After shooting with the K1 now for 2 weeks, I wanted to give a bit of feedback. So far I have used the 15-30, and 100mm Macro.
Positive impressions:
1. The entire layout of the camera to me is a nice change. The controls on the back of the camera and the LCD take a while to get used to, but once you have
them figured out, to me they make sense.
2. LiveView, by far the best DSLR implementation I have used, (Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Phase One). The ability to use Focus Peaking, and it's a very well done
peaking, is a huge advantage. The use of Live View in Low light rivals Canon, (Nikon can't come close IMO due to excessive noise), and the use in daylight
is greatly helped by the ability to move the screen. I would say the Live View makes up for the less than stellar AF.
3. LCD, enough said, great design, I wished years ago that someone else would take up Sony's A99 screen, well this is not that, but it's a good second.
4. Lighting, great to be able to use focus point illumination and show a cropped sensor outline unlike other companies. Button illumination that only the D4s
Nikon has similar designs. The use of this camera at night is a great experience.
5. Sensor stabilization, great idea, and Pentax really has taken it to the next level with the Pixel shift, astrotracker and shifting the sensor as a T/S lens (not
very much but it's still able to move sideways)
6. HDR, yes, you can capture a HDR series in camera as raw, (don't believe that has been allowed before)
7. Battery Life, all day on 1 battery, or at night so far 2.5 hours @ 2' 30" stacking. Great milliamp rating.
8. Pixel Shift, yes, it's real and it does make a huge difference. A plus I have found is that LR does a very good job on the files unless you have really fast
moving subject matter (water). The difference in DR, color, and overall details is very impressive. Impressive enough that you should always try this
option unless conditions are really terrible. It's a bit like 3D, but does let you realize just how much is lost in the Bayer process.
9. GPS, and the astrotracker, enough said, if you want to shoot the Milky way, this is your camera, simple fact. You can either use this solution or stand
there with a external tracking device. The need for a super fast lens, is now gone, F2.8 even 3.2 works great, as you can now track a shot of the Milky
way for 2 minutes, 3 minutes etc. Instead of 17 seconds. I am still getting familiar with this tool and waiting for a good night to really test. You can now
work in a much lower ISO, 800 to 1200/1600 keeping the noise down.
10. Good support for raw in both LR and C1, and C1 seems to work with the pixel shift files, (you need to add some more sharpening) but the colors look
great and so far not seeing a lot of aliasing. Still need to work with moving water in both apps.
11. Shadow push at ISO100 is on par with the D810 at 64, also high ISO seems about the same, really getting harsh past 3200.
12. Pro version of Silkypix is a very competent software and has come a long way from when I last looked at it. Still a bit steep to purchase but it does so
far the best conversion on the pixel shift images especially if there is a bit of movement involved.
A few negatives:
1. The software that Pentax gives you, which appears to be a subset of the silkypix, THROW IT AWAY. What a waste. After all the great features that have
added, I hate to see such a worthless piece of software included with the camera. You might as well make the investment in the Full silkypix software
which is not cheap, but does a great job on the pixel shift images (along with the rest of the raw) and handles moving water much better or other similar
subjects.
2. AF, is hit and miss, and hopefully Pentax might improve this in the future with firmware.
3. Brackeing, in M mode, really can't do this, not sure on the logic behind that. First camera I have used that needs to be in Aperture P to bracket correctly.
4. Highlights (this should be number 1) They will blow and blow fast. Really watch your highlights, as you will get pure white really fast. Coming from the
D810, which has a lot more head room on highlights, I have been burned a few times.
5. Lenses, basically Pentax is a APS-C company, with some new zooms. None of the 3rd party companies, Tamron, Sigma are making their high end lenses
in the K mount. I am guess this is because of sales volumes. The Sigma 35mm Art still scratches the front of the camera. Sigma has made notice they
will fix your lens, but no timelines as to when. However I have learned that the excellent 200 F2.8 and 300 F.4 Pentax DA lenses, work on the K1 with no
issues, in that they will work as a full frame lens (that's at least how I understand it) Lots of old manual focus Pentax lenses out there however and some
of them are very good.
6. Lenses Part 2, no way to mount older Nikon or Canon lenses as the focal flange distance is about the same, and one of those two (Nikon ?) may be too
small an opening anyway. All the Zess ZK's are gone except the 35mm F2 which seems to be all over eBay. But will keep my eyes out of others.
Am I selling all my Nikon, no, but I never expect Nikon to make a camera with such a rich feature set or Canon either. Nikon will still be a great birding/wildlife camera but for landscapes, my new goal would be to use the Pixel shift as often as I can.
User base on this camera is very small, but if you are on the fence it's well worth the investment.
Long term, I have no idea how Ricoh support in the US is for either call in questions or repairs.
Paul C