RiceHigh's Pentax Blog: The Half-Baked K-mount Mirrorless! >:-(

Friday, February 03, 2012

The Half-Baked K-mount Mirrorless! >:-(

Last time I raised ten things that I wanted Ricoh to do. The second thing of these is a K-mount mirrorless. However, what I wanted is a smaller and lighter body with the omission of the mirror and the penta-"prism" and at least an EVF should be brought back, in lieu of the OVF. Very unfortunately, they have failed to do both, but not even a swivel rear LCD monitor! >:-(

So, this is just a half-baked (or not even!) body and uncompleted job they have done. Hope that the K-02 would have these basic problems cured! I now start to learn why the new body is named as such, it might be that there are so many subsequent models to come and follow, in this order like 01, 02, 03, 04 ... until 09 but not reaching 10, as there is already a K10D beforehand! :-o

Related:-

My Idea of a K1000D

Can Pentax DSLRs be Made Thinner?

K-01 is Not For Japanese Home Market?

Size and Weight Comparison for the K-01

K-01 Poll 2/2: How Do You Think about the Practicality of the K-01?

Comments (20)

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Rob · 686 weeks ago

Hmmm...glass half full?

I will concede that I am disappointed by the weight but its not that bad.

Think about this, the K-01 is the first mirrorless that doesnt sacrifice:

Full lens line up - check
"Real" sensor - check

I think Pentax is on the right track and I love the commitment from Ricoh.

more here:
http://pentaxfansclub.blogspot.com/2012/02/k-01-a...

1 reply · active 686 weeks ago

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RiceHigh 110p · 686 weeks ago

Thanks for your new article, no matter actually we do agree or not!

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Walt · 686 weeks ago

RH I don't see it as all bad either, although you are so right that they missed the boat by not including either an EVF, EVF option or at a minimum a tilting screen. They probably felt pressure to rush it out to get in on the mirrorless market (the Q does not count). Yes, bring on the K02 please. Hey, if the contrast focus is fast like the E-P3 or Panasonic G3 we at least have a new focusing system that will perform okay, provide good accuracey and not require focus adjustments. I guess we now need to see what the new DSLRs will be like. Hopefully they will just do the usual boring upgrades to the current bodies, but with the cool new video and contrast capabilities from the K01. RH imagine if the new K-5 replacement has a tilting screen? You head might explode! :)

2 replies · active 686 weeks ago

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RiceHigh 110p · 686 weeks ago

My head may not explode but my wallet may! ;-)

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Walt · 686 weeks ago

By the way, check out the youtube videos for the hands on. For the press release whatdigital actually shows the camera focusing in a dimly lit room and it is really fast! Also pocketlint said it was really fast focusing too.

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kadajawi · 686 weeks ago

Really, how can you make the K-01 smaller? A bit, perhaps. Even a lot, but then you would totally sacrifice usability (ending up with a fat box built around a lens mount). You want K mount, you will have to live with the disadvantages that comes with that.

The only thing that you can get rid of is the prism and viewfinder, the mirror box has to stay where it is, the only difference is it can be empty (cheaper to produce, less prone to failure, not as loud).

A tilting screen would have meant an even fatter camera. Maybe with OLED it would have not been that bad, but still it would have been fatter.

3 replies · active 686 weeks ago

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RiceHigh 110p · 686 weeks ago

The flange/mount distance is fixed but the *main* body part should have been made *thinner*!

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Borf · 686 weeks ago

I think it should be compared to MZ-5n, perfect size for k-mount. And looking at the photos, K-01 seems to be bigger and heavier than MZ-5n...

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Mage · 686 weeks ago

It is possible to make the K-01 smaller. By using a thinner body and using an adapter to provide the K-mount and the additional flange distance it requires. Another adapter can give the M-mount. This can also make it easier for Pentax to introduce to new mount if required to start a new range of lenses that can be designed for best quality and size when used with a mirrorless canera.

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Pwong · 686 weeks ago

More like a Pentax version of the Sony A35 / A55, without EVF and the mirror. No EVF is a minus but mirrorless should be better than SLT as the SLT mirror block lights and will affect image quality when it ages. Also, Mirrorless camera has advantages on metering, and I hope the AF speed is acceptable with legacy Pentax AF lens (hopefully not like Olympus who claims legacy 4/3 lens are compatible with M4/3 camera with an AF adaptor that turns out to be meaningful only on a few top Olympus lens, most of 4/3 lens AF lens are extremely slow on M4/3 cameras!).

More importantly, it will make a Pentax FF or APS-H more possible as no extra FF metering parts, FF prisms nor FF mirror required (which I think Pentax have stopped developing for years). A Pentax FF or APS-H in K-01 size will be a killer.

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Mike Lambert · 686 weeks ago

Its love it or hate it, and I hate it. Why would I buy this over say the Nex 7? Its fat and ugly and lacks controls. I don't care if it does good video. Call me a luddite but I want an OVF or EVF. I'm hoping this is really just a first cut and they will quickly bring out some enhanced models.

1 reply · active 686 weeks ago

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Raist3d · 686 weeks ago

Not saying you are not entitled to your hate but Sony Nex lenses in general s*ck- that's one. Two- the ergonomics and controls of this camera will be better photographer wise, even compared to a Nex 7 I bet. Ditto for the rest of the Next line.

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Raist3d · 686 weeks ago

"So, this is just a half-baked (or not even!) body and uncompleted job they have done. "

Just because they didn't do what *you* wanted them to do, means Pentax is doing a half-baked or "not even!" and "uncompleted job." That's you whining because they didn't do as you say.

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Daedbird · 686 weeks ago

The only problems I have with this camera are 1.The rubber covers - they look like crap, and I have found rubber covers seem to always break over time. 2.No front control wheel. 3.No top LCD - info makes sense when your viewfinder is the rear LCD. 4.Two-tone color schemes.

Two days later, the design has grown on me. I think the size is fine, And I think I will just get one of those loops that can go on the back so I can hold it up to my eye.

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345 · 686 weeks ago

Actually pick up a small box. I did this eaurlier and found that it is quite gripable. Comfortable even. So marc newson might be on to something here. So before we diss off something, lets all try it first. Third-party info should be taken with a pinch of salt

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DufGud · 686 weeks ago

This camera has the same functionality as my K-r set in the live view mode, so I think PENTAX didn't devote much of R&D into K-01. I'm disappointed that the flange back distance wasn't reduced as it would allow to design more compact and cheaper wide-angle lenses (PENTAX could always offer an adapter for K-mount lenses). Hi-res EVF (or any VF) is missing, the grip is not practical... so, I'm definitely not buying this.

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Takeshi · 686 weeks ago

spec wise its not bad. Design wise, its crap. Hopefully they really try using old pentax design

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blizzard · 686 weeks ago

simplely a P.S camera( toy)

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Raffwal · 686 weeks ago

I find this a very interesting experiment. Looks are subjective, but up to a point I actually like it. The sensor rocks as does having built-in SR. Size is probably OK. And I always wanted them to make the mirrorless that supports K mount with all the bells and whistles. But why on earth do they release a camera like this with NO VIEWFINDER??? I hate the idea of using a camera like that with straight arms, trying to see the image on the backside telly and at the same time stabilize the thing. Built-in OVF or EVF is preferable. Even a hotshoe attached external VF might do. Hell, I might even settle for an articulated back LCD. But this ... unfortunately not for me. I just hope that this is a first one in a new series and the next one will house a VF.

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Alexander Evensen · 686 weeks ago

I don't see a problem with this camera at all.

First of all, I doubt this camera is made for people who already own a lot of Pentax stuff and has a Pentax SLR/DSLR already. Not mainly anyway. Here is a good article about just that: http://www.robertstech.com/blog/?p=541

But I don't see why it wouldn't work just fine like it is. If you want a view finder, which I do, you can use an external one like the LCDVF which I already use on the K-5 for hand held video. It will work just as well on the K-01 as the screen size is the same, and bright sunlight won't be a problem at all.

Also, it has focus peaking. This will make older manual focus lenses more relevant for the K-01 than for most other Pentax SLR/DSLRs IMO. You can find focus fast and securely with it. I've used this on a DV cam, and it's amazing.

I don't see why this camera won't be as good (and better thinking of manual focus lenses) for most kinds of photograpy. And if AF is fast enough, even sports and other kinds where fast AF is required.

And for video it's certainly better than the K-5. Also, it's very quiet, so street photography, or photography in areas where it's nice to be silent, it's better than any DSLR/SLR.

And I like the looks. Clean and simple.

I would not be surprised if this will run rings around any other mirrorless system, both in usability and image quality. And you can use ALL the old lenses Pentax has, no need to wait for a new set of lenses to arrive.

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Friday, February 03, 2012

The Half-Baked K-mount Mirrorless! >:-(

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