Pentax Q.... hmmmm...

I attended a local camera show/sale today, and after talking with a Pentax sales rep, and having a good play with a 'Q', was able to buy one, with the 8.5 prime, for $289.00 Cdn.! I'll be trying it out over the weekend, and will try to post some results next week. I have a old Voigtlander Kontur 50mm finder which fits, and looks good on the body, so I will see how it works in practice.
 
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Samples from my new 'Q'

Samples from my new 'Q'

U48596I1353724129.SEQ.0.jpg


Using the Macro mode.

U48596I1353724131.SEQ.0.jpg


Scenic. Note the mist/spray in the centre of the picture over the rapids.

These are unadjusted, but the horse is cropped. I'm impressed with the quality from this small package.
 
Nice photos. Convinced by this thread, I bought a black Q with zoom and prime for around $350. Really looking forward to it - should be fantastic for street photography with a fast prime and deep dof.
 
I was going to start a new thread about the Q since I bought one recently, then I saw this and just post a reply. What can I say? At 800 US$ was ridiculously priced but at 300-something seems a perfect camera to me. I was considering something to bring with me everywhere and the Ricoh was the other contender. I went with the Pentax instead because I like normal lenses more than wide angles and because it was about half the price and now I cannot stop using it. Yep, the sensor is small, battery don't last much, whatever, but having a tiny camera with all the user interface of a DSLR (well, more or less) almost infinite DOF and a pretty decent IQ just made for me. Even the funny on camera flash works much better than I expected. As often happens I suspect that the marketing department is to blame more than the engineers for all the bad reviews when the camera was launched. I plan to order a Leica M to Pentax Q adapter to be able to bring a lens equivalent to a 500mm in my coat pocket.

GLF
 
The Q at $300 something is not a bad buy at all. I was one of those reviewers that was a little less than lukewarm to the camera at $800. The new Q10 is priced at $550 with a zoom. Probably still a little bit on the high side, but from what I'm told by Pentax it's essentially the Q with some processor and firmware tweaks--so if you can still find a Q at a bargain price, snatch one up.
 
kbg32 said:
A digital 110.
Click to expand...

Mmmmh, that's the easy comparison but I would say it is not. The 110 film was not kept flat by anything and that really deteriorated a lot the IQ, plus the body looked, felt and was plastic. The Q feels much sturdier (it is actually made of some aluminum alloy) and despite the small sensor the IQ is not bad at all in real life. I think it was already linked but this is one of the best review I saw of the camera and if you scroll a bit toward the macro pictures you can easily convince yourself that the IQ is far away and much better than that of the 110:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-q/194467-pentax-q-real-world-user-review.html

For example this picture is at the same level or better than a lot of pictures I saw of similarly tiny subjects:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7275/7650422770_f243859eb3_c.jpg

If the marketing department had showed this picture:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/PENTAXQ/ZURPENTAXQ-VERT400.JPG

instead of this one:

http://www.letsgodigital.org/images/artikelen/39/q-mount-pentax.jpg

it would have been much better IMO.

Ah...just a footnote, of course I am not trying to sell anything, the Q is a small camera with a small sensor so don't expect miracles, still it is much better than what you might expect. The reason of this post was to counterbalance the zirillion negative reviews which appeared just after the Q reached the market and just to share the satisfaction feeling I got from the camera (I was myself not completely convinced when i pushed the "Buy it" button!). 🙂

GLF
 
i have a pentax Q, the standard prime and the toy wide.

the little Q would currently be my most used camera. it is nothing to throw it in a pocket and head out the door. it also shoots 1080p at 30 frames a second with a total record time somewhere up around 25 mins.

if Pentax get's an external mic port in there somewhere... it would be damn near perfect!
 
I just picked up a Q with the 8.5 mm (47 equiv) for 149 euros.
A seriously great camera for its size.
User interface is logical.
Controls are ergonomic.
Reasonable AF speed.

At its original price I felt it was expensive (but then you pay for early adoption and the miniaturization). At current prices, the Q is well worth it !
 
I find that the Q shooting at ISO 400 in B&W is strangely similar to Kodak Tri-X. not bad for $200 including the lens. Plus you know what they say: There is no photograph if there is no camera. (or something like that) The Q fits easily in my front pants pocket.
 
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