Pentax MX-1 Review

Construction and Handling

On this page, we take a look at the Pentax MX-1's button layout, build quality, external features, and general handling.

External Features and Buttons

On the front of the camera you will find an IR port (for the optional remote control F), the lens, an orange AF assist light, and two strap lugs.

On the top of the camera, you'll find the mode dial, shutter release button, zoom switch, red button, and exposure compensation dial.  The different shooting modes will be discussed later in the review.

The power button illuminates (in green) whenever the camera is powered on.

The red button can be used to start video recording regardless of the current mode.

On the left side of the camera is the flash release switch, which pops up the flash.  The way the flash behaves can be controlled via the flash menu.

On the back of the camera you'll find the control wheel, which is used to control the shutter speed (or aperture, after pressing the AV/AE-L button) while shooting.  There's also the green button, which doubles as the delete button in playback mode, as well as the menu, info, and playback mode buttons.

The 4-way pad doubles as a means to access the flash, drive mode, focus mode, and ISO menus when shooting.

Located on the rear grip itself is a rear infrared port.

When popped up, the flash is elevated slightly above the lens, to avoid casting a shadow:

One last thing- we noticed that the black faux leather on the front of the camera easily gets dirty.  It can be cleaned with a damp cloth.

Retro Design

The retro design of the MX-1 is very nice overall.  However, we find that the tilting LCD on the back takes away from the elegance of the design, as the mechanism concealed underneath the monitor introduces a fairly bulky protrusion which isn't at all visually appealing.  Refer to the product photos to see this protrusion.  Overall, the monitor extends about 2-3 millimeters beyond the camera casing, and it is very thick when viewed from the left.  Because of this, we wouldn't buy the MX-1 for its design alone.  Fuji's X-series cameras, or even the Sony RX100, look more appealing in our opinion.

Apart from the fact that it's obviously not a SLR, we find one key thing to be missing from the MX-1: the iconic Pentax logo, of course! 

Overall we're very happy to see that Pentax has finally created a camera with a classic design, but we would have been much more impressed if such a design were instead applied to a DSLR.  One great thing about this design, however, is that the camera has an excellent build quality, and it feels very sturdy and well-built.  There are no wobbly or loose parts; all buttons and switches give good feedback and have no play.

Product Photos

LCD

As we mentioned in the specifications, the MX-1's LCD can tilt up to 90 degrees up, or 45 degrees down, as pictured below.  While in the field we didn't make much use of this, though it did come in handy from time to time.  In general, we would say that such a screen is more suitable for use on DSLRs, which aren't as compact and can't always easily be held with a single hand.

There are no optional electronic viewfinders for the MX-1, and because it lacks a hotshoe, even a third-party optical finder would be very difficult to mount.  While many have been complaining about this, we had no trouble seeing or using the rear LCD, and we wouldn't say that the MX-1 should be avoided because it lacks a viewfinder accessory.

Zooming

The zoom setting is controlled using the ring around the shutter release button.  The zoom lens motor zooms in and out at a constant speed.  There is no fast setting, and there is no way to finely control the zoom.  While the MX-1 could use improvement in this area, we didn't find it to be a big inconvenience overall.

Handling Verdict

The Pentax MX-1 is very easy to hold.  The button layout and interface is intuitive, as with other high-end Pentax cameras.  Its weight of 391 grams makes it neither too light nor too heavy, and it can easily be held with one hand.  The fact that all shooting controls are located on the right side of the camera helps facilitate one-handed operation, though you can always use two hands for added stability.  We preferred using a wrist strap rather than a neck strap with this camera.  The MX-1 is small enough to be taken anywhere, and it will easily fit into a coat pocket, so it can be a great alternative to a DSLR.

The main complaint we have in terms of handling is that the grip could be a bit bigger, especially for users with large hands.  The buttons on the back are fairly small, and special care should be taken when using the 4-way pad.  Finally, for users with smaller hands, it's a bit difficult to change modes during single-handed operation.

The switch that opens battery/SD card door underneath the camera doesn't have a spring, which was somewhat annoying at first.  However, with time we got used to the fact that after pushing the door shut, we needed to move the switch into the locked positional manually.

More details on MX-1's menu system and general performance are found later in the review.