Pentax MX-1

With all the recent releases/announcements, I am finding it difficult to be excited about a 1/1.7" sensor, to be honest. And I am a Ricoh fan.
 
I agree about the sensor. The Fuji X10 has been out for a year now, for me to be interested, a 2/3" sensor is the minimum... and of course an 1" or larger would be better. In fact, I think what would be a real game changer is if Sony or someone else took the 1" sensor that Sony uses in the RX100, and couples it with a f/2.0 or faster fixed F.L. lens that was the equivalent of a 35mm-50mm and then kept the price at about $500 (also give me a big bright viewfinder!). All of these things should be easy with a fixed focus camera... and hitting that price point it would make it hard not to have one as a backup camera.. and it would be great for street shooting too since it could be very small.

--
Bill
 
What, no PC socket? True...but wait, neither X-sync socket is there....Is it a camera with a large sensor for low lite? No, it isn't. What is it about then? Note, it will take extra efforts to attach finger rest on fron for index finger as it's covered by...something, not bare metal/plastic. I'll sit down and read more on what good people find there.
 
lam said:
Precursor to another GRD?
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I personally think that a tiny sensor is only forgivable if the whole package is as well designed as the GRD. :)

This one seems like another mis-calculation on Pentax part. Either that or Pentax has a very solid market base, probably within Japan.
 
Thanks to its beautiful styling and premium materials, the MX-1 develops a stunning patina impressing a history on the camera with each use.
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Read: Scratches easily.

I really, really, really love the way this camera looks. Pentax, in my opinion, made some of the finest-looking small SLRs. But that was decades ago. In recent years, they've been more focused on making cameras in every color of the rainbow and tiny little pocket-sized, pop-art, Asian-market-friendly cameras with no long term real-world niche.

Ricoh partnering with a company that releases cameras like this is like a ship taking on water. Hopefully they keep their names separate lest the Ricoh brand be sullied by Pentax's poor choices.

They might be popular in Asia, but it's ho-hum in my opinion. I'd take an Oly XZ-Series or a PowerShot S-Series or a GRD-Series over this any day.

I do love the way it looks, though. A lot. Internally, it's a flop. :(
 
I love how everyone has an opinion about the performance without even had a chance to see it at the shop desk. The design is...a design, someone likes it someone doesn't, the sensor is...we don't know anything except the size of it as we don't know anything about the lens. Knowing how good the "meaningless cameras complete flops aimed at the Asian market" from these companies work (I am talking Ricoh GRD and Pentax Q) I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be another camera which once you get it you never want to leave at home...

But of course we have to try it in order to know, after all maybe it will be a flop.

GLF
 
Sorry,
I don't see the "MX" as a guiding design here....

I have a Olympus OM-D... and it does resemble an OM4, from which it is designed to look similar.
 
giellaleafapmu said:
I love how everyone has an opinion about the performance without even had a chance to see it at the shop desk. The design is...a design, someone likes it someone doesn't, the sensor is...we don't know anything except the size of it as we don't know anything about the lens. Knowing how good the "meaningless cameras complete flops aimed at the Asian market" from these companies work (I am talking Ricoh GRD and Pentax Q) I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be another camera which once you get it you never want to leave at home...

But of course we have to try it in order to know, after all maybe it will be a flop.

GLF
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I think you're right... Sort of. I don't know that anyone is judging the camera based on performance, but more on speculated performance. It may blow us all away and outperform the RX100 and M9 and Canon 1DX. You never know. But, in a world where camera manufacturers are pushing larger sensors in smaller bodies, it seems that Pentax is treading water.

Maybe they took a standard sensor design from their current lineup to see how this camera would be received. If it works out for them, then maybe we'll see them push a larger sensor version in the fall.

I do agree that we're judging this thing a little prematurely, but I don't think it's unwarranted. Pentax has time and time again given us sub-par compact cameras. I don't dislike their SLRs. I don't own them, but that's because my SLR gear is tied up with Canon (has been for years).

I think they're just after a different market and that market is not professionals and enthusiasts. It seems to nod more to the pop art, Urban Outfitters, cutesy crowd. Not a bad thing, just not for me. Or most of the people on these forums.
 
matthewm said:
I think you're right... Sort of. I don't know that anyone is judging the camera based on performance, but more on speculated performance. It may blow us all away and outperform the RX100 and M9 and Canon 1DX. You never know. But, in a world where camera manufacturers are pushing larger sensors in smaller bodies, it seems that Pentax is treading water.

Maybe they took a standard sensor design from their current lineup to see how this camera would be received. If it works out for them, then maybe we'll see them push a larger sensor version in the fall.

I do agree that we're judging this thing a little prematurely, but I don't think it's unwarranted. Pentax has time and time again given us sub-par compact cameras. I don't dislike their SLRs. I don't own them, but that's because my SLR gear is tied up with Canon (has been for years).

I think they're just after a different market and that market is not professionals and enthusiasts. It seems to nod more to the pop art, Urban Outfitters, cutesy crowd. Not a bad thing, just not for me. Or most of the people on these forums.
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Mmmmh, yes...no, I don't know. Every manifacturer produces a lot of very bad cameras aimed at people who just want a camera to capture their hollydays and so on. I myself had both a very bad Olympus and an incredibly bad Lumix, but this camera doesn't seem to fall into that category. I think it is reasonable to wait for two reasons:

(1.) Pentax has strange designs but usually their good cameras are really good.

(2.) Now they act together with Ricoh which is another very strange company with a completely odd line of cameras ranging from a small sensor fixed 28mm lens design (the GRD), to a fashionable rugged camera (forgot the name) to a completely odd modular system with an obsolete 12 MPx M-mount module and they all are completely strange with old specifications but when you try any of them you just go home with a big smile on your face.

I am not a fan nor an anti-fan of any company, in the end it is completely clear that in the right hands even the worst camera on the market can deliver stunning results, but I think that it is reasonable to wait and see before jumping to conclusions.

Also, I really hope that we are not going to have three Sony sensors and two or three lens configurations in 95% of the cameras in a few years and I like the idea that there is indeed still space for different types of cameras other than Canicon and Nex on the market.

GLF
 
It's pretty - everything else about it is disappointing.

At first glance I hoped the dial on top was a shutter speed dial. No, it's a moronic mode dial. Oh well.
 
Well I've had the chance to actually test the camera a while back with Pentax dev team, and unfortunately all your bashing is right!

The camera does feels very bulky for what you get in term of sensor, because of the swivel screen.

The sensor is not that good, certainly far behind the like of X100 in IQ, noise, etc. The lens on the sample I tested is not very sharp either, but that is a pre-production prototype. So all in all incredibly disappointed, it could have been very good.

As a silver lining however the build quality is very good, the black version handles and feels incredibly solid.
 
I bought one, I loved it. But the lack of a VF is a deal killer for me. Even with the tilting LCD I cannot see what I was shooting in super bright light (common occurrence in Florida). Also the zoom switch sucked. Erratic at times. Sorry I returned it.
 
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