I've had my Pentax K1 now for about 5 months. I originally a Canon 6Dmk1, which was my first full frame camera. In general I was happy with Canon, but there certainly were things about my 6D I wasn't crazy about. After travelling to shoot the eclipse, and having a Canon 7D that I borrowed from a friend on a tripod angled at nearly 45 degrees, but not having a broken neck because of the nice angled swivel screen (an issue that I had suffered greatly with the 6D's lack of one), I decided that it was time to change that. Originally I had wanted to remain within Canon, but my other full frame option (the 5Dmk4) didn't have one either. I didn't have so much Canon glass that I'd take a horrendous loss, combined with the fact that the Black Friday deal I had gotten on my camera was so good that I'd basically break even selling the body meant that I wasn't locked into stay with Canon. I had originally drifted towards Sony, but after some horror stories about customer support with them, as well as some of the Star Eater issues (of which astro is one of my chief enjoyments when doing photography), I decided to stay away. So obviously Nikon was going to be the winner, especially after the announcement of the D850. After watching Tony and Chelsea Northrop's Pentax K1 review though, I became slightly sold on the camera from the brand that nobody I knew bought. I kept doing my research, and the camera certainly had enough points in it's favor. I took the plunge (rather nervously I might add, as I felt I was taking a large risk on the brand, given many of the criticisms I had read both on this forum and elsewhere). So here's where I stand 5 months out. I'll talk a bit about what I like, what I don't like, and my thoughts about remaining in the Pentax ecosystem.
Remember, I'm not a professional. I don't make a living through photography. It's a hobby for me, and I don't claim to be an expert at it. If I misstate something in this review, please tell me. I enjoy being educated.
So far, I have the following lenses: 15-30, 24-70, and 150-450.
Things I like:
The controls: In all seriousness, this is probably my favorite aspect of the camera. All of the buttons make sense, the layout is impeccable, and most importantly, the 3rd user selectable wheel! The fact that by changing that one extra button to ISO means that I've got independant controls over f stop, shutter speed AND ISO all within reach of my fingers when shooting is nothing short of miraculous. I did my first concert photography shoot recently, where the light settings are constantly changing, between almost too dark to see, and blown out, and the ability to keep my aperture and shutter speed fairly constant, but just notch down my iso for a quick moment, and then switch back was a blessing.
The build: It's built like a tank. Plan and simple. I haven't felt afraid of putting the thing on the ground, of using it at the beach, or out on trails. I've been rained on a few times, and the fact that I don't have to be paranoid of getting a water droplet on it certainly helps me feel more confident on going for a shot. The lenses, particularly the 150-450 are built like tanks as well, and the ergonomics and features are by and large comfortable. I certainly prefer using/dealing with the 150-450 over the 100-400 Canon (I don't remember the exact focal range but it's the white Canon telephoto) that I had borrowed for the eclipse.
The lenses, and lens selection: This is a double edged sword, so here's the first edge. People complain about the lens selection. Honestly, (and I'll talk about it later), given the lenses I have, it's not as big an issue as I initially thought it'd be. I haven't felt the need to get the 70-200 lens yet (for the time being, I can't say I've ever felt like I missed a shot because I didn't have something to cover the >70-149 range), but if I were to pick it up, I would be covered with great quality lenses from 15mm all the way up to 450mm (and 15-200 of that would be at a pretty fast aperture). That's nothing really to sneeze at, and really what else would you want? And as I mentioned here, and in the previous point, all the lenses have been of terrific image quality that I can't really say I'm unhappy with them, or that the trinity is lacking. So yeah...the lens situation isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be
Image Quality: This goes without saying. The first time I took a water shot with this camera, I was in awe of how good the photos were, especially compared to my 6D. I can't tell you how many times I've just been blown away by how crisp this camera can get. I really don't know what else to say here. When Tony and Chelsea's review called it "the greatest landscape camera ever", they weren't lying.
The body price: It's roughly half the price of a D850 or a7r3, and a grand cheaper than a 5dMk4. 'Nuff said.
The tilt screen: While I don't go around dangling the camera by the tilt screen, I do feel it's a lot more secure and robust than say the Canon or Nikon style. But really, the screen is nice and clear (albeit sometimes hard to see in sunlight), and it certainly encourages me to get my camera down nice and low sometimes to get a shot that I wouldn't have thought, or tried to get other times.
"A good enough sports camera": Does this thing have the fire rate that a D500 has? No. But you know what? I have to say that the K1 has performed far better under fast motion conditions than I really ever hoped it would. I've always had poor luck at concerts, but this camera certainly held up to performers moving around on stage and doing unpredictable things. I also did an engagement shoot with it, and it worked just fine for people moving around naturally.
Things I'm "meh" on:
The autofocus: I really didn't want to put this in the "things I don't like" section, because really, I don't think it's AS bad as some people make it out to be. Yes, it can absolutely be better, and we can all only hope that we get Nikon or Sony level qualities of autofocusing one day. In the wildlife photography I've done, I've found the autofocus grabs things reasonably well, and quick to get the shot I want. But yeah...when I've got a heron 6 feet in front of me, and 3 smallish reed plants in front of it, and all the autofocus wants to do is blur the heron to get the reeds in focus can be frustrating. I'm still learning the ins and outs of focus points and selecting them, so there's certainly room for ME to grow in this, and may not be entirely the camera's fault, but I've had enough times, and there's enough community complaints out there for me to be comfortable with saying there's room for the camera to grow.
Things I don't like:
The lens selection: Here's the other edge of that blade I promised. Yes, I have 4 glorious modern lenses from the 15-450 range to choose from from Pentax. But beyond that, there's not a lot out there. Yes, I understand I have the entire 30 years or so of Pentax legacy lenses to choose from, but honestly, that's not always for everyone. Whether it be because of issues with some of those legacy lenses on the K1,or that I/we like having the latest and greatest technology, or the fact that I don't want to have to deal with garage sales, or ebay to try out some really old lens, beyond those 4 lenses, there's not a lot out there for the K1. We basically lose Tamron as a manufacturer, due to their basically being Pentax's manufacturer, Sigma's support and options for K-mount is minimal to say the least, and even Rokinon doesn't have a large selection for us. If we want things like fisheyes, or ultra fast 1.4 lenses (outside of the Sigma Art 35mm, which I think is the one lens Sigma DOES carry for k-mount), the support is simply not out there. And when you want those lenses, it's frustrating that you can't get them. As I stated in my other half of this argument, the fact that Pentax's lineup does cover so much of the usual range with good quality makes this issue not as painful as people online make seem, but when something's missing, it really affects you.
The battery grip: I was super excited to buy this thing. And in all honesty, I ended up returning it. While it was nice to have the extra shutter button, the fact that the grip design basically made it so that one battery was no longer accessible, and then you only had a single battery slot in the grip itself made it a disappointment for me. In the end, I felt it was easier simply just to keep a single spare battery if that was the case. Yes, I miss having that extra oriented shutter button, but it wasn't worth it. Another reason the grip ended up being the bane of my existence was....
Lack of third party support: To continue from my point above, there is no available L-bracket available for the K1 with battery grip. I can (and did) get one for the base K1 from RRS (which I'm extremely happy with!) and some others, but not with the battery grip. You can get one for Canon w/ a battery grip. You can get one for Nikon w/ a battery grip. But not for Pentax. And in general, that's the story for Pentax items. Unless it's offered for sale by the parent company, we generally can't buy it, and our marketshare is so small that nobody wants to make anything for us. You can probably lump in some of my complaints on the Sigma/Tamron lens support here too. We are simply an afterthought to the rest of the market. And heaven help any of us if we ever need to get a Pentax item in a pinch from a brick and mortar store. Much like my comment earlier, its not as big a deal as I'm making it out to be, but when you want something as simple as an L-bracket, and you have to either compromise with what you want, or find some really burdensome workaround, it can get pretty maddening.
And my last dislike, and combined with why I might leave Pentax:
An unknown and shaky future: When the lack of support and marketshare, combined with frequent questions about the longterm future or support of the product and system by the parent company are so hugely out there, it constantly gives me second thoughts about staying around the Pentax line. Let's face it. If it becomes known that Pentax will either be discontinued, or "reimainged" or whatever it might be, we all stand to lose a ton on our gear. So you either get out now, and eat your loss, or simply use it till it dies, lose everything, and until then always have that nagging fear that tomorrow might be the day you have to buy a whole new camera system.
At this point, I'm far more invested in Pentax gear than I ever was when I was with Canon. I'd love to simply keep my lenses and change the body out with a new model every 4 years or so. I just don't get that comfort level with Pentax though. And while it's still an unconfirmed rumor, the rumored K1v2 leaked specs are not reassuring at all in terms of the roadmap this company seems to have. I listed a lot to like about the camera and the system earlier. As much as I do though, for all intents and purposes, Nikon and Canon are equally good systems. Each have their pros and cons of course, but still, at least those two you can certainly see lasting well into the future. If I can get more or less the same quality shots out of a D850 as my K1, but get into a much more stable and widely available ecosystem (not to mention still getting good value on my current gear) that I don't have to constantly fear is going to abandon me, then why not do it now rather than later?
It's not like I want to switch mind you. If there's one thing my K1 has done for me, is it's been a damn good enough camera that it makes me want to go out and take pictures, and more importantly, experiment with different things that I never would have thought to do. That says something, and in the end, isn't that what all of us want? To not think about the gear, and just simply think about what we really want to do, which is take gorgeous photos.
I'm not jumping ship yet, just to be clear. It's something I think about though. But in the meantime, I'm going to keep taking photos.
