Pentax K-01 with DA 40mm XS lens review

Compact systems cameras (CSCs) are here to stay, with nearly all the leading manufacturers now selling some kind of compact camera with interchangeable lenses. The K-01 has no trouble standing out from the crowd, though, and couldn’t be further removed from the Pentax Q. The Q is by far the smallest and lightest CSC on the market, and the K-01 is the biggest.

DESIGN

There’s a good reason for the K-01’s bulk, though. Whereas other CSCs use lens mounts that are designed for compactness, the K-01 uses Pentax’s well-established K Mount, as used by its SLRs. The distance between the mount and the sensor, known as the flange back distance, is fixed for each lens mount, and in this case it’s 45mm. This is much bigger than Micro Four Thirds’ 19mm or the Q’s 9mm, and explains the K-01’s chunkiness.

Using the existing SLR K Mount makes the K-01 a lot chunkier than most CSCs

We’re tempted to say that this is at odds with the basic premise of a CSC, but using the K Mount brings one big advantage. While most CSCs have around half a dozen compatible lenses, there are 34 Pentax K Mount lenses, and lots more from Sigma, Tamron and others. The benefit for anyone who already owns lots of these lenses is obvious.

However, the range of lenses available is massive

The camera’s bulk is offset by the simultaneous launch of a new pancake lens. It protrudes just 9mm from the camera body, and the overall size and weight of the camera and lens could just about be described as coat pocket sized. The lens’s 40mm focal length translates to 60mm in 35mm terms, which isn’t ideal for landscape photography but is well suited to portraits and candid street photography.

The new pancake lens is a marvel of engineering

Pentax would probably prefer that we dwelled less on the K-01’s bulk and more on its striking appearance. It’s the work of designer Marc Newson, a man who’s clearly not bogged down by convention. Although the K-01’s control layout and functions are familiar, it looks like no other camera we can think of.

HANDLING

We’ve slowly warmed to the K-01’s retro-futuristic design, resembling a prop from an 80s sci-fi film. The chunky dials and switches feel sturdy and have just the right amount of resistance. It might take a few more months before we’re ready to praise the vivid yellow version, though, and we’re not convinced by the rubber flap that protects the card slot and sockets. It’s fiddly to close, and because it provides only moderate protection, there’s an additional metal door underneath to stop the card being ejected through the rubber flap.

Functionally, the K-01 is familiar Pentax SLR territory, and that means one of the best control systems and collection of features around. Its integrated pop-up flash and hotshoe may be standard features for SLRs but less common on CSCs, and the same goes for the mode dial, command dial and dedicated manual focus switch. Image stabilisation is built into the sensor, and having it work in conjunction with the pancake lens is a rare treat for a CSC (Olympus’s PEN range is the only other system to offer this). The 3in screen has a sharp 921,000-dot image but it’s disappointing that it’s not articulated. The substantial battery lasts for 500 shots.

We really like how easy it is to adjust the range of the Auto ISO mode, with a fixed minimum speed of 100 and maximum of between 200 and 12,800. This is accessed alongside the manual ISO speed setting, simply by hitting the ISO button. It’s a huge improvement on other cameras that bury this option in an obscure submenu or don’t offer it all. Another handy feature is the ability to shoot JPEGs and then choose to save a raw version of the last shot. High-dynamic-range (HDR) photography is built in, and there’s a mode that captures photos at regular intervals. There’s huge scope to customise picture quality, including options to set the noise reduction strength for each ISO speed.

VIDEO

Videos are recorded at up to 1080p at a choice of 24, 25 or 30fps. Aperture priority and manual exposure are available for videos, and settings can be adjusted while recording. Doing so can lead to clicks from the dial appearing on the soundtrack, though. The movement of the aperture blades in the lens make a loud clunk too, but selecting aperture priority to lock the aperture gets around this. Alternatively, you could just connect an external microphone to the camera’s minijack socket. The volume of both internal and external microphones can be set manually, although doing so is practically impossible as there’s no level metering.

Autofocus isn’t available while recording videos. No doubt this would have interfered heavily with the soundtrack too, but without this option, the K-01 isn’t really suitable for casual video recording. The big sensor creates a shallow depth of field so subjects quickly fall out of focus as they or the camera moves. Manual focus can be used for videos but accurate adjustment is tricky to pull off. Still, this isn’t a problem for carefully composed shots with a tripod, and the choice of frame rates and manual exposure control will appeal to serious videographers.

PERFORMANCE AND IMAGE QUALITY

Autofocus is a concern for photos, too. SLRs are extremely quick to focus, and because CSCs are just as expensive, our expectation is for them to be just as quick. That’s true of some CSCs but sadly not the K-01. There was typically a delay of half a second between pressing the shutter button and a photo being captured, rising to between one and two seconds in low light. Continuous mode fared much better, managing six frames in a second before slowing to 2.8fps. Raw mode was a big disappointment, though, with 3.6 seconds between shots in normal use. Continuous raw shooting started at 1fps and slowed to 0.7fps after three frames.

Details are crisp across the frame, with no hint of noise at ISO 100

Our image quality tests painted a much rosier picture. The 16-megapixel APS-C sensor delivered lots of detail and extremely low noise. Image quality held together extremely well at ISO 6400, with significantly less noise than from most CSCs and only a whisker behind the Sony NEX-5N.

There’s a little noise at ISO 3200 but image quality remains good enough for large prints

The NEX-5N can struggle a little with corner focus, but with its longer flange back depth and range of excellent lenses, the K-01 had no such problems. Focus from the 40mm kit lens was crisp right into the corners of frames, while portrait shots exhibited a flattering shallow depth of field. With balanced automatic exposures, expertly managed ISO and shutter speeds, flattering colours and huge scope to customise the JPEG output, this is the best image quality we’ve seen from a CSC.

Even the maximum ISO 12800 setting gives passable results, although close inspection reveals its limitation

CONCLUSION

That’s a superb achievement and, overall, the K-01 is extremely likeable, but we’re not tempted to rush out and buy one. It makes sense with its pancake lens, but the 40mm, f/2.8 specifications are quite limiting if this is the only lens the camera will be used with – the actual focal length of around 60mm is a touch too tight for day-to-day use. There aren’t many other pancake lenses available, either. There’s a 21mm f/3.2 that’s reasonably slim but it costs over £400. Pentax also sent us its 18-55mm lens for testing, but attaching this, the K-01 was barely any smaller than an SLR.

If you’re looking for a camera with exceptional image quality and don’t mind putting up with a bit of bulk, there are cameras that are faster to focus and cost less – they’re called SLRs. Still, there’s something charming about the K-01. Whereas an SLR doesn’t feel like the right camera to take on a night out, the K-01 looks like it was born for these moments, and it’s low-light image quality backs up that claim nicely. Autofocus speed remains our biggest concern, but if you can live with this, the K-01 has a lot to offer.