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06-09-2021, 12:02 PM   #1
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Pentax K1 manual is 140 pages when Pentax K5 manual is 380+ pages, why?

Just bought a used K1 and was disappointed to find that the manual was only 140 pages when the manual for my K5 is 380+ pages.

Now, I have only glanced through the K1 manual so far but it seems to gloss over many subjects whereas the K5 manual gave a much more detailed description.

Is there another manual available to fill in the blanks?

06-09-2021, 12:35 PM   #3
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Thanks, but I can't access those pages.
06-09-2021, 12:39 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by EdBray Quote
Just bought a used K1 and was disappointed to find that the manual was only 140 pages when the manual for my K5 is 380+ pages.
They used smaller print

06-09-2021, 12:44 PM   #5
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if you work your way down to the bottom of this linked page you will find a way to purchase the ebook for the K 1/K1 II

PentaxForums.com PayPal Donations

QuoteQuote:
Pentax K-1 / K-1 II eBook
Lifetime download access to Yvon Bourque's comprehensive Pentax K-1 / K-1 II guidebook! (PDF) Download here after purchasing
Amount: US$18.99

many of us use such ebooks and highly recommend them
06-09-2021, 12:59 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by EdBray Quote
Just bought a used K1 and was disappointed to find that the manual was only 140 pages when the manual for my K5 is 380+ pages.

Now, I have only glanced through the K1 manual so far but it seems to gloss over many subjects whereas the K5 manual gave a much more detailed description.

Is there another manual available to fill in the blanks?
In the K-5 manual there are also about 90 pages of settings that have nothing to do with the camera. I guess they omitted these pages. And there are a lot of "favourite settings" and that kind of thing. I think that the K-1 manual looks like it has less information in it about the camera, but it seems a bit more to the point of how to use the camera. And maybe the writer thought that the learning curve is different assuming you have gone from K-7 all the way to K-1 you acquired all the necessary technique!
06-09-2021, 01:50 PM - 1 Like   #7
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Thanks for the info, purchased the ebook.

06-09-2021, 03:02 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by EdBray Quote
Thanks, but I can't access those pages.
Gotta pay a bit...but well worth the tiny amount of cash.
06-09-2021, 04:22 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by pschlute Quote
They used smaller print
You missed that the newer manuals have two pages side by side on one PDF page instead of one.

However, even when you double the number of pages for the K1 manual it has still less pages than the K5 (or even K-50) while the K1 is two (or three) times more complex.

Instead of counting pages a better benchmark is to count the number of discussions on the this forum to figure out how all the features work that are not mentioned or insufficiently explained in the manuals. And lack of detailed descriptions was actually the complaint of OP.
06-09-2021, 04:46 PM   #10
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Whats more important .... the number of pages or the information written there on ?
06-09-2021, 05:10 PM - 1 Like   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by dbs Quote
Whats more important .... the number of pages or the information written there on ?
There is a relation between the number of pages and the amount of info you get from the manual. More info is more pages, you can see that from the Olympus EM1X manual which has 686 pages, and it fully describes every little detail.
06-09-2021, 05:30 PM   #12
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The K-1 has a manual?

QuoteOriginally posted by Kobayashi.K Quote
There is a relation between the number of pages and the amount of info you get from the manual. More info is more pages, you can see that from the Olympus EM1X manual which has 686 pages, and it fully describes every little detail.
Assuming the same writing style and formatting, yes. It's entirely possible to end up with the same amount of info taking up twice or thrice the pages if you aren't being particularly concise (or if you add practical examples), though.
Most basic functions* are pretty self-explanatory and don't need a treatise on, for example.

*Exposure/drive modes, for example, or the control layout.
06-09-2021, 07:20 PM   #13
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Here's another helpful hint. When you need to fill in the blanks, just pop onto this forum and ask away. Chances are, you'll get what you're after and then some. There are some features that aren't covered in the official book which are brought to light here and always something to learn from other users.
06-09-2021, 11:47 PM   #14
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Thanks all for your answers and I will be taking most of them onboard.

Personally I feel the K1 manual is based for beginners, there is little substance in the information given.
06-10-2021, 12:04 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by EdBray Quote
Personally I feel the K1 manual is based for beginners, there is little substance in the information given.
When I got the K1, I didn't even open the manual, I didn't need to. As Pentax user for two decade, I switched on the K1 and immediately used it. Not only the grip felt like a glove, but the tiled menu was just straightforward. Whether 140 pages or 380 pages, Pentax manuals seldom provide practical "how to" information, it's usually a bunch on description and the user has to figure out about the purpose and when to use those settings.

There are two things that really bugged me on the K1, and it's not the manual (out of topic):
1) that tiny button up for switching SD1/2, above the 4 way controller that I eventually hit when using the 4 way controller (not enough space between buttons)
2) the fact that the camera doesn't stay in live view mode (cycling of mirror-up, mirror-down) if I hit the menu button to change some of the camera setting, even after using the camera for almost 5 years trying to work around it, I still don't like that behavior
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