Pentax K01

[090657]

I was a Pentax user until switching to Olympus several years ago after visiting the Pentax stand at the Photo show and finding all the test cameras with dead batteries. Fed up, I wandered over to Olympus and as soon as I picked up the then new EM1 Mk 2 I was hooked. Sold all my Pentax gear withing a few weeks and the rest as they say is history. These days am still an Oly man but do like to collect older, quirky cameras and the very quirky Pentax K01 is the latest. A so-called `designer` camera it is mirrorless and at first glance looks somewhat toy-like but is a serious bit of kit. Took it out for the first time yesterday paired with an 18-135 lens and was pleased with the early results.

[Ian]

That was indeed a very strange camera! Unfortunately, even the lurid exterior couldn't disguise the fact that the camera underneath was a half-hearted conversion from digital to film, rather than a clean digital restart. That's not to say it wasn't capanble of taking pictures that could be satisfying, but I never felt using Pentax DSLRs to be a pleasant experience. I loved the film Pentax pre-AF SLRs going way back; the tiny MX, ME Super (I sold a lot of those when I worked in the trade) and I did dream about owning an LX

Ian

[JonSchick]

That was indeed a very strange camera! Unfortunately, even the lurid exterior couldn't disguise the fact that the camera underneath was a half-hearted conversion from digital to film, rather than a clean digital restart. That's not to say it wasn't capanble of taking pictures that could be satisfying, but I never felt using Pentax DSLRs to be a pleasant experience. I loved the film Pentax pre-AF SLRs going way back; the tiny MX, ME Super (I sold a lot of those when I worked in the trade) and I did dream about owning an LX

Ian

Beg to differ Ian 😀

Some of the later Pentax dSLRs are masterclasses in handling and capability, especially the K3iii and K1, but too late to make much of an impact sadly. The K-01 was more of a conversion from dSLR to mirrorless than from film to digital - although as you say, half-hearted because it carried on using the K mount rather than a new one designed for mirrorless - that mount is part of the Pentax USP for backwards compatibility but makes no sense for mirrorless. Also lightyears behind in terms of speedy focus. As a result, the K-01 only ever made handling sense with the tiny 40mm pancake prime, and only made aesthetic sense if purchased in lurid yellow!! Not sure it made sense in any other ways, but it is fun and quirky and I'm glad someone is still enjoying it!

[090657]

Mine is indeed lurid yellow. As long as you do not shoot in low light and do not need to shoot high speed or need high speed auto focus it is fine. That suits me. In fact, slowing down a bit suits me. I quite like the handling and controls and am happy to own something different.

[Ian]

Beg to differ Ian 😀

Some of the later Pentax dSLRs are masterclasses in handling and capability, especially the K3iii and K1, but too late to make much of an impact sadly. The K-01 was more of a conversion from dSLR to mirrorless than from film to digital - although as you say, half-hearted because it carried on using the K mount rather than a new one designed for mirrorless - that mount is part of the Pentax USP for backwards compatibility but makes no sense for mirrorless. Also lightyears behind in terms of speedy focus. As a result, the K-01 only ever made handling sense with the tiny 40mm pancake prime, and only made aesthetic sense if purchased in lurid yellow!! Not sure it made sense in any other ways, but it is fun and quirky and I'm glad someone is still enjoying it!

Ah! I had forgotten that they had removed the mirror, but that's basically all they did, so the camera still used the same SLR optics and there was the same big space behind the lens, etc. It didn't even have an EVF. It was an experimental design that they commercialised in small quantities, and there was no mirrorless successor. I'm quite sure the AF was heavily compromised with many lenses.

I spent more time trying and testing the early Pentax DSLRs and the lens system, a mixture of in-lens AF motor and camera operate AF was, in my view, a nightmare, and the cameras were quite clunky. Nikon was in a similar situation, but they developed their system faster. Both were in the wake of Canon, while Olympus ploughed their own furrow. It is interesting, though, that Pentax now makes some success as a DSLR enthusiasts haven, now everyone else has gone mirrorless.

Ian

[JonSchick]

090657 enjoy the new camera! Particularly like the photo of the windswept tree with moody dark skies above.

I also originated as a Pentax user (originally my dad's Spotmatic and then via MX to digital) and the dSLR experience can still feel more immersive to me than modern mirrorless - I don't love the feeling that I'm taking pictures with a handheld computer, but there's no denying modern mirrorless cameras are incredibly capable and some of the newer computational features are genuinely useful. My only cameras now are m43, in part because of that and also because I think they offer the best compromise for me in terms of image quality and size/portability. But I see the attraction of something like the K-01 as an occasional Sunday-driver - have you also got the incredibly tiny 40mm pancake lens that was launched with it? If not, I highly recommend it - surprisingly good, makes the camera a lot more compact, and a quite useful focal length. It's based on the 40mm DA Ltd, which I used regularly with my dSLRs.