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