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"

Ah! Technology, the more it changes the more it’s the same. New iBook for the Pentax K-01

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am currently writing a new e-book. This time, it’s about the new Pentax K-01 that was announced in February with a start of delivery at the end of March.

We already heard all kind of negative comments about this new camera, "it's too Boxy", "It looks like a brick", who would want a bright yellow camera?", "Who is Marc Newson anyway?", "It has no EVF (Electronic ViewFinder) or OVF (Optical ViewFinder)  so it's useless", and many other comments.

As for myself, I cannot judge anything by looks only. Pentax has always been on the forefront of technology, daring in their designs, and here they go again. The K-01 is certainly daring or pushing aesthetic to a new level…but why can't aesthetic and functionality live together?

As I am writing my book, I am finding out a lot about the camera, and the specifications are pretty impressive.  We, as human, tend to want the newest technology while we don’t want things to change. It’s an oxymoron, a paradox, or call it what you want, but that’s really the way we are.

The K-01 is a blend of new technology, new aesthetic, bold design, and that’s what the upcoming generation will gravitate to.  I often let other people use my DSLR to take a picture of me or my family or friends as a group, and the first thing they do is to hold the camera like a point-and-shoot, trying to compose the picture by looking at the LCD screen.  They are at lost when I tell them to look in the viewfinder.

Apparently, the most used camera is the world is the iPhone or Smart phones.  That leads me to believe that the new generation won’t care about an EVF or OVF.

So…my new book or e-book will actually be published first as an iBook, for the Apple iPad.

Why would I do that?

Because Apple introduced “iBooks Author” in January and the concept is an absolute game changer.  You get to read a book while experiencing multi-media. Yes, you can view videos, image galleries, interact with images and diagrams, follow Internet links, search the Internet, highlight passages, write and save your own notes, and more. Check it out here and here. I can’t think of a better way to learn.

My new iBook will be available on the Apple App Store for the iPad. I will make a version also available as a PDF file, just like my other e-books.  The iPad 2 has been selling at the rate of a little over one million per week. Not everybody that has an iPad 2  will  buy a Pentax K-01, but many will, I hope.

I am setting up my iBook as a template that will be used for many future “Everything you need to know…and then some” series of camera “How to books”, and this time, for all major brands of cameras.

Ah! Technology, the more it changes the more it’s the same.

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque