After years of using a Pentax W90
And then a Nikon Coolpix Aw 130
There were images like this where these cameras are simply the weakest part of our trip photography. Taken from our trip report...
Algonquin Treks & Images
My little dog is blasted, no shadow detail Tess' hat is blasted, Even the canoe gunnels which are neither shiny nor white are blasted, clearly not enough dynamic range.
But these camera are small rugged and waterproof. Perfect for carrying in your pocket. Clearly our intent in the above image is to get our stuff and our dogs up this beaver dam so we can continue our trip. We aren't going to open a pack to get out a DSLR and make an already long day even longer.
Not waterproof we can work around, not pocketable we can't.
So here we are, $1000 worth of waterproof shockproof cameras ($2000 in 1:23 sensor cameras), and not one we want use. In such situations, there's only one solution , a larger sensor. It's basic physics. Even my Q has a protruding lens that makes it less than desirable as a pocket camera.
And my XG-1 while achieving 1200mm is hardly low profile for quick unobtrusive storage.
So what's a guy to do?
I field tested a Lumix FZ1000 5 years ago.. and liked the results but not the form, again , not pocketable. Too bulky for a rugged hiking quickly available scenario.
But I liked the images.
If your thinking "Pentax doesn't make a 1 inch sensor pocket camera" you'd be right. But, neither does almost anyone else. Enter the Lumix ZS100
So forgoing the DA 16-85 for yet another year, we put this years photo budget into this camera. As advertised it fits nicely into a jacket pocket. We will order a leather carry case for dry weather walks and a very small Pelican case for wet weather, and for attaching to the outside of a pack or belt for quick access
First impressions.... I really have to be careful with the aperture. I suspect the useful diffraction limit is about ƒ5, but the camera seems to wander up into 5.9 and above, because when you set it to ƒ5.9 in telephoto, it doesn't remember to stop down to ƒ4 when you return to a wider focal length, unlike my Pentax's where if you set it to the widest possible aperture, it will always use the widest possible aperture, even after a lens change.
In Imaging Resources it's 20 MP sensor puts out close to the same resolution as my K-3. So the IQ has been a delight. Not to mention no lens hoods. The lens protection automatically opens when you turn the camera on and closes itself when you turn it off. No keeping track of lens hoods and caps.Walking with the K-3 around my neck ready for birds or other wildlife it saves me lens changes by being easily available, and you can pull it out of your pocket with one hand.
It's resolution makes it a fine landscape camera in everyday situations. I've yet to test it on sunsets (extremely high DR) or low light situations.
The dynamic range is far superior to 1:2.3 sensor cameras. In the image below the wood splitter and wood pile were rescued from near blackness and look great. No colour shift or loss of detail.
I'm shooting raw files and they hold up to heavy manipulation for special effects, like exploiting the shape of the tire patterns in the snow.
It does seem to suffer from diffraction a bit in the long end, but with a minimum aperture of 5.9 that's given. Still here at ƒ5.9 and 200mm, it's really not bad.
A landscape at ƒ5.6. Clearly past the diffraction limit but sometimes I PP my images to look like this, so it's not big issue.
The macro feature is excellent and if you're used to large sensors 4/3, APS-c, FF, pretty much to die for.
Going to a different camera system means a much longer learning curve. Little things like the aperture adjustment turning the wrong way compared to Pentax , are just irritating. If you only have one dial, at least it could turn the right way. The EVF is next to useless for judging image quality but gets you pointed in the right direction on a sunny day. And I've confined it to single centre point focus, because the crazy AF system is ridiculously unpredictable. Honestly this whole jabbing the back of the screen with your finger to establish where you want the camera to focus is ridiculous. Ridiculously more complicate than it needs to be. For landscapes or even macros, the unpredictblilty of the camera if there is hand movement makes having a tripod almost a necessity. Telling it to focus on the tree to the right was way more effort than it should have been and took three tries with an effort to hold the camera really still while getting my hand away from the back of the camera to take the picture. But hey, not everything is perfect, just like every other system.
All in all, we are looking forward to improving the weakest part of our trip photography next summer, and it will be really handy glove box camera on trips to the store etc. Even helping with wildlife on occasion, even if it falls far behind a K-3 with DA 55-300 in that regard.
K-3 and DA*60-250 with 1.4 TC
ZS100, same shooting position.
As an added bonus, the 4k video is pretty much astounding if you have a 4k TV, even if a 5 minute clip takes half a gig.
For further information...
This looks to me to be the perfect, fit in an otherwise excellent K-1 / K-3 environment. Pentax should license it, and change the direction the dial turns to increase the aperture. They've nothing close, and it would end the "Pentax video sucks" nonsense. Someone explain to me again why my Pentax's need video. This camera is currently being discounted to under 600 USD. And does terrific 4k video. You could pay as much for a nice video lens for a DSLR.
It might be the absolute best IQ you can buy for that money in a pocket camera. I may have to start combining Pentax and Panasonic and just start calling them "the P cameras". IMHO, it's a great compliment to your Pentax gear.
I'm even looking to get to an old school camera case for it.
Honestly, we should adopt it into the Pentax family. It's that good. Right now, the its the best price you're going to see for a camera with this quality of image and 4k video if you're looking for something you can carry in your shirt pocket.
Last edited by normhead; 03-06-2020 at 02:54 PM.