[JPT]

I found this interview about the K-01 on a popular Japanese camera website. It has some interesting pictures of the inside of the camera and a comparison with K-R. I hope the link works OK.

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/interview/20120326_519765.html

It looks like the text gives some insight into the design decisions and the rationale behind the camera but I haven't had time to read it yet.

[VisualDarkness]

Looks like there isn't much empty space in the camera at all.

[Docrwm]

Very nice. For English speakers here is an auto translate link:
Google Translate

[Alizarine]

So that's what the Prime M looks like...

[RioRico]

The word 'camera' means chamber, enclosed space. If an imaging device has no empty space within it, is it still a camera?

(No, this isn't like asking: In Arkansas, if a couple divorces, are they still brother and sister?)

[bossa]

Thanks for the link. An interesting article indeed.

[regor]

Did I read this right:

AF 2x as fast in theory ?
Internal EVF was not considered as too complicated ?
No plan to produce a K-r DSLR replacement ?

[monochrome]

Did I read this right:

AF 2x as fast in theory ?

That's what I read.

Internal EVF was not considered as too complicated ?

No. But dedicated external EVF was too limiting?

No plan to produce a K-r DSLR replacement ?

I wonder if we'll be paid a separate machine in the true successor of Kr? Wakashiro: destination that we will not be able to answer, that there is no plan [EDIT: Per explanation below, this probably means "no schedule for a release date"] at this time.

[rjm]

I stand corrected. The K-01 chassis is clearly a fairly major redesign vs. the K-r.

Good interview, very thorough and honest answers. I like the following especially:

Q: considering there's no viewfinder and no contrast AF, it's not as inexpensive as we might have thought..
A: yeah, well, Newson didn't come cheap...

[Medium FormatPro]

I personally would not mind "eventually" finding either a heavily used (additional) K-01 or even one that could be practically broken beyond repaid; and also tearing it down completely. Unfortunately putting them back together frequently results in mysterious extra parts from somewhere

[Docrwm]

I stand corrected. The K-01 chassis is clearly a fairly major redesign vs. the K-r.

Good interview, very thorough and honest answers. I like the following especially:

Q: considering there's no viewfinder and no contrast AF, it's not as inexpensive as we might have thought..
A: yeah, well, Newson didn't come cheap...

Thanks for the translation, because the machine leaves a lot to be desired :

- But this time have been omitted and the phase difference AF mechanism concerning members optical viewfinder, as I thought "impression inexpensive" is not.
Wakashiro: This idea also use plenty of aluminum parts are precision machined to the designer of the Pentax is not available. Because you have said no when designers come out with a design such temporarily, in-house designers will design and then worry about the cost to some extent. I think it costs that much is not supposed to know that Mr. Newson, and there I did not want to compromise. I will be using the money this time that the fine in the design.

[JPT]

Their comments about not including an EVF, along with the picture of how packed the K-01's body already is, are quite interesting. It doesn't look like they could have included an EVF without increasing the body size. That would have made it the same size as the K-r and it wouldn't make sense to have a similarly priced EVF and OVF body on the market. At that price point, the OVF makes more sense for now. I still think they should have offered an EVF marched to the design as an accessory. Why would Pentax not want to sell an expensive accessory like that?

As for the comment about no K-r replacement, I think you really have to be careful about trusting the automated translation. It probably just means that they have no plans they can share at the moment. I'm no expert in reading Japanese but while "yotei" is indeed a plan, it is usually a fairly concrete plan and is sometimes translated as schedule. For example, "yotei" is used when they have announce a release date for a product. No cause for panic. Look at all the other bizarre phrasing it comes up with! I particularly, like Mr. Oshika's name being translated as "elk".

[rjm]

That whole passage about what is and is not a "replacement" of the K-r is very muddy and vague, and deliberately so, of course. They are not allowed to divulge future plans! All we got out of the exchange was that the K-r is discontinued and while there are no plans to "directly" replace it, Pentax will continue to produce new dSLR models.

Squinting while reading between the lines, I see it as "We'll keep the entry level dSLR (the K-z?) off the shelves for a bit to give the K-01 a fair run."

[RonHendriks1966]

Squinting while reading between the lines, I see it as "We'll keep the entry level dSLR (the K-z?) off the shelves for a bit to give the K-01 a fair run."

Or it is just a matter of having enough room in the factory at the time.

[JPT]

I found some more information about the K-01's internals. Kimio Tanaka mentions in his blog that the low pass filter is different to that of the K-5. Incidentally, Kimio Tanaka is the photographer who interviewed the Pentax R&D guy last year in Digital Camera Magazine.

http://thisistanaka.blog66.fc2.com/entry/685/
found through
??????K-01???????????1????????? - ????info

Actually, he writes so conversationally that computer translation is not very helpful, but here are the main points.

- Although his first impression of the design was that it is a bit odd, he actually has no complaints about the design and he is glad that it is different to all the other mirrorless cameras out there.
- The low pass filter has just one layer, rather than the usual two. This is what gives it superior sharpness and contrast.
- He generally seems to be a fan of the camera.

I have been really been impressed by the pixel-level sharpness of the shots I've taken. I'm amazed that my old lenses are capable of such detail. However, my point of comparison is the K20D, not the K-5.