Pentax Pentax KP (and the system) from fresh perspective

mike3996

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The latest toys arrived yesterday. I had to entertain guests so it was until late when I got to my new camera.

Some super early impressions that I got handling the camera without a memory card in the dark.

  • The body is as compact as the reviews let you to know, but it's still way more compact than you'd expect.
  • Better built also.
  • (Coming from FX Nikon) the viewfinder is small. There's probably little hope focusing manual lenses without the camera's electronical help.
  • The live view is smooth and responsive, more so than what Panasonic's mirrorless cameras do?
    • I also happened by the tracking autofocus in live view. It appears to do a decent job. With what accuracy, I don't know though.
  • Weird omissions in menu navigation usability. No biggie but feels weird that they chose to omit a sensible idea that every other manufacturer has.
  • It's endearing that the zoom steps in picture review are factors of √2, just like lens apertures.
  • Very well built, did I mention great build? Nikon Df has trouble matching the KP.
  • I put the camera to a real stress test in near pitch black conditions and where Nikon Df would have given up a lot more lit conditions (with a comparable f/3.5-5.6 lens) Pentax was autofocusing its f/3.5-4.5 lens very handily indeed. With the focusing aid light (very green, very flashy) it doesn't really care if it's day or night, without the light it's still well ahead of Nikon. Very well ahead.
    • Focus accuracy is to be determined, this positive impression concerns only the behavior "in the field", in super dark conditions.
  • Where I couldn't possibly mind Nikon's screwdrive motor noise, Pentax is screwing around super swiftly indeed, and is subsequently producing much more noise than expected.
  • The shutter + mirror slap is also unexpectedly loud, coming from a small camera body.
  • At the settings I received KP the focus dots don't show up in the viewfinder, only at focus confirmation a flash of red shows where I'm aiming. I hope I can set up the center dot at least visible.
 
If you find the viewfinder small, there is one accessory that may help - the Pentax Magnifying eyecup (Pentax part # O-ME53). It magnifies the viewfinder image by a factor of 1.18 - which results in an image which is slightly larger - but, in my admittedly subjective opinion, one which is significantly easier for manual focusing in the OVF (optical viewfinder). I used this accessory with several different Pentax cameras (both a KP and a K200d) and found it quite helpful.
 
Magnification in the viewfinder is a two-way street. Bigger the magnification, everything looks bigger and better but you tend to lose the edges and compositing suffers. With smaller magnifications focusing suffers but it's easy to see the whole picture at once.
 
The camera which I bought from Italy is practically brand new. It comes with 2 years of warranty, although in a peer-to-peer transaction one shouldn't expect those warranties to hold. Shutter count at unboxing was at ~200, which matches the pristine condition of the body.

It came with the grip variants even though the seller didn't specify this. A very positive surprise.

The seller originally listed the camera for auction on eBay for a local trade in mind but later amended the post to include possibility of shipping abroad. I suspect he noticed the listing not getting enough attention. It still didn't, I think I got it at a decent money.

I was originally lusting after a silver KP (because of course) but those are rare, very well used (shutter counts at 20k and up) and more expensive. I was able to convince myself, this time I can go with black. Many reviews mentioned the silver looks plasticy and tacky. The black camera is fine. The matte material is more than fine.

~

Coming from Panasonic cameras, the Pentax doesn't offer customizability. Let's put it that way. The third dial compensates a lot.

The back screen is small but crisp to look at. The live view is great, but poor IBIS performance makes "extended hand holding" practically unusable. You need to lean the camera against your eye/forehead just like you usually need to do with DSLRs anyway. I assume the IBIS will do better with longer focal lengths. My only lens is an ultrawide, and even the best stabilizators in the world will fail to provide 4-5 stops improvement when the unstabilized benchmark is already a slow 1/15 sec. Micro jitters turn into uncorrectable macro jitters as the exposure time goes up. Perhaps some of you caffeine teetotalers can manage those 10-second handheld exposures but I don't.

The sensor seems a bit unsensitive to me. Getting unexpectedly slow shutter speeds in today's totally overcast day. I don't bother crosschecking with Nikon or Panasonic, it's probably just a dim day. Add: yes it's just a dim day. The exposure matches Panasonic GX80 handily.

~

I am cautiously looking at other lenses for the system. I might start with overcautiously with a cheap (20 €) 55-300 lens but depending on what I can haggle on the marketplace I might be getting a load of glass so that my Pentax K lens selection gets filled in an instant.
 
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What a catch, @mike3996! That's way fewer than demo units!
Very well built, did I mention great build? Nikon Df has trouble matching the KP.

Interesing as the Df is already well-built. I had the same feeling when I first held the K200D with its stainless-steel chassis and polycarbonate body. I can only imagine how solid the magnesium alloy body ones are.
I put the camera to a real stress test in near pitch black conditions and where Nikon Df would have given up a lot more lit conditions (with a comparable f/3.5-5.6 lens) Pentax was autofocusing its f/3.5-4.5 lens very handily indeed. With the focusing aid light (very green, very flashy) it doesn't really care if it's day or night, without the light it's still well ahead of Nikon. Very well ahead.

Yup it focuses up to -4EV.
Focus accuracy is to be determined, this positive impression concerns only the behavior "in the field", in super dark conditions.

It should be fine. In my experience, the AF fine tuning really changes the game. The AF became much more aggressive after I got the values for all my AF lenses and that is with this 2008 camera body.
I am cautiously looking at other lenses for the system. I might start with overcautiously with a cheap (20 €) 55-300 lens but depending on what I can haggle on the marketplace I might be getting a load of glass so that my Pentax K lens selection gets filled in an instant.
Uh oh. There's just a lot to choose from. I remember counting at least 3,000 Pentax and 3rd-party K-mount lenses made since 1975. I can get the more accurate number from Pentax Forums.
 
I know my K-70 could wake up the dead.---

How loud is the e-shutter on the KP Mike?

Outside in the clear KP isn't any louder than Nikon Df. Of course Nikon having a larger sensor, larger mirror, larger shutter, Pentax should be one stop quieter, no? ;) They are both more than okay in outside world.

I will conduct a quick extra comparison soon.

Interesing as the Df is already well-built. I had the same feeling when I first held the K200D with its stainless-steel chassis and polycarbonate body. I can only imagine how solid the magnesium alloy body ones are.
Nikon Df and Pentax KP both share so much design with each other. Both have an unconventional front dial (not placed on the grip but rather straight against the body), both have an unangled shutter release, again on top of the body instead of the grip.

It brings me such joy to grab the KP with the largest grip. Solid work and the materials chosen feel topnotch.

Ergonomically though... I am all like blushing and going, "oh my", when I pick the Panasonic G80 in comparison. Suddenly it does a lot of things well but Pentax should win with the buttons at least, and some other things. But the lightweight and cheap (feeling but also cheap priced) Panny has the weight and grip on its side.

It should be fine.
Definitely this fisheye zoom 10-17 is probably a bit on the low-fidelity side of Pentax lenses, and it's my sole Pentax lens currently so I have to be careful I don't form bad first impressions about focus, image quality, things of that sort.

Despite massive DOF plenty of shots I got were unsharp. Nothing out of the ordinary I think, but it just in part proves that Pentax is just a camera, not a miracle maker. If I make a mistake focusing poorly, (or letting the lens focus to past infinity by mistake) the camera will not offer help to correct that. No biggie. My Nikon, my Panasonics, my old Olympi, every camera except Leica M does the same. I wasn't expecting Pentax to rise to the top so I am not disappointed. Just stating my impressions.

There's just a lot to choose from.
Definitely. I have however made it difficult for myself, and for the new acquisition, to start exploring a brand new lenscape from scratch. But that's my problem. If I for whatever reason bail the whole Pentax project very soon I hope it won't reflect on the camera. I don't think it will.
 
Some quick sound impressions.

Aperture blades: uhm... how do I engage DOF preview in the Pentax? :D

Both cameras at 1/50 sec shutter speeds, shot at an arms' length, Pentax is clearly quieter -- the sound is much more dampened than Nikon Df, where the lens's loud aperture blades probably make the most noise.

Pentax's IBIS whirrs at a very quiet level. Quieter than Olympus Pen-F (from memory) for example.

Pentax screwdrive: much more high pitched than what Nikon does.


Pentax in Electronic Shutter mode. In live view, wide open: dead silent. In live view, stopped down: now I get to hear the aperture blades. They're on this lens nice and quiet. Definitely not something that contributes to the noise levels when shooting optically.

Then again my Nikkor lens that I test here is from the 70s so 50 years old.

Pentax in optical shooting mode, MS/ES doesn't provide a meaningful difference in sound. The shutter, I would say, is a bit louder than mirror. I made this comparison in an echoy room on an echoy table which all amplifies the sound.
 
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