Pentax K-01
Announced February 2, 2012
PixelMeter The PixelMeter is our 1–100 aggregate of reviewer scores from trusted publications and creators. Weighted by source tier — not a raw average, and not PetaPixel’s own review.
Reviewer Consensus
Mediocre
The Pentax K-01 provides excellent image quality and full compatibility with existing K-mount lenses, yet its bulky, non-ergonomic design and sluggish autofocus performance hinder its usability. While the camera offers unique styling and a solid build, it struggles to compete with more efficient mirrorless options.
Weighted from 26 reviewer scores
Pros
- Excellent image quality and high ISO performance
- Direct access to a vast library of K-mount lenses
- Sturdy, premium build quality
- Effective in-body sensor-shift image stabilization
- Useful manual focus peaking and creative in-camera features
Cons
- Sluggish, noisy, and unreliable autofocus system
- Bulky, heavy, and non-ergonomic body design
- Flimsy, difficult-to-use rubber port covers
- Lack of an integrated or optional viewfinder
- Slow RAW burst shooting and disruptive operational delays
- Launch price $749 (USD)
- Sensor 16MP CMOS
What the Reviewers Say
All 26 expert reviews, weighted into the PixelMeter score.
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- DPReview 69/100
The Pentax K-01 is a bit of an odd duck. [...] Photo quality is among the best out there, but other cameras offer better AF performance and more compact/usable designs.
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Pentax goes its own way with a mirrorless camera that accepts standard K-mount lenses. [...] Unfortunately, it also necessitates a body that's barely any smaller than a standard SLR.
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As photographers, we should be interested in how our photographs, not our cameras, look and to judge the K-01’s appearance in this test would be purely subjective.
- The Verge 6.5/10
For anyone without a lot of Pentax glass, you should be able to find a better camera for less money.
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The Pentax K-01 has advanced features and excellent noise performance.
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The Pentax K-01 is a bravely different but ultimately flawed entry into the mirrorless compact system camera market.
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The Pentax K-01 is a relatively unique looking compact system camera that has already divided opinion over its bold styling.
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Image quality on the Pentax K-01 is excellent, with the camera yielding sharp, colourful images, with low noise at high sensitivities.
- Digital Trends 6.5/10
We’ll give Pentax K-01 a passing grade — but just barely. Given the right circumstances, it grabs very nice stills.
- CNET 7.4/10
If you’ve got a stable of Pentax lenses — especially good ones that can properly resolve to the sensor — and feel like doing some creative shooting, especially with manual focus, then the K-01 is a great choice.
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It offers up an intriguing mix of visual stimuli that either attacks or pleases the sensors, yet has a decent enough shooting experience to call it enjoyable.
- Photo Review 8.8/10
While the K-01 merits an Editor’s Choice nomination for its imaging performance, the sluggish AF system in the review camera prevents us from recommending it wholeheartedly.
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Again, the K-01 has superb IQ but for me, it loses some ground in design and usability and I am a big fan of usability.
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Image quality is great though, and by far the camera’s strong point.
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I won't recommend this camera to anyone, but if you want to collect something unique, and have a camera that can start conversations even with non-photographers crowd, the Pentax K-01 is definitely it.
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[I]f you love the way it looks or if you’re going to Italy (fashion statement), go for this camera. And to get a full-featured mirrorless camera for that price...that’s not bad.
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Why you’d buy the Pentax: stylising, access to K-mount lenses. Why you wouldn’t: clunky and noisy AF correction; heavy weight; bulky shape; poor high ISO performance.
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I guess all of this just goes to show that not all ideas deserve to see the light of day.
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The Pentax K-01 is a bold new camera from Pentax and is certainly different to anything else made by anyone else - and perhaps that's what Marc Newson and Pentax intended with the design of this new camera.
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This is a fun looking camera and very exciting looking camera that still stands out even today. However, as a shooting machine it was behind the competition even when it came out back in 2012.
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If you're looking for something to deliver really nice photos with the added ability of that full HD video and the external microphone port, the K01 could well be worth checking out.
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The K-01 is so big, there seems little point in forgoing the benefits of the excellent viewfinder and ergonomics of the K-5 for a 180-gram weight saving.
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If I was in the market for a mirrorless camera and I wanted to dare to be different, the Pentax K-01 would be the K-01 for me. I really love this camera, and I cannot stress how underrated Pentax cameras are.
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Judging the PENTAX K-01 solely on its looks would be a shame because the K-01 really does take some awesome photos. If you can get past its bulky design and strange looks, you’ll find a camera that does pretty much everything you want it to do.
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My personal opinion is that if you want to try out this new mirrorless technology and especially if you are a Pentax user with existing K-mount lenses, then I really have to highly recommend this camera.
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It’s a camera that drew me in so strongly with its aesthetics but fell flat on its face when I started using it.
