The Pentax K-01, the second-best hybrid sensor.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

Check below for the full review / report from DxOMark

Friday March 30 2012

The Pentax K01, Pentax’s first serious hybrid, turns in a great performance, arriving in second place in its category. All of the results are available here:Pentax K-01.

Overall score:

2nd place among hybrids (79), 17th place across all categories.
Development of the K-01’s sensor was based the same kind of sensor technology used in the Pentax K5 and Nikon D7000 (which share the same Sony 16Mpix sensor), making this comparison relevant: K-01 Vs K5 Vs D7000. The K-01 achieves very good scores in Portrait and in Landscape.

Portrait:

2nd place among hybrids (23.7 bits), 17th place across all categories.

To derive the Portrait score, we analyze the sensor’s capacity to furnish vivid, varied, and accurate colors under good lighting conditions (i.e., studio).

The K-01’s performance is the same as the K5’s - unsurprisingly, since they basically use the same sensor.

Landscape:

2nd place among hybrids (12.9 EV), 15th across all categories.

The K-01’s performance is below that of the K5 - but then, the K-01’s sensor has 12 bits whereas the K5 has 14 bits.

Sport (Low-Light ISO score):

1st place among hybrids (1135), 20th place across all categories.

The Sport score (alias Low-Light ISO score) lets you know how far you can go with regard to ISO without compromising image quality.

The K-01 takes first place on the hybrid camera ranking thanks to its APS-C sensor, which is larger than the majority of hybrid sensors so it captures more light. We will see below just how close its results are to those of its competitors equipped with APS-C sensors.

The Pentax K-01 - What's all the complaints about? This is a great camera.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

I received my Pentax K-01 last week and have been using it everyday since. The image quality is excellent, about the same as the K-5 or even better, and the camera is about half the price of the K-5 when it was introduced. The prices will come down eventually, but full price is what you have to pay to get the newest toys, before everyone else does.

For low light shooting, I get better results with the K-01 than with the K-5. The Focus Peaking option is just great. It becomes very easy to use old legacy manual lenses. Speaking of lenses, the Pentax K-01 uses all of the K-mount lenses ever built, and that's more than I can say about all of the other mirror-less cameras on the market. Most mirror-less cameras are using a smaller  sensor, and I don't care how much they boast about the image quality, you just can't get higher quality in a small sensor. Sony is close to the right solution with a large sensor in the NEX-7, but regular lenses won't work without an adapter. I hear that the 24.3 MP sensor is not real good at high ISO. I would guess that there are too many pixels, all packed in the same surface area as any of the APS-C sensors.

Yes, the K-01 is bigger than all the other mirror-less cameras, but what's the deal with the small cameras? You wind up with a 50mm lens that is bigger than the camera. When I want or need small, I use my iPhone.

Now, about all the whining of the lack of EVF or OVF, I halfway agree that it would be nice. Pentax may design some kind of  "flash bracket" mounted optical viewfinder, similar to what range-finder cameras used to have. In fact, I found several companies that made that kind of viewfinders. Pentax even has a 47mm equivalent viewfinder for the Q camera. The built-in flash of the K-01 is in the way, but chances are that when you need the flash, it's dark enough to see the image on the viewfinder. Other than fill-in flash, when it's too bright outside to use the LCD monitor, it's likely too bright to use the built-in flash as well.

There are many used and new  "flash bracket" attached viewfinder on Ebay. You can find them for just about all standard focal length, like, 20mm, 24mm, 50mm, 80mm, 135mm, 200mm and more. There is still the problem  with parallax error when taking close-up pictures, but you can correct for that. Folks, we don't pay for film anymore. You can delete and retake pictures all day long.

One more important thing about the K-01, it is gorgeous. It's like when new cars are announced with a totally new look...everyone complains about how ugly they are, but soon thereafter, we get used to it and we like it. The K-01 is the look of the future. Pentax has always been at the forefront of technology and bold design. You may not know this, but the first SLR with metering was a Pentax. The first 645 format was a Pentax. Theu have a long list of "First". They always innovate while the rest imitate. Remember the first color DSLRs?  Pentax started that but all other  companies now produce color cameras.

Once you stop worrying about what other people think, you will get a Pentax K-01 or another similar camera that will hit the market soon, marketed by copy cats with more money than Pentax.

P.S.

1. Once you have an external OVF, you can etch line to match your particular lens or lenses angle of view.
2. If you are griping because it's hard to put the DA* 300mm on the K-01 and hand hold it, the keyword is "Tripod". And that is the general rule with any cameras.

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

If you disagree, don't get mad, I'm having a great time and so should you. :)

First workshop for Pentax Cameras only.

(C) Me - 2012

(C) Me 2012 - K-5

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

I had my first workshop last week in Las Vegas and Vicinity. I believe all had a good time, learned a bit more or a lot more about photography, got great images and made new friends. The Hotel was included as well as the e-book corresponding to their own  Pentax DSLR. A coffee Table book will be sent to each participant in the next few weeks, that will include every participant's best images, with caption as well as a commemorative section with the dates, locations and other participant's names. The book is formatted as though all photographers were Professionals, on assignment.

Picture taking took place at Red Rock Canyon, the Neon Signs Boneyard and around the Las Vegas Strip and Old  Downtown at night.

Since the expertise level was different with each person, the teaching was individualized to each person's own needs. Among the things I do photographically , there isn't much that's more rewarding, in my mind, than getting someone excited about photography. Consequently, there isn't much that gets me more pumped-up than photography.

The following images were all  taken during the workshop. These are just a few images, as several full SDHC cards were full.

(C) Roland 2012 - K-7

(C) Monique 2012 - K-x

(C) Annie 2012 - K-r

(C) Henry 2012 - K-r

(C) Monique 2012 - K-x

(C) Annie 2012 - K-r

(C) Henry 2012 - K-r

(C) Roland 2012 - K-7

For information about our next Workshop, at the end of May, email me at brqyvn@gmail.com

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Photography workshop in Las Vegas and vicinity.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

I have embarked on a new venture, starting next week. I figured that since so many photographers are organizing workshops, I would organize one as well. Being a Pentax user, I reserved my workshop for owners of Pentax equipment only. It's a smaller market, but Pentax users are a special group and I like Pentax users' mentality. If you are a Pentaxian, you already know what I mean.

My workshop is simple but effective. It has been limited to four people. We will be based in Las Vegas for three days. The lodging is included, and a coffee table book of the entire workshop, with the participants' best pictures, is also part of the bundle. The book will not only remind the partakers of what they've learned during that week, but it will hopefully remind them of the new friends they've made.  I own a good variety of Pentax lenses to cover most situations and my lenses will be available to share with everyone in the group.

We will do three photo shoots; Night Photography, the Neon Signs boneyard and Red Rock Canyon. We will have one period each day to study the e-book, followed by an adlib questions and answers session.  The workshop is aimed at beginners and amateur photographers. It’s perfect for those moving up from a point-and-shoot to a DSLR. A free copy of each participant’s Pentax camera will also be given.

The workshop is based on my e-books, and all functions of the Pentax cameras will be reviewed, in the same non-technical way as in my e-books. The core of the workshop will be to understand and use the three elements of photography; Aperture, Shutter Speed and Sensitivity. Why, how and when one of the elements should be prioritized.

I have been to these locations numerous times and I know when and where the best images can be made. Red Rock Canyon will be an early morning shooting, the Neon Signs boneyard will be a daytime shooting and the Night Photo-Shoot will take place…well...at night.

Las Vegas is a fun place to be, and the location makes it ideal for couples.  One can participate in the workshop while the other can engage in other activities. There will be plenty of time left each day to enjoy Las Vegas as a couple. A great way to attend a workshop is to include your spouse/partner in the plans.

I will post some of the images next week and elaborate on the participant's feedback.

If you are interested in attending a future workshop, please email us at: 
brqyvn@gmail.com  Subject Las Vegas and vicinity workshop.

Thank you for reading, and we hope to meet you at a workshop,

Yvon Bourque

Unboxing the Pentax K-01

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

Unboxing the Pentax K-01

Click for link

Found the above on NOTCOT.com