Pentax MX1 Expert Compact Digital Camera

Don't forget our friends at SRS: http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/c/78/Pentax-Digital-Cameras.html

To add to the praises, this is simply the best compact sensor camera I have used. Image quality is much better than I would expect, and certainly surpasses the Fuji X10 with its larger 2/3" sensor. Given I've seen nothing to suggest the X20 is better than the X10 in the IQ department, the Pentax should hold its own against that too.

Images are usable even at ISOs that I would not normally use for compacts (800 is more than acceptable, and 1600 decent enough if you take care with the exposure). Build quality is excellent and inspires confidence, autofocus is fast and sure and the lens/sensor combination also shared with the Olympus XZ-2 is superb.

Having used mine for quite a while now, the only downsides that strike me are:

(1) lack of hotshoe and optional EVF may be a problem for some (doesn't bother me really)
(2) the raw buffer is too small so raw image processing is quite leisurely (not an issue for the type of photography I use it for)
(3) poor auto white balance in tungsten light - you need to use the tungsten setting
(4) no ability to adjust jpeg noise reduction. The image quality from the camera is great, but I'd probably go for even more detail at the expense of more noise if I could

At the kind of prices they are available for now, I think they are an absolute bargain.

Jon

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