Quick Update, looks like my full video review will have to wait till sometime this week.
Useability: The one thing Q does so well is feel like a mini DSLR and provide nearly all the functionality you'd need in a professional camera. Obviously not everything is available, but the menu system is well laid out, fast, and quick to get to key photographic adjustments like shutter speed, aperture, exposure compensation, AF mode/Size, white balance, and metering. It's very easy for a photographer to get the camera where they want it to be, which makes it a joy to use and shoot with.
Responsiveness: As stated, the menu system feels very quick and AF is very fast. It almost feels instantaneous whether I am shooting macro or landscape. Even in low light, AF seems to fast and equal to or better than it's peers.
Image Quality: This is a big one for most, and here is what I can tell you from the cameras I own to compare with. Compared to the original Q, the IQ is substantially better and very good. I cannot compare it to a Q7 as I do not have one, however, I have a Nikon P340 which has one of the newest 1/1.7" sensors in it, and compared to that camera, it has better IQ. At first I thought the Nikon was better, but that turned out only to be because I was looking at the images on the Nikon on it's higher resolution screen during shooting test images. When looked at them side by side on a computer or zoomed to 100% on the cameras, the Pentax Q has more detail and sharpness, but a bit more noise ( color noise taking a higher weight ). IF a casual user were to pick both cameras up and compare them on the screens, they may be fooled. The Q-S1 still has the 461K screen, and doesn't show the quality of the images until zoomed in very far in. The Nikon looks great until you start looking for the details up close. The Nikon however, does do better on the noise cleanup. I feel Nikon in general has a bit heavy handed on noise reduction, as even with the settings turned to low ( you cannot turn it off on the Nikon ) and looking at the RAW, the images were much more clean but had mushy detail. But the Q-S1's had more detail and better clarity, even if noisier.
I prefer to have a higher noise image with sharper details that I can always clean up after if I need to with good software than lose the IQ, but for casual users that always shoot JPEGS, the Nikon May look good at first due to the higher resolution screen, but the Pentax Q-S1's IQ is still better ,even with noise.
Speaking of JPEG vs RAW, the original Q had a very big difference between these two file formats. As I am now seeing with the Q-S1, it seems Pentax has done a great job of getting the JPEG engine to get really good images from the camera. I'd say there is only a 5-10% in IQ between RAW and JPEG, and yes, even after editing the RAW the RAW is better, but I think 95% of people will not care. I believe it's gotten to where shooting in RAW for the Q-S1 may only be necessary if you need maximum IQ or for situations where post processing will be required due to the dynamic range of the image. I only shoot RAW, but on the Q, I would get away with the JPEG. My suggested situations to shoot RAW would be for the Q-S1
1. Max IQ - Shoot RAW
2. Difficult Image/ Dynamic Range - shoot RAW
3. Once in a lifetime Vacation? - Shoot RAW+
4. Pro work - RAW+ ( The JPEGS are really nice )
Everything else the JPEGS do a really good job.
The Bad news:
1. Raw write times are still slow, taking 1-2 seconds at worst, but fast enough where it isn't completely detrimental as the original Q. So overall an improvement, but could be better.
2. The IQ is really good, but I'd call it a style of "noisy detail". I suspect the sensor is the same as the Q7 but with a few more tweaks. When the next sensor update comes out ,such as using the one in the Nikon P340 or whatever else is available, I think IQ concerns will be mostly unnecessary. It does more than good enough for me to produce great photos, as seen by those I've posted above.
Overall:
The new Pentax Q-S1 is fantastic, and overall shows how the camera has matured. A lot of the slow response times, slow AF, write speeds, IQ , comfort have been resolved. It's still a joy to use, and now makes it very quick to startup, adjust some settings, and take a shot. All with controls that are easy to access, and adjust. Those that have had a Q know that this was it's strongest selling point other than it's compactness, but IQ and overall speed hurt it. With the larger sensor, wider focal lengths, and very fast AF, I think this is a very strong and well made camera. The camera feels solid, still feels good in the hands for probably most people, the knob doesn't get in the way for me, and the new styling is great as well.
I'm very happy with the camera, and when the Q-S2 or S3 comes out , with even better sensors and features, it will be very very hard to take a K3. In all honestly, I like to carry both when I go on vacation and use either when the situation calls for it. For Q7 owners, this may not be an upgrade if you feel some of these things have been addressed, already, but for new users or those upgrade from a Q/Q10, it's a giant step up. Had this been the camera show 3 years ago, this would be the number one compact ILS, and in fact, I sitll feel it is if you want small + Good IQ, and full SLR level options and useability. A great tool for photographers.
I'll have a more thorough review later this week with much more details. I usually plan on doing 1-2 hour video reviews of cameras, so stay tuned.
