Guidenet: I think it's a good looking camera with some good specs. I could care less about the goofy features and syles, modes or whatever you want to call them.
What I like is that it has a real optical glass pentaprism viewfinder that neither NIkon nor Canon has in this price range along with a 100% viewfinder. Look also that like Nkon, the back LCD panel is directly below the optical viewfinder. I wish it were dead center, but this is close enough, unlike Canon which mashes it way over to the left.
It has a real metal frame under the plastic more like Nikon than Canon's all plastic models. The only thing missing is the top mounted LCD. The K5 has that though or the Nikon D7000. Great two cameras.
Weather stripping I think is a bit gimmicky but it sells cameras these days, so I suppose that is a good thing.
In closing, I think Pentax hit a home run with this camera. Kudos to Pentax again. Great job addressing the needs of more seasoned photographers in a budget priced model.
1. "couldn't care less". 2. All plastic dSLRs have a metal frame underneath that the plastic body panels screw into. Not just Pentax.
Direct link |
Posted on May 22, 2012 at 01:54:49 UTC
Griffo59: I remember when Pentax was a manufacturer of serious photographic tools.
What happened?
Taking the Ferrari Testarossa as a style model is a smart marketing move. It's a play to the base, and it is clearly working. Pentax has played "soft" with the K-m/K-x, trying to get women to buy entry level dLSRs, but with women mostly going for micro 4/3 these days, Pentax clearly felt they were better off pushing the "macho" slider to 11.
Direct link |
Posted on May 22, 2012 at 01:47:18 UTC
spidermoon: Almost perfect, but the lack of external mic and hdmi is a major backdraw. The camera is weather seal, have ibis, the video mode can use manual control, with choice of 30p/25p/24p, so it's a great camera for outdoor footage, but you are stuck to internal mono recording. Hopefully, they kept the unique horizon auto adujstement, so even if the camera if not perfectly aligned, the sr mechanism provide correct level. I can't see where is the button for DOF preview ? On pentax camera it's around the on/off button. And finally they remove the lock dial button :) It's the most irritaging thing on my K7, you needs two hands to turn the dial. And they move the view button to the right, a better place than the left one.
@Greg
Well, it's _not_ an entry level model, and omitting the external mic jack is a pretty serious limitation for anything but the most casual video shots. Still I guess they have to give you _some_ reason to buy a K-3!
Direct link |
Posted on May 22, 2012 at 01:40:55 UTC
SNRatio: There is something strange here, and I also wonder about f/8 @24MP: Isn't that about where diffraction kicks in? And it's rather meaningless to compare sharpness at this resolution using different lenses.
BTW, high ISO noise is clearly better controlled on the D3200 than the NEX-7, and I can't understand how these could be using the same basic sensor. Comparing with the D5100, about 16MP seems more like a sweet spot for APS-C sensors, for allround, including high ISO, use at least. Look at the color patches - no way they can be separated by downsampling when the nuances simply aren't there. For sheer resolution, a downsampled D3200 image may still have a distinctive egde @ISO3200, though. Provided the optics and f-stops allow for it..
What people have to understand is that the pixel count increase does not return a meaningful, real world resolution increase. Instead, more pixels gives you more room to rescale and process without losing sharpness. All the built in lens corrections and noise reduction are less obvious since the spacial frequency over which they are applied is that much higher.
No one should imagine that 24MP gives you a meaningful gain in _unprocessed_ resolution over 6 MP, especially with something like the 18-55 DX .
Direct link |
Posted on Apr 30, 2012 at 00:17:17 UTC
Marek Baczynski: Nikon is apparently lowering their standards for what they call "Native ISO". The ISO 6400 shot appears to be more noisy on the D3200 then on the D3100, but they state that the newer model has a higher native ISO range of 100-6400 compared to 100-3200. Why advertise this spec as getter if it isn't even as good as the last generation :/ ?
Because you have MORE MEGAPIXELS. Man, some people are never satisfied. And don't go ranting on about shadow noise at ISO100 either. Nothing to see there, move along.
Direct link |
Posted on Apr 30, 2012 at 00:09:57 UTC
cxsparc: SIze: At work we use a D3100, at home I use a Nex 5n. Each time I use the 3100 I am astonished what big chunk such a entry-level DSLR is. The 3200 seems identical in size and esthetics.
Checked ISO800, I also wonder why the Nex looks much cleaner than the 3200, both having probably the same sensor?
I'll pick "noise reduction" for $200, Alex.
Direct link |
Posted on Apr 30, 2012 at 00:08:32 UTC
Shelly Glaser: I wonder why Nikon put their fanciest APS-C sensor on their least exoensive DSLR. Is it that they do not trust it enough to put it on higher-profile models?
1. Quicker model refresh rate at the low end. 2. The days of the pro camera having the highest resolution are over. 3. Megapixels sell cameras, so it's stuff and ship, stuff and ship.
Direct link |
Posted on Apr 30, 2012 at 00:07:45 UTC
plasnu: Am I the only one who prefers unprocessed image?
This is not a trolling. I honestly thought the processed image is overdone and not beautiful at all, so I'm curious what the other people think.
The contrast in the original is too extreme to leave "as is" and still be considered a really good photo, so the question is do you delete it and come back to reshoot later in the day, or do you go all-out with the HDR processing.
For the effect, with the sun right in the frame, if that's the lighting you want, you have little choice but to go HDR. I'm not fussed with the end result, but people seem to go for it...
Direct link |
Posted on Apr 23, 2012 at 23:53:53 UTC
raimundo gaby: Are you kidding? I don't understand....
How does a camera like this gets a 76 score and the SD1 a 71? The parameters here are really messed up...
And believe me, I love Panny's cameras. I have a GH2. But please, look the quality of the images on the SD1...
Total BS, and unfairness.
Aaak!
1. The score is relative only to other cameras of its class. 2. Why do people like you care what numbers dpreview gives a camera anyway? Seriously, why does it bother you?
Direct link |
Posted on Apr 12, 2012 at 00:48:01 UTC
raztec: What I cannot understand is why Canon and Nikon don't make a range finder style camera that will take all their legacy MF lenses.
There's obviously a huge market for it, especially among photo enthusiasts who often have more than one camera.
Such a camera would not impact their DSLR sales so what are they worried about?
Rangefinder or "rangefinder-style" (aka mirrorless)?
Because Pentax has just done the latter. Look it up.
For the former, you have to figure out how to implement the "rangefinding" business with lenses that do not report the focus distance back to the camera. (only Nikon AF-D and later do) It's doable with a PD sensor, but that brings you back to a mirror again, at which point you might as well be using a TTL finder, aka a dSLR.
Direct link |
Posted on Apr 4, 2012 at 03:22:32 UTC
What it clearly needs, then, is a rangefinder. It could be mechanical, or some electronic gizmo, but to have these beautiful lenses that you can't easily focus manually with the OVF basically takes this system out of the game as far as I am concerned.
Direct link |
Posted on Apr 4, 2012 at 03:18:50 UTC
as 50th comment
i don´t realy need another compact yet. so im happy to wait for the mark2 or mark 3 version. :) im sure canon will put a faster lens in and a better AF.
then the G series will be a perfect camera for people who don´t want a interchangeable lens system. the build quality is great.
now canon only has to anounce the CSC system in august or photokina.
seems at april 16 we will see the canon 4K video camera.
and then ...maybe.... at photokina canon will announce the 30+ MP camera that will come 2013.
@Gesture
Recent cameras with fast, small, and cheap lenses are heavily dependent of software corrections. On one hand, why not? On the other, it takes the fun out of the hobby somehow.
Direct link |
Posted on Mar 30, 2012 at 02:32:38 UTC
ybizzle: Unless you need the zoom, there are other choices out there like the Fuji X100, Sigma DP1m or DP2m (when released), and a host of m4/3 cams if you prefer the small body design.
It's a crowded market, but the exact combination of features in the G1-X is so far unique, so if you want those features in that combination, the camera is attractive. Especially once the price settles.
It's not for me, but for the "must have big zoom range, big sensor in small camera" crowd it seems competitive.
Direct link |
Posted on Mar 30, 2012 at 02:29:04 UTC
Kyoto , Japan
Guidenet: I think it's a good looking camera with some good specs. I could care less about the goofy features and syles, modes or whatever you want to call them.
What I like is that it has a real optical glass pentaprism viewfinder that neither NIkon nor Canon has in this price range along with a 100% viewfinder. Look also that like Nkon, the back LCD panel is directly below the optical viewfinder. I wish it were dead center, but this is close enough, unlike Canon which mashes it way over to the left.
It has a real metal frame under the plastic more like Nikon than Canon's all plastic models. The only thing missing is the top mounted LCD. The K5 has that though or the Nikon D7000. Great two cameras.
Weather stripping I think is a bit gimmicky but it sells cameras these days, so I suppose that is a good thing.
In closing, I think Pentax hit a home run with this camera. Kudos to Pentax again. Great job addressing the needs of more seasoned photographers in a budget priced model.
1. "couldn't care less".
2. All plastic dSLRs have a metal frame underneath that the plastic body panels screw into. Not just Pentax.
Griffo59: I remember when Pentax was a manufacturer of serious photographic tools.
What happened?
Taking the Ferrari Testarossa as a style model is a smart marketing move. It's a play to the base, and it is clearly working. Pentax has played "soft" with the K-m/K-x, trying to get women to buy entry level dLSRs, but with women mostly going for micro 4/3 these days, Pentax clearly felt they were better off pushing the "macho" slider to 11.
Digitall: I really like the K-30 design, indeed.
I guess you are male, and under 40.
spidermoon: Almost perfect, but the lack of external mic and hdmi is a major backdraw. The camera is weather seal, have ibis, the video mode can use manual control, with choice of 30p/25p/24p, so it's a great camera for outdoor footage, but you are stuck to internal mono recording.
Hopefully, they kept the unique horizon auto adujstement, so even if the camera if not perfectly aligned, the sr mechanism provide correct level. I can't see where is the button for DOF preview ? On pentax camera it's around the on/off button. And finally they remove the lock dial button :) It's the most irritaging thing on my K7, you needs two hands to turn the dial. And they move the view button to the right, a better place than the left one.
@Greg
Well, it's _not_ an entry level model, and omitting the external mic jack is a pretty serious limitation for anything but the most casual video shots. Still I guess they have to give you _some_ reason to buy a K-3!
rusticus: sorry Pentax - why this lens???
"to match Nikon and Canon, and because they can"
Nikon and Canon have *full frame* 50mm lenses, which you can use on their *full-frame* digital SLRs.
So, why no review of the M8, M8.2, M9, M9-P?
IcyVeins: Thic camera CHEATS, you can't reduce noise in RAW and still call it RAW.
Once you have viewable image on your screen from the sensor data, it is no longer RAW. Give it a rest.
SNRatio: There is something strange here, and I also wonder about f/8 @24MP: Isn't that about where diffraction kicks in? And it's rather meaningless to compare sharpness at this resolution using different lenses.
BTW, high ISO noise is clearly better controlled on the D3200 than the NEX-7, and I can't understand how these could be using the same basic sensor. Comparing with the D5100, about 16MP seems more like a sweet spot for APS-C sensors, for allround, including high ISO, use at least. Look at the color patches - no way they can be separated by downsampling when the nuances simply aren't there. For sheer resolution, a downsampled D3200 image may still have a distinctive egde @ISO3200, though. Provided the optics and f-stops allow for it..
What people have to understand is that the pixel count increase does not return a meaningful, real world resolution increase. Instead, more pixels gives you more room to rescale and process without losing sharpness. All the built in lens corrections and noise reduction are less obvious since the spacial frequency over which they are applied is that much higher.
No one should imagine that 24MP gives you a meaningful gain in _unprocessed_ resolution over 6 MP, especially with something like the 18-55 DX .
Marek Baczynski: Nikon is apparently lowering their standards for what they call "Native ISO". The ISO 6400 shot appears to be more noisy on the D3200 then on the D3100, but they state that the newer model has a higher native ISO range of 100-6400 compared to 100-3200. Why advertise this spec as getter if it isn't even as good as the last generation :/ ?
Because you have MORE MEGAPIXELS. Man, some people are never satisfied. And don't go ranting on about shadow noise at ISO100 either. Nothing to see there, move along.
cxsparc: SIze: At work we use a D3100, at home I use a Nex 5n. Each time I use the 3100 I am astonished what big chunk such a entry-level DSLR is. The 3200 seems identical in size and esthetics.
Checked ISO800, I also wonder why the Nex looks much cleaner than the 3200, both having probably the same sensor?
I'll pick "noise reduction" for $200, Alex.
Shelly Glaser: I wonder why Nikon put their fanciest APS-C sensor on their least exoensive DSLR. Is it that they do not trust it enough to put it on higher-profile models?
1. Quicker model refresh rate at the low end.
2. The days of the pro camera having the highest resolution are over.
3. Megapixels sell cameras, so it's stuff and ship, stuff and ship.
plasnu: Am I the only one who prefers unprocessed image?
This is not a trolling. I honestly thought the processed image is overdone and not beautiful at all, so I'm curious what the other people think.
The contrast in the original is too extreme to leave "as is" and still be considered a really good photo, so the question is do you delete it and come back to reshoot later in the day, or do you go all-out with the HDR processing.
For the effect, with the sun right in the frame, if that's the lighting you want, you have little choice but to go HDR. I'm not fussed with the end result, but people seem to go for it...
artnaz: Zeiss ZF? That means Nikon F-mount. Why don't they say "Nikon F-mount" which covers all possibilities including the Zeiss ZF?
Or am I missing something? Maybe because the ZF are mechanically the same as the old Nikon Ai(s) lenses?
A typo I expect. Should read "ZE".
raimundo gaby: Are you kidding? I don't understand....
How does a camera like this gets a 76 score and the SD1 a 71? The parameters here are really messed up...
And believe me, I love Panny's cameras. I have a GH2. But please, look the quality of the images on the SD1...
Total BS, and unfairness.
Aaak!
1. The score is relative only to other cameras of its class.
2. Why do people like you care what numbers dpreview gives a camera anyway? Seriously, why does it bother you?
JoeDaBassPlayer: Hmmmmm. This camera reminds me of a similar quality camera that was not so favorably previewed, especially because of its size.
http://camerasize.com/compare/#258,285
Having handled both, while the X-Pro1 does feel "big" (think Lumix LC-5 big) it is far more pleasant to hold and operate than the K-01.
Random thought: For the same cost as a X-Pro1 and one lens you can buy a GF670.
raztec: What I cannot understand is why Canon and Nikon don't make a range finder style camera that will take all their legacy MF lenses.
There's obviously a huge market for it, especially among photo enthusiasts who often have more than one camera.
Such a camera would not impact their DSLR sales so what are they worried about?
Rangefinder or "rangefinder-style" (aka mirrorless)?
Because Pentax has just done the latter. Look it up.
For the former, you have to figure out how to implement the "rangefinding" business with lenses that do not report the focus distance back to the camera. (only Nikon AF-D and later do) It's doable with a PD sensor, but that brings you back to a mirror again, at which point you might as well be using a TTL finder, aka a dSLR.
What it clearly needs, then, is a rangefinder. It could be mechanical, or some electronic gizmo, but to have these beautiful lenses that you can't easily focus manually with the OVF basically takes this system out of the game as far as I am concerned.
Henry M. Hertz: it´s the first version from canon.
i don´t realy need another compact yet.
so im happy to wait for the mark2 or mark 3 version. :)
im sure canon will put a faster lens in and a better AF.
then the G series will be a perfect camera for people who don´t want a interchangeable lens system. the build quality is great.
now canon only has to anounce the CSC system in august or photokina.
seems at april 16 we will see the canon 4K video camera.
and then ...maybe.... at photokina canon will announce the 30+ MP camera that will come 2013.
@Gesture
Recent cameras with fast, small, and cheap lenses are heavily dependent of software corrections. On one hand, why not? On the other, it takes the fun out of the hobby somehow.
ybizzle: Unless you need the zoom, there are other choices out there like the Fuji X100, Sigma DP1m or DP2m (when released), and a host of m4/3 cams if you prefer the small body design.
It's a crowded market, but the exact combination of features in the G1-X is so far unique, so if you want those features in that combination, the camera is attractive. Especially once the price settles.
It's not for me, but for the "must have big zoom range, big sensor in small camera" crowd it seems competitive.