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SEVEN Reasons to add a Pentax K-01 to your GH2 kit
  • bubbabubba

    I love the Pentax mirrorless K-01, really love it! I also think it works well with the Hacked GH2 (thanks VK) system, each camera system adding to the other.

    Each camera has major strong points...

    The GH2, as hacked, is much better for video, but the GH2 has just a few weaknesses, ...all of which are addressed by the addition of the equally cheap Pentax camera.

    1.) The K-01 is both a good video and a great stills camera. I much prefer the K-01 for stills.

    2.) The K-01 is way better at high iso (video and stills) than the GH2 ...useful when there is no alternative to shooting -in low light: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=41548437&changemode=1 http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=41559032

    3.) The K-01 is a fast panning bandit...no rolling shutter issues -likely due to the K-01's internal IS ...and blazing card write speeds.

    4.) ALL Pentax lenses, all of them, work great on both cameras. Pentax lenses on GH2/K-01: http://whatblogisthis.blogspot.com/

    5.) There are some (selected) shots just better with APS-C size sensors... The IQ can just be so much better!

    6.) The faster, newer rendering engine on the K-01 takes full advantage of fast SDXC UHS-1 cards

    7.) The K-01 is not a Nikon, Canon, or a Sony!

  • 11 Replies sorted by
  • itimjimitimjim

    Nice camera, but I've absolutely no inclination to add one to my GH2 kit. Thankfully I'm not obsessed with sensor size.

  • bubbabubba

    @itimjim

    I guess I am size obsessed, a little. Anyway the little yellow K-01 does look pretty impressive with a Bigma lens (with it's included hood) cranked all the way out to 500mm

  • bubbabubba

    @itimjim

    I meant that in a nice way...

  • brianlucebrianluce

    Skews less than GH2 in ETC mode in handheld action sequences?

  • bubbabubba

    @brianluce I still like my GH2's better for everything VIDEO ...except ULTRA LOW LIGHT & FAST HORIZONTAL PANS !!!

    Of course, the K-01 ain't shabby, either... for an UN-Optimized camera:

    http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-k-01/183733-wedding-speech-new-hq-k-01-video-behind-scenes-video.html

  • punditpundit

    I have a Pentax K5 and about a dozen Pentax lenses including the three FA Limiteds. I have been waiting for Pentax to release a camera with full manual video control. Then when the K-01 was released I was just about to purchase it when I discovered (to my disbelief) the HDMI output was disabled during recording. That along with no articulated LCD killed it for me. I then bought a GH2 instead.

    The Pentax is superior for still photography but the GH2 is far better for video.

    Granted the GH2 has more high ISO noise but with some of the firmware patches the noise is quite fine and not unpleasant.

    The other issue is my Pentax K5 suffers from moire and aliasing far more than the GH2 (almost nil) and I'd be interested to see the if K-01 pans are as smooth as you seem to think. My K5 doesn't pan particularly smoothly and it has the same sensor as the K-01.

    Sorry but I wasn't impressed by the wedding speech video at all. If you own a GH2 I'm a bit surprised you think it's that good. Cute story but pretty average video IQ. Many clipped highlights and to my eyes it has that often typical plastic DSLR video look which is what seperates the GH2 out from the rest of the hybrid bunch.

    If that's the best they could do with a full production crew then it doesn't say very much. Just take a look at many of the firmware patched (and even non patched) GH2 examples on Vimeo etc - IMO chalk and cheese compared to anything I've seen in video IQ dept from to Pentax.

    I hope Pentax will soon bring out a camera with excellent video performance. However I got sick of waiting while they fiddled around with designer 'eye candy' camera releases while not providing real features people have been asking for.

    It's also time for manufacturers to cease the implemention of line skipping sensors. Until that occurs it doesn't matter how many other bells and whistles they include unless moire, aliasing and resolution are improved.

    In the end, that, along with lack of HDMI and that K-01 demo video turned me off the K-01 completely. Have fun with your yellow K-01 but, for me, no thanks.

  • bubbabubba

    @pundit

    I don't think they are quite the "same" sensor... I do know the engine is different, writes faster & takes full advantage of SDXC cards.

    I have only, actually, touched a K-01, though...

  • bubbabubba

    I'm wrong. DXOmark says they are the same sensor, tuned differently...

  • soundgh2soundgh2

    @pundit how do the Ltd Pentax lenses compare to the usual Zeiss, Leica, Nikkor etc for video - stills wise they look stunning?

  • bubbabubba

    Thanks! I'd like to know that, too!

  • punditpundit

    @soundgh2

    http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/sm-02-05-02.shtml

    I have only had my GH2 for a couple of weeks and have not done any serious shooting. The 2:1 crop factor means even the widest of the three (FA31) is now a 62mm lens. However thus far they seem very good. Typically the FA's are sharp, especially from around F2.8 and although the FA43 1.9 is the least sharp of the three wide open it is blisteringly sharp @ F4 with almost a 3D effect.

    The FA Limiteds have the typical Pentax SMC colour rendition (slightly warm and saturated) and good bokeh. The FA31 has very smooth bokeh for a semi wide lens. They have some of what I call the Zeiss 3D 'pop'. Being film era lenses they have aperture rings and although auto-focus have a proper focusing rings and are probably the best manual focusing AF lenses there are.

    I have owned Nikon film era gear (AIS lenses) including 50mm F1.4, 85mm F2 etc. The Nikon lenses were sharp and contrasty (great for B&W) but I always preferred Pentax glass for colour. Pentax's SMC (Super Multi Coated) lenses have always been excellent with a few exceptions.

    I have a friend who has a very large Leica collection and will get a Leica > m4/3rd's adapter so I can try some of his Leica glass. Personally while most Leica glass is very sharp I'm not a big fan of Leica bokeh. It always looks somewhat nervous to my eyes. Strangely enough is Pentax even made some FA43 Limiteds in a Leica mount!

    Personally I think Pentax lenses are really suited video as they are sharp without being clinical, tend to be slightly warm colourwise and generally have pleasant bokeh. My old SMC-A 50mm F1.4 is also performing very well on the GH2.

    Today I'm about to try out my DA15 Limited (APS-C) with the GH2 on a Glidecam HD1000. Of course it will only give me a 30mm equiv FOV on the GH2 and being F4 I won't have much in the way of shallow DOF to play around with. The DA15 also has great colour rendering with excellent contrast and doesn't flare at all even when pointed directly into the sun.

    I'm contemplating getting something around 12mm for the wide end and the Voightlander 25/0.95 and 17.5/0.95 also look rather nice but I'll wait for a while until I get a better feel of what I need.

    Over the next week I'll try and post a few sample clips shot with the FA Limiteds.

    You can see a few still shots taken with all three FA Limteds and a Pentax K7 in my post in the beginners section here...

    http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/2759/beginners-help-me-find-specific-settings-topic#Item_38

    Note: The saturation was never increased in these shots. Also while some of the orange in his scarf looks to be blown out it only appears so in the sRGB profile. The Adobe RGB version is fine.

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