...the Pentax K-01, second most maligned on the planet !

...the Pentax K-01 has received a fair number of reviews, mostly poor... in the early days they always started with astonishment that Pentax could have intentionally created a product like this...it's ugly, it's boxy, it's too big for a mirrorless, it's too slow, flange depth is too great, it's just too something, it's just crap, and did I mention ugly...and of course, the very LAST sentence of the review said "oh, by the way, the K-01 is capable of exceptional images "

...so, what if we started this review with the last sentence ("exceptional images") and worked from that perspective...what if we presumed the glass was really half-full rather than half-empty...I mean what if your taste buds were so whack-o that you could not tell a good enchilada from a peanut butter sandwich ???

...ok, we've cleared the air...lets begin !

the Pentax K-01 is capable of exceptional images !

 I understand it uses the the 16mp Sony sensor that appears to be the sweet spot for some Nikon's, Sony A57/NEX, Pentax K-5 and others. Need we discuss further that Sony is the weapon of choice for people with the need, for sensors...and oh yeah, the OLY OMD EM5 uses a Sony sensor ...hmmmmm

...but wait, the flange depth is toooo deep, and the only advantage to that is the compatibility with K-mount glass...I mean who would want this camera unless you already have K-mount glass ???... have you seen the availability of K-mount glass ??? it is off- the- chart, and it's great glass ( just check the prices)...you can acquire this stuff as primes, zooms, pancakes, full frame or aps-c configurations, from Pentax, Tamron, Tokina and others, or from YOUR closet...as far as the eye-can -see !!!...forever ! this glass is more immortal than we are...is it conceivable or even possible that a normal human being might like this glass as a first choice for glass (screw the camera, glass is forever)  having never had anything Pentax before ??? ...maybe

...so, great sensor, great glass, but it's ugly and too big...well, its a lot smaller than the SLT a77/65/57's, those are mirrorless and nobody complains about there size...in fact the new a57 uses the larger a65 body because it was a tad too small as the the a55 (does that make sense ? )...the k-01 is larger than the Pano GX-1, that is true, but bottom line, none of these cameras will fit into a tight pair of jeans, with or without a pancake lens...if you do manage to get the cam into your jeans it will leave a serious bulge in your front pocket and I will assure you that it will NOT attract the ladies...

...well, it does not have a hand contour grip, this is like gripping a brick... ...right-o, it does not, but it does have a rubberized wrap over the entire body, making it very tactile...it is not prone to sliding out of the fingers...

...ok, I could go on like this for hours... ...the -01 must then be perfect ???? ...nope, nyada, ninski...it has a few imperfections ! ...the auto focus system is at its best with fast glass and bright sun...so if your taking pix inside a cave or do wedding photography, you had best start with f2.8 or brighter or you may experience searching or slight out of focus sceanrios... I have plenty of F2.8 or faster glass, but if your sitting at f5.6 with the kit zoom shooting dimly lit nudes than your in for a very frustrating experience....did I mention it is also slow at f5.6...it is

...another tipper-ouuu is the new batch of reviews that are just popping up on the Pentax K-30...they are very favorable (well it looks like a dslr and actually has a glass pentaprism) and the very last sentence of the review is usually (the K-30 is exceptional as its' basis is the K-01 which of course creates exceptional images)...wow ! seems we've come full circle...

I shot these images for a recent assignment... exceptional image quality !