Hands on: Pentax K-01

Pentax has launched the K-01, the first in a new line of compact system cameras (CSCs). Pentax now has two CSCs to its name, but the K-01 couldn’t be much more different to the Pentax Q, except perhaps for its quirkiness.

Unlike the Q and all the other CSCs we’ve seen to date, the K-01 uses a lens mount that’s already well-established among SLR cameras – in this case the Pentax K Mount. This gives it compatibility with hundreds of lenses, and will be particularly welcome for Pentax SLR owners who want something smaller to shoot with but don’t want to start a new lens collection.

The design is by Marc Newson whose previous work includes a Ford concept car, airport lounges, furniture and watches. It’s certainly a striking camera with its bold, square form and chunky top-mounted dials. There isn’t much shape to the handgrip and it’s not the smallest CSC – but it felt comfortable to use.

Talking to the assembled crowd of journalists from both technology and design-oriented publications at the launch event, there seemed to be a consensus that it was an attractive camera. We’re not entirely convinced by its somewhat toy-like appearance, especially in the yellow finish, but each to their own. The straightforward-looking controls were a hit with some of the non-technical journalists, who said they considered most SLRs’ controls to be intimidatingly complex.

In truth, though, its controls are just as capable as on consumer SLRs. It uses the same excellent menu system that we’ve seen on recent Pentax SLRs, and includes an easily customisable Auto ISO mode, high-dynamic-range (HDR) shooting, control over noise reduction strength and Custom Image presets for adjusting saturation, contrast, sharpness, hue and various other settings.

Inside, there’s a 16-megapixel CMOS APS-C sensor – the same size as in consumer SLRs. The 3in screen has a sharp 921,000-dot resolution but it isn’t articulated, and there’s no option to add an electronic viewfinder. There’s an integrated pop-up flash and hotshoe on top, and all the usual exposure modes are available via the mode dial. We’re delighted to see that the 1080p video has a manual exposure option, plus a choice of 24, 25 or 30fps frame rates and a microphone socket. There’s an SDXC slot for storage and AV and HDMI outputs.

As with Pentax’s SLRs, image stabilisation is built into the sensor, which means it’ll work with any lens. The contrast-detect autofocus system didn’t seem to be as responsive as on the best CSCs we’ve seen, but it coped reasonably well in low light. Burst shooting is at 5fps, but it only lasted for six frames in our preliminary test before beginning to slow down.

The downside to adopting the K Mount is that it defines the distance between the back of the lens and the sensor, known as the flange back distance. This is 45mm for K Mount cameras, which is significantly deeper than in rival CSC systems such as Micro Four Thirds (20mm) and Sony NEX (18mm). As such, the K-01 is a lot chunkier and a little heavier than rival CSCs, at 59mm deep and 560g without a lens. Then again, the Sony NEX range’s short flange back distance is arguably the main reason why these cameras sometimes struggle to achieve sharp focus across the entire frame. Most other CSCs use a short flange back distance too, but pair it with a smaller sensor, which avoids focus problems but limits their low-light performance.

It seems likely that the K-01’s relatively chunky body is a necessary compromise for achieving both low noise and sharp edge-to-edge details – something of a Holy Grail for CSCs at the moment. We’ll have to wait to assess the camera’s image quality before we can be sure, though. While we were able to try out the camera at the launch event, sadly we weren’t able to take any test photos home with us for assessment or publication.

Concerns about weight and bulk are offset by the simultaneous launch of the 40mm DA XS lens. We’ve seen pancake lenses before but this one is incredible, protruding just 9.2mm from the camera. It’s focal length is a little longer than we’d ideally want from a general-purpose prime, giving an equivalent focal length of 61mm. The f/2.8 aperture isn’t as bright as we’d like either, but top marks to Pentax for designing something so amazingly slim.

The K-01 should be available from the end of March, priced at around £630 body only and £680 with either the 40mm pancake or a more conventional 18-55mm kit lens. A twin lens kit will cost £800.