Like my D800 and D600 threads, this will be a sounding board for my findings with these Pentax alternatives....
First things first, this system is overpriced when your first look at it. Much like what I thought about the Q at first. The kit lens/body combo retails for around $1300, even though the camera is already a year into its life cycle it hasn't really come down in price. But it is the best m4/3 camera on the market, period. Especially for an SLR shooter looking for a smaller kit.
From the first time you power on, you can tell, this camera is something special. The body has an incredible feeling of quality and durability to it. It feels incredibly solid, like it will last for decades much like the original 70's film camera's that this digital device is inspired by.
The menu system is very easy to navigate around, and nearly every button has full customization, you can plop commands everywhere and anywhere! I naturally have it setup exactly like my Pentax K5 and Nikon D800 for simplicity sake, with the added benefit of being able to move the iso control to a button right by the control dials.
The intelligent view finder that swaps from live view on the beautiful tilty display to the EVF operates very quick swapping back and forth the second you pull your eye away. The only problem is that if you pull the camera too close to your body, especially if your in shadow, it will swap over to the EVF from the live view screen.
unprocessed with kit lens
The EVF was a scary thought... but so was a straight live view camera like other m4/3 cameras. However, this camera gives you an amazing pair of tools to compose your photos on. Unlike other flippy screens I've used, this one feels incredibly solid and robust, almost like you could drop it extended and it would be perfectly fine. The screen is very clear and has fantastic contrast, even in the bright August mid day sun it is still beautiful and visible. Oh, and it's touch screen. didn't know that. probably won't use it.
The EVF is also equally impressive in the short time I've used this camera. The refresh rate is quick, and its very bright. It does not offer as large an image as that of the D800, but its somewhere in between that and the Pentax K5's view finder in terms of brightness and clarity....but this one is digital. There is some ghosting if you do quick movements, but it's much better than I anticipated after reading other reviews. It really is quite good.
The autofocus for single shot mode by the way... brilliant. There is no other word to describe it. Incredibly fast, accurate, and just...brilliant.
The kit lens on the other hand, well semi-disappointing. Or should I say.... amazingly disappointing? with the amazing being positive, but the disappointing being negative. It's too big. It really is. I hate the size of this thing. It's also clunky, as it has this built in electronic power zoom feature which is slow and a pain in the ass to use. It could be amazing for video, but for stills when you just want to jump from wide to tele in an heartbeat... it leaves a lot to be desired. Now...if it included the Zoom lock feature like the old Pentax film power zoom series lenses (you lock onto your subject and the lens adjusts zoom to keep the subject the same size as it approaches you) that would be cool... but no I can't be that fortunate. Oh, but the lens has a manual zoom feature, too bad it sounds like grinding motors. The sleeve for selecting zoom modes also is very loose and keeps jumping back and forth. I really don't like the operation of this lens.
unprocessed with adapted Pentax DA 10-17
The nice thing is that it's 100% contained in and of itself, it does not extend as you zoom in. So it stays the same large size. I guess it's not so bad when you consider it's a 24mm to 100mm equivalent lens, in that case it is quite small. Too bad it's slow with a max aperture of 3.5.
However, it does have pretty solid optical quality. The details it picks out are sound, and the images are vivid and hold contrast well. Very Pentax like images in my opinion, with a tiny bit richer color. No need to select a color profile like the D800 either which is very nice. One less step.
Now, the main thing that convinced me to try this out was a Fotidox PK-m4/3 adapter I found used at a local camera shop for $5 last week. With the battery flashing dead I quickly got off a quick shot with the Pentax DA 10-17 fisheye mounted up. I can't wait to see what I can do with the FA Limiteds!
This is a cool camera, and I'm excited to have it in my collection. It is the perfect size for every day shooting, especially with that tilty screen and EVF. It's stealthy, much harder to get noticed using it than say...yanking out a D800. But the best part is that it's light, and still built like a tank. I think I'll take it bike riding with me this weekend.
I'm gonna put it through some good tests right away... I'll take it out for a bike ride this Sunday, then next week I plan on using it to shoot a few live bands, should be able to see how good that AF tracking is, how good the low light noise performance is, and that 5 axis image stabilization!
Did I buy this to replace anything? No. I bought it out of sheer curiosity. In fact, it could very well end up being a shelf queen like my MX, ME, Spotmatic II, K1000... but we will see what happens.
right now:
Pentax pros: colors and contrast are top notch. FA Limited series lenses are just amazing lenses. Great high iso performance. great anti-shake system. compact and heavily weather sealed. easy to find lenses used, and for great prices. the best ergonomics I've come across in a camera. K5 still beats almost all other cameras in terms of image quality. fantastic battery life
Nikon pros: autofocus is quick and accurate. flash system is brilliant. image quality of D800 is fantastic.lots of non-oem lenses and accessories available.
olympus pros: compact, easy to use, built like a tank, great for incognito shooting, great colors
Pentax cons: autofocus system is weak. no "new" flagship camera in 3 years (counting the K5ii as a refresh not a new model), non-oem lens selection limited
nikon cons: incredibly heavy, not as well weather sealed as the competition, the "great" lenses are considerably more expensive than other brands. no shake reduction unless included in the lens. more post-processing steps required
olympus cons: lenses, even the primes are quite expensive. limited lens selection. battery life is not very good.
Pentax K5 kit: for shooting live music, travel, can swap to film kit easily, good kit to keep in the car as backup for my D800, ironically a better performer for strobe work in the studio, better long range kit
Nikon D800 kit: for professional portrait work, great for landscapes, going wide angle.
Olympus OMD kit: for incognito street shooting, taking out on the bike or other places to save weight
Pentax Q: ultimate portable kit, great for keeping in the diaper bag to get those priceless shots, for sparking the creative juices when the big boys have eaten up all your inspiration.
The following images are unprocessed:
(adapted DA 10-17 fisheye)