The Pentax K-01 got announced today, but by B&H, not by Pentax. Oops. At first blush, it looks like it could be an alternative to the NEX-7 for photographers wanting a small camera with a big lens selection, but it has two fatal flaws.
APS-C sensor? Check. No mirror? Check? 16 MP? Check? Anti-shake with sensor motion? Check. Eye-level finder? MIA.
So what’s not to like beside the missing eye-level finder? The K-01 will take Pentax K-mount lenses. That’s a good thing if you’ve got a drawer full of them. It’s a good thing for the sensor designer because, with a flange distance of 45.46 mm, it will be hard to get really oblique ray angles. However, it’s a deal killer if you want to use Leica M lenses, which have a flange distance of 27.95 mm. You can’t use Leica screw-mount lenses, since they have a flange distance of 28.8 mm. You won’t be able to use Canon EOS lenses, with their 44 mm flange distance. It’s going to be hard to use Nikon F-mount lenses, since their flange distance is only 1 mm more than the K-mount lenses.
The K-01 may turn out to be a great camera for the market the Pentax product managers were aiming for, but for photographers looking for lens flexibility, it’s a non-starter.
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