Pentax K-01, Ugliest Camera Ever

dreilly said:
Of course design and appearance matters. Do you dress up for an interview? Do you shave before a date? Would the Marines be taken as seriously if they walked around with dull swords and old flannel shirts sticking out of their flies?

So I'll state for the record that one of the considerations I have in buying a camera is the design and appearance. I spend a lot of time with this thing in my hand and yes, it's part of my persona like my boots, watch, and favorite wool coat. When I'm on a paying job, I want my appearance and the appearance of my equipment to look serious, professional, and like it was designed by somebody who had an idea or two rolling around in their heads. And yeah, I want it to work well as a tool. They're both essential to a good camera, in my opinion. To say otherwise is to discount the important role of the industrial designer.

If there are any Danes on the forum, I'd love for you to speak up on this matter. In my time in Denmark I rarely saw anything for sale that didn't have some thoughtful design behind it.
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Amen. Aesthetic design and functional design should blend seamlessly into one experience. I want to admire my tools - I want them to be as beautiful as they are effective.

The problem is that there is some sort of weird socially based belief that one must be either good looking or intelligent/functional, and you can't be both at the same time. Bull****. Cameras like the leica M, the Nikon F/Canon 1 and hasselblads are living proof that something can be functional and aesthetically all at once.
 
That 40mm XS lens kills the looks of the camera, IMHO. It's probably the smallest lens ever made, but the camera looks much nicer with a classic lens on it, a 50mm f/1.4 (photoshopped by a nice fellow Pentaxian):

pentax-k01-preview-betterLooking.jpg


That changes it completely, eh? And it seems from the leaked specs that it features a focus peaking function. So good to use with MF lenses!
 
I grew up on Pentax, I was hoping for something really good, but this is a fairly decent size balls up, the pentahump is just there for show with no EVF, and seemingly, not even the option for one. A Pentax K module for the GXR would of made much more sense, then bring out a GXR with integrated EVF, both M and K users would be happy.

The two tone thing is horrible, if they'd stuck with one colour, it might have had some quirky good looks to it, like the Pentax Q, which I can't help being drawn to.
 
The astonishing thing to me about this isn't that it's ugly--though I agree with the majority here that it's a highly unbalanced, unappealing design--but that it doesn't have any kind of viewfinder. The chunkiness is inevitable due to the registration distance, but it would have been quite reasonable to include an EVF. For that matter, there have been beautiful chunky cameras--the DMC-L1 for instance.

I think the MZ period was a design low point for Pentax and it's a shame they're referring to it here. The K-5, on the other hand, is really nice looking--straightforward and compact.

I'm more impressed with what Olympus seems to be doing, taking design cues from the OM-4ti for their new camera, and including an EVF.
 
The top view is interesting ... to say the least! (I'm biting my tongue here!)

K01_S_B_b0%20%5B1600x1200-2%5D.jpg


Gulp ... there appears to be an HDR setting! 😱
 
Rear view: straight surface without rest for a thumb. Just like on $80 digicam.
Thumbwheel, laid into top cover catches attention but how practical it is?

"A K-5 with no mirror at half the price" - so K-5 has damn expensive mirror 😀
 
It looks like something the Lomo crowd would be pushing!

I've defended this thing to this point but I now have to say Pentax have done themselves a huge disservice here! 😱
 
I think On/Off switch is messed up - if they'd put grooved nose towards front, letting it hang over edge it would be one-hand operation (index finger). Now one will need to rest camera on one palm and use another hand to move lever. I doubt it's thumb operable because of dimensions and small grip. Probably I'm wrong...
 
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