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Well, leave it to Pentax to be able to make such a drastic design change that quickly! ;-)
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The forums here are full of gear heads. Almost every comment on the K 01 has to do with a lack of EVF or flippy screen. When I am out and about, I have yet to see a NEX with an EVF. They do make it but I do not see them being used.
What you first thought was amongst the lines of "no wonder it's cheap." Instead of doing your own research at the Pentax website and using your own brain you decided to pass quick judgement on what could have been a simple human mistake.
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The Q is quite photographer centric actually. As for Hoya/Ricoh- Ricoh would have never allowed this camera to go forward if they thought what you are thinking.
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--"With the buttons arranged over such a large camera area, we found key controls difficult to manipulate without large shifts in your hand position. While you can reach both the red and exposure compensation buttons with your hand in the shooting position, neither of them are particularly comfortable, as they are set so far to the rear of the camera plate."
yep...sooo not Pentax
That doesn't mean the K-01 is Ricoh's baby. Ricoh has only had Pentax since October. That's enough time to add a software feature like focus peaking, but not nearly enough time to create and ship a new product like the K-01.
I find the writing a bit dodgy, two examples ;
No it isn't. Think about it.
Just art-student-speak. "negative space" = pointless drivel.
Still, the K-01 with the DA40XS is smaller in every dimension and also lighter than the Fuji X-Pro 1 with the 35mm. The latter of course has a faster lens, but nevertheless I think the bulk of the K-01 is not its main problem, especially when more XS lenses arrive. Its main problem is that it lacks a really usable viewfinder. The X Pro 1 with its hybrid viewfinder is in a different price league and made for a completely different user group, so I'm not saying dropping an EVF is wrong for the K-01's target user group. I'm rather thinking that they should have made a tilting LCD screen to make the ergonomics good for that user group.
Lots and lots of speculation here. If Ricoh thought it was a bad idea, they wouldn't have released the camera.
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See "sunk cost". By the time Ricoh was involved, most of the development money would have been spent.
I found it too 'boxy'. That is despite the fact that I am very comfortable with the K-5 which is a bit bigger in every way. But without the K-5's deep grip, the tips of my fingers seemed to be exerting more force than I am used to. Anyway, I didn't enjoy holding it, whereas I find the K-5 fits me like a glove.
