunky Nikon F's.

Cut to decades later, after one or two unsatisfying smaller digital cameras, I bought my first Pentax, a K200D. Which, like my ancient Pentaxes of digital yore, had some fine lenses available for it. And which, in many ways, gave me some fine photographs. A great camera in many ways...except for aesthetics: it didn't come close to the elegant, classic, almost jewel-like design of my old analog Pentaxes - nor did it come close to replicating the feeling of being able to shoot with a compact-but-powerful camera. For those unfamiliar with the shooting experience of the older, analog Pentaxes, let's just say that though the K200D makes superb photos, handling-wise it feels solidly clunky and utilitarian compared to my Spotmatics and, later, MX's.

When the Nikon Df came out, it was one of the first beautifully designed cameras that reminded me of....yes, my old Pentaxes. Sizewise it was bloated, but what a beautifully built bloated camera. Ditto for a handful of Fujifilm cameras I played with, most notably several X-Pros: they had that feeling of a finely crafted machine which, sorry to say, neither my K200D nor any of the subsequent so-called flagship Pentaxes ever came close to. (Confession: I've played around with diffeernt K-3's and K-5's but never shot with either and I know they have their many, many pluses. But for me at least they were short on old-school elegant aesthetics.) And mind you, I'm not speaking of quantifiable or measurable things - but simply and strictly of subjective shooting feel.

The Df was too big for me, the X-Pro's were closer to a manageable size and feel but didn't have the wonderful stable of Pentax glass that, over the years, I've come to appreciate in many small ways. The only other camera that came close in terms of look-and-feel was the Olympus Pen-F, one of the cooler fake Leica clones in recent history. My big gripe with Olympuses, having owned a few, is and was the (for me) insanely complex menu system, a system of menus within menus within menus, complicating the simplest operations. But I thought about it. And, honestly, I was despairing of Pentax ever really coming close to that sweet spot of my ancient Spotmatics. (A side note: it should be obvious that among the many different kinds of photography I do, video capabilities are at the bottom of the list. I could care less about video features.) And then---

Then Pentax came out with a very very cool camera: the K-1. Everything that a digital camera could and should be. Except, well, for it's bulk. Yep, K-1's are beautifully and solidly built. Somewhere between tank-like and jewel-like. And they do so many things so intuitively well. But they're just too big for me. Too big to lug on long grueling hikes. So, yes, coming back to those intangibles of a certain kind of old-school shooting feel - with a camera not designed for professional sports photographers or birders but rather for a Renaissance spectrum of multiple uses - I was feeling frustrated. Almost enough to actually consider jumping ship and swimming across the turbulent waters to Fuji land...

Then the KP came out. And I grinned. I was hooked from the word go.
I'll be honest: everyone talks about how the KP is so compact but, hell, it feels significantly bigger - and heavier - than my old Spotmatics. And MX's. But shooting-wise - which is really what it's all about, after all, it comes closer to them than...most everything else I've shot with.
And, no - it doesn't have the many bells and whistles of either Pentax's 'flagships' or most of the top-end stuff from Canikon (which, honestly, is very good) - there's no little LCD screen on the top plate (like there was on my K200d) but honestly I could care less (especially with the nifty heads-up display on the excellent rear screen. And somehow, the plethora of dials and wheels and physical switches seem just right. Enough so that I don't have to dive into horrible menus - and not quite as cleverly overly-retro-over-the-top as all the physical dials on Fujis (which for those who like that kind of stuff, including yourself, are rather cool). So---

I'll wrap it up: for my, my KP isn't at all close to the 'worst handling' DSLR or camera I've ever used --- it's close to the best handling serious camera I've ever shot with. Including not just my analog Pentaxes, but some fine Olympuses, and even though this will for sure be sacreligious to some, a handful of Leicas.

Moral of the story: the old pre-vegan saying ("one man's meat is another man's poison") is true with respect to cameras as well - but damn, the more I use my KP, the more I appreciate it in myriad, small, and subtle-but-real ways.

[totsmuyco]

Not because I'm a Pentaxian
The KP is the best retro cam. It's a rugged, Mad Max take me anywhere camera. TCSTV just wanted to pick something that belongs to Pentax. I wonder what they'll say next.

[Mikesul]

They were drunk, joking and not to be taken seriously. Given the inflammatory title why don't we just let this thread die and open another one if we want to discuss how neat our Pentax cameras are. We cannot undo the damage of the title by answering it. It just perpetuates the slander.

[BigMackCam]

They were drunk, joking and not to be taken seriously. Given the inflammatory title why don't we just let this thread die and open another one if we want to discuss how neat our Pentax cameras are. We cannot undo the damage of the title by answering it. It just perpetuates the slander.

Agreed. And on that very note, I'll close the thread