Pentax K-01

Oh yes you can.... link

Just a quick try with a battery less one in Jessops. Just lovely
The build quality is superb and I do like the handling - I have large hands, but like small fiddly things
But now I've missed the sale
Matt

Perhaps the K-01 is a little "optimistically" priced but I've just read that the Fuji X1-Pro is going to be £1490 body only.

That makes the K-01 look quite reasonable at £650!!!!

I read that this morning .. makes the K-01 look cheap.

The main comment I see before anything else on other forums is how ruddy ugly it is .. if they had given the K-01 just half the style of the Fuji then I really think it would have stood a chance.

Even the new 40mm looks cheap and nasty compared to the LTD.

you are spot on Mike- how do they always seem to blow it! I honestly think this camera with no changes to the spec would be very well received if it used an LX or something similar as its design inspiration.

Interesting thread about the K-01 here

They are normally positive on that forum where Pentax are concerned but this is the sort of thing I am seeing mostly everywhere.

AP now have a news item on the K-01:

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Pentax_16MP_K01_targets_younger_users_...

sadly no pentax mount...

That is one of the saddest things I have read.

So, they're counting on design and then release the ugliest camera in recent years?

They have no features to sell and no idea why the camera exists? Good to see all my criticisms are validated by Pentax marketing!

Quite the opposite. It makes the beautiful and carefully designed X1-Pro, -- complete with viewfinder and a system of fast lenses, unique sensor technology, no AA filter, manual control dials, etc. -- look like the work of a photographic company. And well worth the money. (Not that I can afford it.)

The K-01, by contrast, needs a brown paper bag to hide in. It's a broken version of the K-5. Ricoh actually thinks it will sell on design!!

As for attracting the kids, they are too busy using their increasingly-more-capable phones. A camera has to be extremely slim, quick and trendy or kids are not going to buy it. Panasonic, Olympus, Sony, etc. already offer much more capable solutions than the K-01, which is like the ugly kid who comes late to the party.

After four Pentax cameras my last one was an Olympus. It shoots better with K-mount lenses than any of the Pentax models. No crippled mount. Perfect exposure curve. Better LiveView. No viewfinder, but the thing cost me under 150 quid!

People here give Pentax way too much slack. They need a kick in the posterior by people like us who care about the art of photography.

Let's not confuse design and aesthetics. The design of Pentax cameras has always been excellent and still is. Here I mean quality of construction, ergonomics and quality of results.

Aesthetics is the appearance of a product, and that's in the eye of the beholder.

Features of course describe the functions of an item, and both the K-01 and the K-5 share many features. What really counts are the benefits of those features, and sadly many sales people still cannot differentiate between these two things. It doesn't mean they don't exist though.

Don, your a mind reader. I could not for the life of me find that image. These are still on sale in Bahrain in the equivalent of a pound shop. As soon as I saw the K-01, it reminded me of the Olympia.

Best regards

But can you speak for the majority of consumers? That's a pretty wide claim....:

Newson was hired for his design expertise, and designed the key physical controls of the camera, and its form-factor. He has, as far as I can tell, done a far worse job than Pentax's own engineers manage.

I'm not sure what, besides the Marc Newson sense of 'cache' for a tiny number of consumers, the involvement of this designer has added to this product. The main design challenge is getting the camera thin enough that it doesn't look absurd next to other mirrorless cameras. How has Marc Newson's heavy handed styling helped with that issue?

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