lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Has anyone else read the reviews of the new Pentax Full frame K-1 camera. And has anyone one the UHH been in the position to actually handle one? Seems there are a few units out there for reviewers to actually try. Sounds like the camera goes on sale in April.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

The price seems too good, $1,700 to 1,800.

Pentax K-1 Full Frame, first looks (for me anyway), looks good and interesting…

http://petapixel.com/2016/02/17/pentax-k-1-features-not-found-full-frame-dslr/

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentax-k-1

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Sounds like a nice camera. Not for me, but it's got some great specs. It'll be interesting to see some actual users reviews of it.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

But it looks like it has a mirror!?!?
Wassup widat!!! :lol:
SS

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Yes, it does have a mirror. Pentax did have a mirrorless, APS-C a few years back but almost immediately discontinued it in the USA, though it was available a while longer in Japan. Not sure what the problem was as owners seemed to like it. Used new and old lenses alike. If Pentax puts out a Mirrorless FF I'll want one of those too.

Gobuster Loc: South Florida

It has a mighty impressive specification and seems reasonably priced. Should be a winner. My only concern will be lens availability. I understand it will be able to use crop lenses and older FF manual focus lenses, but it seems it will be a while before they have a good selection of FF autofocus glass. I'll be watching this one.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Any F or FA or FA D lens should be fully AF and FF, to say nothing of the many other older "film" K, M, A, F series lenses. My understanding is that some DA* lenses will just cover FF as well. Though the sadly one DA* lens, Pentax-DA* 16-50mm f/2.8 does not.

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

In reading the DPR preview one thing that caught my attention was the sensor design is different than the traditional Bayer sensors. Each pixel records all three colors, apparently similar in that respect to the Sigma sensor in it's DSLR. My sole use for this camera would be landscapes and appears likely it will be superb for this use. DPR specifically mentioned it's potential for landscape photography was very high. It's features combined with the low (at least in comparison to other FF cameras on the market) price puts one on my wish list, at least if further reviews are as favorable.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

Nice! For precision work they even have the "film plane" marked on it!

Gobuster Loc: South Florida

Thanks for this info, indeed there are plenty of lenses out there and at reasonable prices too. With the price of the K1 at $1,799, it goes to show what a premium Nikon and Canon charge for their FF equivalents. It is likely that the cost to build a K1 is similar to the D810 or 5D Mk III, yet it lists for over $1,000 less! Seems like Ricoh/Pentax does not soak USA customers with a premium and sells the camera in the same price range as Nikon and Canon do in Asian markets. I find this appealing and makes me want to support Pentax! BTW, the features of the K1 fit well with my landscape photography bent, so I've pre-ordered one from Adorama. They expect shipment after May 15, 2016. If the reviews turn out bad, I can always cancel, but suspect that this camera is going to be a winner and hard to get for the first few months.

James Slick Loc: Pittsburgh,PA

I just got GAS!

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

It looks like quite a nice camera and will be interesting to see if it puts some pressure on the prices of Canon, Nikon and Sony FF models. It's great to see Pentaxians finally being rewarded for their patience!

Pentax uses Sony sensors, same as Nikon. So those three should have pretty similar IQ potential... and both the Nikon and Sony 36MP FF models have gotten high praise.

Nice to finally see someone putting an articulated LCD screen into a FF model, too.

Pentax isn't interested in mirrorless, but has emphasized weather sealing beyond what others offer and appears to be doing the same on this new model.

It's pretty surprising to see that they are rolling out no less than 12 new full frame lenses too, along with the camera. EDIT: whoops! No, they're not... they are adding two new lenses, to bring the total available full frame-capable they offer to about 12 (still far short of what Canon and Nikon offer). Maybe some of the third party manufacturers will begin to offer some other choices... full frame-capable lenses they are already offering Canon, Nikon and Sony mounts.

Pentax has remained a strong player in the medium format digital market. I wonder if any of those lenses are usable/adaptable for use on the new DSLR? That would be a neat trick.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

Yes.

A closer look at the photos show a crop sensor dial position. That indicates full use for the older asp-c lenses too.

The Adorama video also tells about adapting the mid format lenses on it. I like the way he tells about the beefy feel. It's sure to be as durable a camera as the other models are!

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I believe that's to use their own APS-C lenses on the camera (the same way Nikon accommodates both FX and DX lenses on their FX cameras).

But it's good to hear that the MF lenses will be usable, too. They make some excellent ones and this should encourage Pentax MF digital shooters to consider adding a K-1 to their kit, too.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

True about the manual focus lenses.
I've got the great Pentax SMC-A, 1:1.2 50mm lens that I rarely use now. Looks like it might be used more often.