Well I was ready to shake the hand of a fellow Pentaxian as chances are I would have come across them on one forum or another. I saw a Pentax compact or two and an X90, but it wasn't a case of not noticing them, there simply weren't any fellow Pentax dslr users amongst the couple or several fundred dslrs on sho. Really, not one. As I said they were probably to be found around less salubrious corners looking for more interesting images.

I rarely visit places that experience mass congregations of DSLRs. So a recent visit to the overtrodden tourist trails of Paris and to Disneyland gave me the opportunity to conduct a straw poll of the relative abundances of different makes.

As expected of course Canon and Nikon made up the vast majority, although by how much did surprise me. I would say that Nikon was a clear winner. In third place limping long some considerable distance behind those behemoths came Sony.

So what of Pentax? Well, to my amazement, I only spotted one in five days and it was hanging around my neck. I am led to conclude that either Pentax enjoys a truly minuscule market share or that Pentax users are a rather more sophisticated breed eschewing the tourist traps and the routine views that they bring. Apart from me of course, I am happy to snap away shamelessly at the Eiffel Tower with the hordes.

I wouldn't have swapped my bag of selected wonderfully compact and beautifully engineered primes for the array of hulking great zooms on show though.

It's not for the viewfinder although another good reason to have one is when batteries are running low. I think the X10 (which I have played with) is better than the MX-1 for iq and af and the X20 is supposed to be quite a significant upgrade. The MX-1 is a year too late imo.

I don't really see the point of not having a viewfinder. It's there to use if you wish but you don't have to. Useful in extremely bright conditions where the screen might be more difficult to see. Plus it adds to the authenticity of the retro look. Not sure how much it adds to the cost to manufacture of course but I think its exclusion cuts down the potential punters quite significantly as it's a frequent observation.

Actually the paradoxical consequence of seeing and handling the MX-1 is that it makes me very keen on an X20.

I got to see and gave a little play with an MX-1 in the newly reopened Jessops in Oxford Street. They had a nicely laid out Pentax section.

I found it suprisingly large, especially compared to the Pentax Q. The rear tilty screen seemed useful but competely incongruous to the otherwise retro design. Everything but the screen looked and felt great. Some will appreciate the practicality of the screen but it just looked ugly to me.

The cameras performance seemed average, not enough to justify the price difference to the next level up in image quality imo. Handling was great, the ev dial very welcome, image quality was alright, autofocus comparatively slow by the competition's standards and shooting raw was a slow experience. I think it will compete with a reduction in price but if the competition responds then I think it will be outclassed.

The basic idea has a lot of potential but the size of the camera really warrants a larger sensor. It seems to me that Hoya Pentax have designed a very plausible rival to the Fuji X10. Hopefully Ricoh Pentax will give me a reason not to buy an X20 or X30.

Looking at offerings from other manufacturers the Q, on the other hand, remains firmly in a niche of it's own. Seeing a Q10 in the polycarbonate confirms my preference for the Q.

Good subject but difficult subject. I expect steam trains.

SMC K30mm f2.8 (all cleaned up)

It doesn't touch it, adheres to the ledge.

Woolly hat solution sounds good too, ideal for Northumberland in summer.

Blu tack for me.

Great improvement in af speed.