The Retro looking Pentax K-01 is a really good camera.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

I just don't really understand all the complains about the Pentax K-01. RiceHigh, the fake Pentax friend, is going to great length to discredit the image quality of the K-01. Personally, I have the K-01 and I've been using it for about two Months. I think it's got excellent image quality, right off the camera and in JPEG. 

I took pictures with my K-5, using the new 40mm lens that came with the K-01, used the JPEG format  @ 16MP and took the same images with the K-01. In JPEG, right off the camera, the K-01 images were by far better.  With the K-01, Pentax has produced an entry-level camera that gives excellent results, without the photographer having a degree in photography. Okay, Okay, I'm exaggerating a little, but it seems to me that Pentax is finally doing what Nikon and Canon have done for years. The images straight from the camera are processed with more saturation and vibrance that prior models. That's my opinion of course, but the K-5 images in JPEG looked bland compared to the K-01. I haven't compared images from both cameras in RAW format, but that's inconsequential to me as RAW files can really look any way you want to, by using software like Lightroom or Aperture. 

Now for the complains about the lack of EVF or OVF, you really have to try the camera before making a negative judgment.  Side by side, the K-5 has a lot more reflection problems that the K-01, when shooting in Live View. I held the K-01 at noon, with the sunlight on the screen and I had no problem seeing my subject and compose my image.

Because there are no mirror or prism, you know that the Movie Mode is much  better with the K-01. The image quality in Movie Mode is the best that Pentax has produced yet. You can shoot Full HD video at 1080p and at  frame rates ranging from 24 to 60fps. I bet it's as good or maybe even better that the Canon EOS 5D.  For around $700.00 for the K-01 without a lens, I think it's a great deal. 

If you are a people person, this camera will surely start many conversations. I first got the Black model but  soon exchanged it for a "Mark Newson" Yellow camera. I don't care about who Newson is, but I do like the boxy style of the camera and the yellow just adds an even more retro look.

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

Hi Photographer friends,

I'm almost done with my new Pentax K-01 "Everything you need to know...and then some" iBook. I have to say that this is the hardest task I have ever embarked on. It's not easy to write a book, it takes a lot of research and hands-on handling of the camera. It's was ten times harder to write this e-book (or iBook in this case) for the Apple iPad since Apple only released the application last December. There has been very little help from Apple as most "Apple Genious" were not yet trained with the "iBooks Author". I really think they have a winning app here, but it's taking  a little long to publish an "iBook Author Guide". Maybe I should make that my next project!

In the end though, I believe this will be the best e-book in my series. It has everything needed to help the readers understand. It uses all media currently available. It has text, images, video, interactive screens, search inside the iBook or the entire Internet, the ability for the readers to make notes and save the notes as flash cards for later use...and then some.

Does it show that I'm excited?

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What's more, I am contemplating continuing the series with the most popular cameras from all manufacturers. That will include Nikon and Canon cameras.

Oh yes! I'm definitely a Pentax user, but I believe I can be more helpful to the photographic circle by writing iBooks for all the most popular models of all brands.

One last word, frankly, I was a little disappointed with the K-01 not having  an OVF or EVF, but after using the camera for nearly one month, I am really pleased with the live-view that the monitor offers.  I took some images on sunny days, with no clouds, at noon, here in the Mojave desert, and I could see the image on the screen very well. There seems to be very little reflection problems with the K-01. I can't say that even with my K-5. 

I will releasing the iBook next week to 100 Beta testers and shortly after that, it will be available through the Apple App store.

Thank you for your patience, I know I haven't post much lately. This iBook writing has taken over all my other activities.

Yvon Bourque

Here are a few "Screen shots"

BETA readers needed for a new Pentax K-01 iBook.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

 Hi Photographer friends,

If you think that I haven't written much on this blog lately, you would be correct. I have been working late every night to complete an "How to" e-book or rather an iBook for the Pentax K-01. I still have a couple of weeks to go before I can publish it.

Unlike my previous e-books, that were and still are available in PDF, this new K-01 iBook is specifically written for the iPad. Apple came up with a new app in December called iBooks Author. Take a look at what it can do here on the Apple Site.

This new format is the most exciting form of digital book available yet. When reading the iBook, all media forms are included within the iBook. In other words, instead of multiple pages of text and images, you can view a video right from within the iBook, or peruse through a gallery of useful images pertaining to the subject at hand. From the iBook, you can even surf the internet or look at any website mentioned in the iBook and come right back to the same page you were reading, all with one tap on the screen. Get this, you can highlight a word or a paragraph, and create your own flash card with your own words to retrieve at any time later on. Enlarge the screen, rotate from portrait to landscape or just swipe to the next page or chapter.

Search within the iBook or Wikipedia or the entire Internet for more information about a word, and still return the page you are reading. Some of the images are interactive and tapping on a area brings additional information, etc.

This is the way we will all read and learn in the not-so-distant future. Once again, Apple is changing an entire aspect of our lives. My new Pentax K-01  iBook will be one of the first of its kind, if not the first. I have been working directly with Pentax and Apple for a while on this project.

People that do not have an iPad will not be left in the dust, as I will simultaneously release a PDF version. However the PDF version will not be as dynamic as the iBook.

Now, not everyone that has a Pentax K-01 has an iPad, but for those who do, I will release the K-01 in BETA to one  hundred  people. I'm not as big as Adobe, so I can't distribute BETA copies to everyone. 

If you have a Pentax K-01 and an iPad, and would like to be a BETA tester, please email me at brqyvn@gmail.com.  When the iBook is ready, it will be available for BETA testing directly from the Apple App Store. You will receive a unique password as a BETA tester and I will also email you when it's available.(Around the end of April)

If you are interested in being a BETA tester, email me as soon as possible, as I don't think it will take very long to enroll 100 people. In return, I will expect your opinion, pointing out of  typographical errors  and any suggestions about the iBook and future "How to" photography iBooks. I am planning to write similar iBooks for all popular digital cameras, including Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, and of course... all future Pentax cameras.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourquqe

New iBook coming soon for the Pentax K-01

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

Apple came up with a new App recently called iBooks Author. It brings e-book writing to a new level. It only works on iPad but allows multi-touch books. You can incorporate videos, animation, photo galleries, interactive diagrams, 3D objects and more.

Pentax just announced the new Pentax K-01, with availability in March. I am going to publish another e-book "Everything you need to know...and then some" for the Pentax K-01. It will be available in PDF format, like my preceeding e-books, but it will also be available for iPad  owners in this new iBooks Author format. Take a look at Apple's  https://www.apple.com/ibooks-author/

Click above to see how Apple iBooks Author works. See the video within Apple's page. You will need to have Apple Quick time player to see this video.

Click above for a short introduction to my upcoming iBook on how to use the new Pentax K-01. This will bring you to the You Tube site.

Click on the above to see the video on this page.

Until march, you can purchase the Pentax K-5 at a reduced price. If you need a little help, you can get my e-book for the K-5, as well as other Pentax fine cameras, such as the K-7, K-x, K-r, K20D, K10D and the K100D. Check it out here

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As always, thank you for visiting,

Yvon Bourque