Thread: Mirrorless Pentax K-01

Great colors, Christilou. It looks like spring is just a *bit* further along in Spain than here.

Are you mostly using the 35mm macro on the K-01 these days?

I was just about to edit this one. I just checked and it was in fact the FA77! However, the 35 is the widest lens I have for the Pentax and has just that little bit more than the 40XS so is my main lens unless I want to travel really light :)

40 XS

Great shot. I really like the look you are getting from the 40xs (though I am guessing it has a lot to do with the person behind the camera!) I am kicking myself a bit, for ordering the body only instead of the kit. It is just a tough field of view for me to get a handle on.

From this past Sunday's country road drive in Western Wisconsin... lots of hills, valleys and small dairy farms. I need to go back when the spring has fully kicked in....

I think Pentax K-01's image quality is great, but everything else is almost laughably bad. Especially AF performance can be described in 2 words: pain and misery.

Originally Posted by stratokaster

I think Pentax K-01's image quality is great, but everything else is almost laughably bad. Especially AF performance can be described in 2 words: pain and misery.

Well, I will say that the focus is not fast, but it is not painfully slow for me. Depending on the lens used, it seems to be a bit faster than the GXR28. Not blazing fast, but fast enough for the purposeful stuff. I would guess it is fairly close to the XPro1, again, depending which lens is used. The saving grace for me is the focus peaking... very fun to drop it to MF, or use the quick focus ring, and use the peaking to lock in the shot. Doesn't matter how dark it gets, it always works.

Originally Posted by krugorg

Well, I will say that the focus is not fast, but it is not painfully slow for me. Depending on the lens used, it seems to be a bit faster than the GXR28. Not blazing fast, but fast enough for the purposeful stuff. I would guess it is fairly close to the XPro1, again, depending which lens is used. The saving grace for me is the focus peaking... very fun to drop it to MF, or use the quick focus ring, and use the peaking to lock in the shot. Doesn't matter how dark it gets, it always works.

I think it depends on what you're trying to photograph. For landscapes, it's fine. For people? Not so much. If I want to make a correctly focused shot with the Pentax K-01, I have to ask my subject to stand still, which is not fun. And the sound the camera makes when focusing non-SDM lenses is scary. Another thing: when focusing close to MFD, the camera often gives false positives. It beeps and the AF frame turns green, but the resulting image is often misfocused. This is annoying, to put it mildly.

I ended up disabling the AF and focusing manually. It's both faster and less loud (=more discreet).

Originally Posted by stratokaster

I think it depends on what you're trying to photograph. For landscapes, it's fine. For people? Not so much. If I want to make a correctly focused shot with the Pentax K-01, I have to ask my subject to stand still, which is not fun. And the sound the camera makes when focusing non-SDM lenses is scary. Another thing: when focusing close to MFD, the camera often gives false positives. It beeps and the AF frame turns green, but the resulting image is often misfocused. This is annoying, to put it mildly.

I ended up disabling the AF and focusing manually. It's both faster and less loud (=more discreet).

I think you are right, Strat. My buidlings and hills seem to move slowly enough that I can capture them (and they do not get scared with my screw scream focus). I was thinking that I would continue to use m4/3 for my family photos, action, candids and street stuff... anyplace where I needed the focus speed or more compact option.

The only challenge is that I would prefer to only travel with one system.

I originally purchased the K-01 to use the DA 15 and the DA 70 for landscapes and portraits respectively. I ended up finding a FA 31, which was not part of the original plan, but I love the lens. The only problem is that, of course, this lens with the K-01 is not all that compact. Also, struggling a bit on focus with the DA 15. Some shots are great, some are soft along the edges, even when stopped down. Going back through my Olympus 12mm images, I generally prefer the output of the m4/3 lens.

Some shots taken with the K-01 and 40mm f/2.8 lens in Istanbul:









The image quality is obviously super-duper-awesome, but is it really better than the NEX-5N? I doubt it