[mickey]

Reading through the posts, it's obvious that this camera, like most, isn't going to please everyone.
Me, being another one.
Problem for me is that it's all packed in to a K-m body. Just too small for me.
I would have been very interested in buying this if it was a bigger camera.

No weather seals? No big deal.
It's not aimed at the same market as the K-7.

A good, well-specced little camera.
Good price.
I'm certain it will pull in some new buyers...how many we'll see, but the Japanese will be all over this.

I'll continue to hold out for the price drop of the K-7, unless Pentax comes out with a bigger-bodied camera in the near future.

Looking forward to user reviews of the K-x.

[nostatic]

This is why Canon is so successful. The market-driven machine they are would never accept such a crippling for fear of utility function comparison. Canon designs camera reviews love, which then subsequently sell well, engineering be darned (I detest their plasticiness).

You're kidding, right?

Wander around here:

Canon EOS-1D / 1Ds / 5D Forum: Digital Photography Review

Read a little about 5D2 AF and 24p video. Be sure to brew up a fresh pot of coffee

[rparmar]

Which is exactly what you could say about *any* entry level camera - pretty good all-around, but missing something that someone somewhere considers important. After all, if it wasn't missing *anything*, it wouldn't be an entry level camera any more - it would be the K-7.

Exactly so. People should get some perspective.

I was the first to critique the K-7 since it did not meet the somewhat inflated expectations Pentax set forth.

But the K-X is entry level. And has damned good specs for that.

[snogglethorpe]

It's kind of a shame the K-x is still using the ugly old pre-K-7 shell design though...

Plastic or not, something with a bit more design sense like the K-7 would have been a lot more striking -- and given the color selection they're offering, it's clear they care about the appearance!

[creampuff]

I find the criticism of AF points to be kinda pointless... well given the intended target market, would be buyers moving up from PnS cameras have no issues with cameras focusing in full Auto or with "Face Recognition", so I don't see it as a deal breaker or a negative at all. I bought a K-m for my niece awhile back and I had no issues focusing with it, so I don't see the new K-x should be any worse considering the specs are better...
To me, he K=m/K=x ergonomics is actually very good, but then again I'm sure some here will express their negative sentiment... without even using the cameras at length.

Where can you get a camera offering HD video at 24 fps at such a price point? This camera WILL sell...

[Photomy]

I think the lack of weather sealing is a huge mistake. From what I've seen, that's the one huge selling point that entry level people DO care about. The ability to not worry about the rain, the beach, or mud, is HUGE when you are used to treating your camera as a tiny thing that fits in your bag or pocket and not an investment.

Yes, but if you have many, many more units out there with kids and so forth testing the limits of the weather sealing, then you have that many more units coming back for repair claiming that the weather sealing should have worked better. Most K7 owners, because of the dollars invested, are still going to take care of the camera. In other words, from a cost and business standpoint, weather sealing is not best in the low end cameras.

[pingflood]

Yes, but if you have many, many more units out there with kids and so forth testing the limits of the weather sealing, then you have that many more units coming back for repair claiming that the weather sealing should have worked better. Most K7 owners, because of the dollars invested, are still going to take care of the camera. In other words, from a cost and business standpoint, weather sealing is not best in the low end cameras.

That's the most bizarre argument I've heard against weather sealing so far. In some people's mind, whatever Pentax does is somehow the most clever approach, I suppose.

[Aristophanes]

You're kidding, right?

Wander around here:

Canon EOS-1D / 1Ds / 5D Forum: Digital Photography Review

Read a little about 5D2 AF and 24p video. Be sure to brew up a fresh pot of coffee

Everyone complains on every forum.

Get your own coffee, stand on a corner in a tourist area, and count the # of Pentax kits vs Canon kits you see coming off a cruise ship.

I bet you drink 20 coffee before you see your first Pentax (not counting your own).

[Aristophanes]

I find the criticism of AF points to be kinda pointless... well given the intended target market, would be buyers moving up from PnS cameras have no issues with cameras focusing in full Auto or with "Face Recognition", so I don't see it as a deal breaker or a negative at all. I bought a K-m for my niece awhile back and I had no issues focusing with it, so I don't see the new K-x should be any worse considering the specs are better...
To me, he K=m/K=x ergonomics is actually very good, but then again I'm sure some here will express their negative sentiment... without even using the cameras at length.

Where can you get a camera offering HD video at 24 fps at such a price point? This camera WILL sell...

The Nikon D5000.

$40 more on the latest quote, and Nikon is notorious for over-pricing in the first 3 months after release. Articulating LCD. A real AF system including excellent low light performance and assist lamp, all black like Henry Ford insisted, same video, similar sensor, HDMI-out, etc.

Don't want video, most of the same with the D3000 for $200 less.

And the Nikon lens is not an "L" kit lens. There may be a kit downgrade here from Pentax with plastic and not metal mounts.

What's dumb about the K-x AF is that it appears to be the same as the K200D (Safox 8), but crippled with no LED superimposition, at the same price point.

In any market, that's called a downgrade. If DP Review and Falk imply that this is the 2-model Pentax line (and I agree) this is a rare instance when an existing model (K200D) has been replaced at the price point by a model that has shed some existing qualities that every other competitor has now included. The D60 had no super (but an AF assist), and now the D5000 has one.

Since AF and low-light focus has been the bane of Pentax with reviews constantly bringing it up in a negative way, this does not look likely to change despite the fact that the K-7 solved this problem.

There are more gripes on this board about the Pentax AF than most other topics.

If there was ANY feature the K-x should have borrowed from the K-7, it was this.

BTW- According to my bill, my K200D in June, 2008 cost US$625 with kit lens. I paid another $165 for the metal mount 50-200. The selling point for Pentax compared to my Nikon investment was ruggedness, the "Subaru" of camera brands, weather resistance at the price point, AA batteries, semi-pro layout and options.

Vs. K200D the K-x gains:

1. Sensor
2. Video
3. Pretty colours
4. Terrific size/weight
5. Buffer and AF-C speed
6. In-camera options/menus
7. ISO performance

Losses:

1. WR
2. Direct controls (SR, RAW button)
3. Lens mount quality (w/kit)
4. AF superimposition and choice
5. Optional grip
6. Top LCD

The K-x is a very good camera on paper, and may have an awesome sensor, but clearly for the same unit value measured over a year, the K-x is not as much of an improvement as the colour choices make it out to be. In terms of some pretty standard features offered by the competition, the Pentax is generally on par, but then oddly cripples some features compared to its previous model in the exact same price point, and compared to the competition.

Comparing what Nikon did between the D60 and the D5000, there is a vast improvement, with no compromise of core functions. Nothing was sacrificed to get to video, no AF crippling, they kept the excellent kit lens and did not feel the need to make a special "L" model, etc. It's just an accommodation of the same features with new ones. Same for Canon's T1i; and wait until the next model slots in below that one from Canon, expected soon.

Pentax back-pedalled at this price point by referencing the K-M. The competition has not. There are many things in the K-x design that say they made choices to cut costs, and active choices NOT to keep up with the competition (AF assist lamp, articulating LCD). Again, costs.

This camera will get very mixed reviews. A lotta love, a lotta WTF!

This is exactly the quote you do NOT want to see the day of product launch, from Imaging Resource (and a more tactful but similar quote from DPR):

Since almost every other camera on the market gives some kind of indication of what areas are in focus before I commit to a shot, this just feels like I'm using a broken camera


From a gatekeeper review site that had an advance model, that's a sales-killing quote. It is a marketer's worst nightmare.

But, ooh, the pretty colours!

[jct us101]

I think we have a new RiceHigh.

[bladerunner0427]

I love the new K-x. Does it have an orientation sensor? I have the K-m and I'm kinda tired of having to rotate pictures. Having HD video, 11 selectable focus points, higher ISO range and the ability to use AA batteries is awesome and is a worthy replacement for the K-m. I'd love to jump on the red K-x as I'd rather not buy another white dslr (I like variety). But if I don't have the money when the red K-x comes out, I wouldn't mind having the white K-x.

Go Pentax!

[nostatic]

Everyone complains on every forum.

Get your own coffee, stand on a corner in a tourist area, and count the # of Pentax kits vs Canon kits you see coming off a cruise ship.

I bet you drink 20 coffee before you see your first Pentax (not counting your own).

I didn't say Canon doesn't sell more cameras. You said Canon doesn't "cripple" their cameras and many owners say otherwise.

And actually I don't own a Pentax right now

[SteveM]

The Nikon D5000.

$40 more on the latest quote

$200 here....

What's dumb about the K-x AF is that it appears to be the same as the K200D (Safox 8), but crippled with no LED superimposition, at the same price point.

I didn't realize they both had the same sensor...Prime II.....FPS

This camera will get very mixed reviews. A lotta love, a lotta WTF!

This is exactly the quote you do NOT want to see the day of product launch, from Imaging Resource (and a more tactful but similar quote from DPR):
But, ooh, the pretty colours!

Who cares....with this targeted consumer...DP who?.....k200d?.....wtf?....ya....I'll pick Dad's camera since it can't do video....

[ozlizard]

Boy I agree with Nostatic on this one. This camera is clearly aimed at atracting new customers at an emtry level. If you are an exisitng Pentax user and this what you want then buy it! If no,t get something else or wait until what you want from Pentax comes along.
I agree that customers upgrading from P&S will not be the slightest bit concerned about weather sealing or AF. They will want the features such as HD Vid etc and those great colours. This camera will be a hit and allow Pentax to move on to bigger and better things and that's gotta be good for all of us!

[eyou]

it does have an orientation sensor which is awesome.

i have the k-m and its a great camera. this new camera is improved in almost every way. I kind of want to buy it, but for my next camera i wanted WR, 2 wheels. I wonder how much k-7 will be before/after xmas....

this is a very tempting upgrade just for the liveview/video/fps. i wonder how the buffer will be shooting raw however.... right now its not great for k-m.

i think its a great move for pentax. good job!