Well if time is tight, i'd be happy to give the 31ltd a run through for you John

Smeggy, did you click to enlarge the image? The Q image is much less mottled and a lot smoother than the S95 image. Given that the S95 is an incredibly good compact (check it out against the TX5 on Imaging Resource), this is a good result from the same size sensor. Ok both cameras are obviously thraped by the Sony, but that's an APSC sensor and a bigger camera. You could almost say bulky and unwieldy in comparison

And no, you wouldn't use such a camera at ISO3200 anyway, but the quality at that setting holds great hope for what it'll be like at ISO400 to 800...

Perhaps it's because my expectations for this camera have been lowered by the Optio compacts (sorry John!) that I find the results from early tests of the Q so encouraging

Excellent shot! For me the wall holds the bottom of the shot and gives important information about the scale and position of the statue. I think i'd crop out a lot of the sky though, the square crop isn't working for me here.

Do try not to drop the flash unit in the water though!

Here's an interesting ISO3200 IQ comparison between the Canon S95, Pentax Q, and NEX-5. Obviously the NEX is much better than the other two (it has a similar APSC sensor to the K5 I believe), but the Pentax Q is actually significantly better than the S95, and not bad at all. Maybe on a par with an older DSLR like the K10D? I am guessing it will be pretty decent under ISO800.

To be honest I also find the S95's performance pretty good for a compact.

I think the comparison comes from samples Imaging Resource posted last week. You must click to view full size.

I would like a black-and-white sensor camera with huge dynamic range and resolution, and B&W coloured filters set into the body so they can be used with any lens.

And yes, I know this will never happen, I just WANT it!

I don't have any lenses like that to check, but I can't see why not. Actually my Tamron 90mm is supposed to have an AF/MF switch, but still autofocuses when set to MF!

I have only just worked out how to set up Catch in Focus on my K7. What a terrific feature, I can't believe I haven't tried it before! Now my manual lenses seem like AF lenses, with my fingers doing the work of the AF motor of course. Another benefit is there is less chance of movement blur from pressing the shutter button

Anyone else using this, and is it unique to Pentax?

Ohhhhh, yes.

You should definitely consider insurance

But then it would not actually be small, it would end up another me-too NEX-sized beast. (And they are rumoured to be announcing just such a camera later this year).

But if you want something like that, you can just get an NEX and a k-mount adapter.