How the Pentax K-01’s crappy video quality made me a better videographer

[@BCPaulVideoProd]

Honestly, the whole experiment just left me more impressed with Jordan's skills than the already high opinion I had of him.

[@tugatomskanimation6370]

Now that the new Pentax K-3 III has been released, you have the opportunity to shoot video with it and assess how much Pentax video has improved. 😃

[@punkrachmaninoff]

Truth.

[@shreddz]

Absolutely this!!

[@thatjordandrake]

We won't be directly comparing the K-3 Mark III to the K-01, but this experience will be fresh in my mind to remind me of how far they've come.

[@coolcat23]

Not going to happen.

[@junxia8119]

@@thatjordandrake or how little they’ve done...

[@paulbourdin5477]

Very well done Jordan, that is a proof that talent , knowledge and wisdom are way more important than the gear for anything!!!

[@ufukkiblat]

People are always just complimenting the camera but forgot that the very important thing is the person behind it. This proves that any talented person can do anything with any tools.

[@McFartyPants]

This is absolutely the #1 thing. I dont do video but especially in photography composition is everything

[@CallMeChato]

Yes, crappy audio is worse than crappy video. This was a great summary.

[@shaunw.1704]

I am fairly certain the aperture ring can be used with manual lenses, if the setting "use aperture ring" is turned on. It's worth noting the Pentax K-01 has the same sensor as the Nikon D7000 which was released way back in 2010.

[@hundredfireify]

It's a 2yr old comment but it might help someone to know the trick that I used on my k-01, back in the days: just press the lens unmount button and slightly rotate the lens to disengage the aperture lever from the body. You will be missing aperture infos in the metadata as well as AF though

[@intheblues]

Now we need to see a series of videos shot with the first Kodak digital camera that could also record video! 🤓

[@jeffrydemeyer5433]

The original gameboy had a camera

[@dtibor5903]

🤣

[@heartshapedfilms]

Barbie camera?

[@DVAmarkera]

also -waterproof compacts with optical stabs + 1click-focus -weirdo nikon J5 or Nx-mini -and definitely FF sony RX1-R for !wow magic true picturoooo ohmaaaaah!

[@mbvglider]

Weird to see a KZbinr who's caused me to guitar amps commenting on a channel that's caused me to buy camera gear.

[@EbenPajanconi]

"Image is both blurry and sharp" LOL That's so dang accurate Wtfff.

[@Rafaelinux]

Like every smartphone ever

[@CDNChaoZ]

I have a K-01, and while it's not even a great stills camera, there's just something about it that I love. Maybe because it mildly resembles a children's camera. Sure it was a commercial failure, but I have to give Pentax credit for doing something different.

[@WildBikerBill]

You are not alone...and for those who waited, the year-end blowout prices were unbeatable.

[@sunglint]

I LOVED My K-01, it had very good still image quality in a camera that looked way cool, and I already had a buttload of Pentax glass. I've switched to Sony now, and it had some serious issues, but I took a lot of great photos with it.

[@peteanddrake4242]

getting new batteries to ressurect my K-01 today. Some of the best studio portrait prints I've made come from this camera. As a studio camera, it is GREAT! Slow auto focus, shutter lag....but amazing images.

[@DennisLimCY]

Pentax rocks! It should be the main camera for all videos moving forward.

[@nsnoesuarez]

My Pentax K 01 was my first video camera. I cant afford the expensive brands and this has been my Go-to camera for years until recently I was able to afford a Sony a6600. I'm proud of my K 01 experience in the past.

[@alhOOO2O]

So great to hear the challenges and how you overcame them. Like the opposite of 'a bad workman always blames his tools', people who are great at things overcome the difficulties and I have to admit, I had real difficulty telling which of the videos you weren't using the S1H...which just speaks to how good a workman you are

[@educatetube]

Jordan, creativity is in the content, not the video camera. From this, we learned that stories, composition, lighting, sound and editing are the most important to filming videos. Camera is important but not overly important if the all the above are considered. That is why I still own Sony a5000, Panasonic GH4, Nikon d7000 and as well as high-end gear like Sony a7r3, Fuji XT3, Sony FS700r and Sigma FP. I am constantly challenging myself in using these camera technology to see how I can maximize their capabilities. Every week, I change my video gear for my KZbin, so I can learn the technique rather than depending on the camera; I even challenge myself using LG G8x smartphone to film an episode. The learning part is the fun part. Good job, by the way!

[@cactustweeter2890]

Congratulations on reaching 300K. Way overdue in my opinion.

[@SlideWreckDan]

I've shot client videos with a PENTAX for several years. I learned a lot having to compensate for not having good features or dealing with soft image in general. Had to use it to my advantage like with skin rendering it actually looked great.

[@utai4571]

very true comment about the audio, it's the one thing that'll put me off of everything. That being said, on the low quality video side of things, i might be alone in that regard, but i have a nostalgic feeling about older low quality footage, maybe because i grew up with the webseries culture and local home made tv programs as well, so i love that.

[@abhisheknair2863]

I use a Nikon d610 for video. I face these same issues. But to be honest it makes the whole experience fun. Rather than mindlessly pressing the record button it forces you to be engaged.

[@joelwolski]

Most advice for videographers on YT is, "What new camera you should buy" and the reasons for this are obvious. Helping people get the best results from the gear they have is simultaneously orders of magnitude and infinitely more useful. I have no desire to get into video, and even I appreciated this.

[@LE672AJ]

It was a fun set of videos to watch. The frustration was priceless :) One actual good mark about that camera is the still photos aren’t too shabby. A buddy of mine has one and gets some nice results.

[@thatjordandrake]

I shot some thumbnails with the K-01 and they turned out beautifully. I'll never say a bad word about their still capture image quality.

[@ScottJWaldron]

Great job dealing with the drawbacks of that camera!

[@dancygr]

This is why we love you Jordan, great stuff mate

[@dkirk335]

Nice work! Very impressed what that POS camera could do in your hands. And really got a kick out of over dubbing of Chris’s voice and him arguing with himself. Keep up the great work.

[@davidmuth4571]

OMG I just bought a used one. The reviews I read were pretty positive.

[@Featinwe]

It reminds me of the crappy camera challenge on the former DigitalRev with Kai and Lok. They made pro photographers use super cheap/old digital cameras to be more creative. It was really cool idea.

[@gabewebyt]

Great insight. I was first thinking about this as a lesson to not worry as much about gear -- but then saw all of the gear you had to pull out to make the camera work. So I think the real lesson is that you definitely need something that is good enough for what you do (although you still don't need something that is way beyond what you need to do).

[@StrangelyIronic]

I only shoot stills and even I was sad when the K-01 released. I'm a big Pentax fan, I've collected all of their vintage glass worth having over the years while shooting. I was hoping the K-01 would be like the Z50, a mirrorless compact body WITH an official k mount adapter. That way you could still adapt to everything under the sun. Pentax is known as the donor brand for lenses, the distances between the lens and sensor/film are the largest so you could even adapt a lot of dslrs for Pentax glass. The downside is it means almost nothing will adapt to Pentax :(.

[@leejean1985]

Would love to see you take more chances (when appropriate of course) with the video Jordan! Keep it up!

[@claudecarr]

Maybe on a smartphone screen people can't see the difference on a video shot on the Pentax K-01 vs Panasonic (the screen is very small). But on a 27 inch 4k monitor, the difference pops to the eyes! I'm glad your back with the Panasonic and 4K 😁

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

A close to 10 year old 14Mp APSc sensor, vs a current FF sensor, with a launch price difference of several thousand US dollars,... you bloody well should be able to see the difference nearly 10 years of technology improvements make,.... and it's still an unfair comparison - put the K-01 up against a camera from the same era, say a Canon 7D (still more then double the price) or 550D, and the K-01 suddenly punches well above class.

[@Karmer]

Loved the challenge, and this episode was soooo good!! Thanks so much.

[@widezu69]

As a former Pentax user (I even owned the K-01) I found playing around with the Pentax colour profiles helped eek out a tiny bit more dynamic range. The Muted profile with contrast and saturation turned right down is no LOG but definitely better than the standard profiles.

[@alvinbartolome1239]

Such a class act Mr. Drake.

[@dominiclester3232]

A nice video on video. Well done on finding the positives. I always read the latest DPreview articles on the latest tech and lust after the latest gear. My favourite landscape photographer shoots film and his images are always SO much better! He chooses better light and works seamlessly with ND grads. We can all learn from "negatives". (pun intended)

[@HazaraTechnic]

This man is a video MASTER.

[@Mentos18]

This has been the main reason why I went back to m4/3 after going through namouras FF bodies - I got lazy just pointing the camera at the scene and fixing it in post (photography wise). The more disadvantages camera has, the more entuned you become to the process. That was how I got into conceptual photography when I had my point and shoot - could not get the crisp image, so I learned how to manipulate my images. Could not get that DOF of a FF with my Olympus, so I went into more macro modes. But when I got into FF, the fun went away. Now I have one m4/3 body and panasonic s1 with a kit lens for some landscapes, but when I do go out, Olympus ends up being my main camera looking for some details, finding interesting compositions. I think more people should buy cheaper cameras and use them for couple of years to challenge them self and then buy something more expensive if their hobby becomes their job

[@lorenzogattaldo3764]

It was cool of Jordan to do this, it was interesting.

[@Ildskalli]

*This* is what I was talking about. Excellent video Jordan, thanks!

[@CharlesBorowicz1]

The lighting aspect of this is a good reminder that back in the day you had to light video more because you needed to create the proper dynamic range. Which is a reason you might say it is easier to shoot today. Which was also true about shooting on film. You can get away with lighting it less.

[@chippy511]

You guys make my day every time i watch please just doing what you do best i think even if you never talked photography you would still be the best comedy team since Laurel an d Hardy. The photographic info stuff is A1 thanks a lot guys have a good day 😊

[@aldrin6278]

Sometimes, your gear's limitations can be your greatest teacher..

[@torinsall]

Great assessment and love how you turned it into a learning experience.

[@MrButtons252]

I really enjoyed this challenge. I had a K01 back in 2012 and with the 40mm F2.8 XS lens i could just shove it in my coat pocket. Took it everywhere, very tempted to get another one now just for the nostalgia. Also the videos you shot with it were well above my expectations.

[@sunglint]

You know whats crazy? Put that 40mm XS on a modern Sony. It's an excellent lens!

[@OlintoeRafaelaCicloturismo]

Very nice from you! Thanks...

[@mytravellinfo]

You made it. You are the man

[@SummersSnaps]

I learned on a K-1, I feel Pentax has helped me be a better photographer, moving to another brand and this shit feels easy now :D

[@AnastasTarpanov]

Great thoughts Jordan!

[@chu0nthat]

Nice recap of the Pentax experience

[@sulev111]

K3-III review anytime soon?

[@thatjordandrake]

Hoping for a review sample shortly!

[@JasonFiske]

This was really great. Thank you for doing this. It was educational.

[@elvinlawcc]

Skills are more important than the equipments! Many of us can’t afford the expensive gears! With the good skills and experiences we can get some quality videos. Needs a lot of passion !

[@seantomlinson3320]

I liked the change because it shows me how little I notice true image quality for video. But using other tools to improve your videography sounds just like my perpetual quest to improve my photography.

[@punkrachmaninoff]

If Pentax would only make us a MIRRORLESS K1000 in 2021... 😭📷

[@CDNChaoZ]

That defeats the purpose of making it like a K1000, a SLR.

[@JuanBuhler]

I wished for something like this for years until I realized there are already cameras like that out there. A Fuji X-T1 is super close in feel to my old MX. Yeah it's not full frame but once you get a set of Fuji lenses for it that doesn't matter anymore.

[@ErebosGR]

Ricoh is so deep into their "DSLR is better" marketing bullshit that a mirrorless model is pure fantasy at this point.

[@trym2121]

@@ErebosGR they have GR III

[@punkrachmaninoff]

@@JuanBuhler yeah, but you haven't seen my set of pentax lenses... haha like almost 20 and counting, all Early K or M-Series, with a few A-Series in the mix. I use Fuji and Sony also, but the build quality isn't the same as Pentax. Sorry.

[@vaibhavpisal]

I cannot see difference between pentax k01 and panasonic s1r on youtube. Whenever he showed the footage of k01 "look how terrible it is", I was like, looks perfectly fine to me.

[@veloxime]

Maybe in another video you could explain how to do the split frame seen at 5:07... very curious about this

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

Lock camera on tripod, press record, actor on left. Stop record, move actor to right, press record. On timeline, freeze a wipe between tracks in the middle of the wipe, for the duration of the cut. Make sure actor knows ALL of the lines.

[@mytravellinfo]

awaiting for Pentax K3iii review please

[@eldritchshiner]

LOL I own two of these cameras- only because I collect Pentax stuff- but I never considered trying to get video from them.- sounds super challenging. I did have a lot of fun shooting stills in spite of the 12 bit RAW files, though.

[@xmeda]

It is not crappy camera. It is just old camera by today's standards. But it can still do the job.

[@coolcat23]

No, it is a crappy camera. It never deserved the Pentax name. It was a failed experiment, involving some wanna-be designer. FWIW, the K-01 sensor is really good. It has more dynamic range than many cameras that came after it. Pentax just doesn't care about video and to make multiple videos about this to apparently drag the Pentax name through the mud is just silly.

[@xmeda]

@@coolcat23 Design was awful (I have K20D, K5, K3) but it works as camera that belongs to that era. That was my point. It is ugly, it was a bit overpriced, video and AF are both weak, but it is still usable and it has the same mighty sensor as K5 with all that dynamic range and low noise (for that era).

[@bildkistl]

I love my Pentax K-01!

[@vaidehiarts]

We're really sorry, Jordan. I think it would have been a worthwhile deal if you got the Canon 5D Mark 2 to shoot with instead. But your way of dealing with the limitations was fantastic! Thanks for the follow up, and never go back to K-01 for video again, please :)

[@patrickfitzgerald2861]

I'll have to get out my tired old Canon 60D and see if I'm creatively inspired. Heck, at least it has an external mic jack! 😎

[@fussballgeniesser]

I like how Pentax doesn't even pretend to care about video!

[@somedudeus]

Are you sure you can't set the aperture on manual lenses? I think there is a menu setting called "Use Aperture Ring" that will let you do it on old lenses. At least all the Pentax K mount bodies (K-x, K-5, K-3, K-1) I have used have this.

[@Veptis]

My vote was on the OG BMPCC to see the potential. I shot video with my phone as it did far better close up shots then the lenses I had with me and ended up using the phone more. Only the audio sucked.

[@DD-1971]

You are right, the pictures are definitely bad...but they have a vintage look that is appealing.

[@kangsterizer]

i didnt really mind the lower quality video. noticeable yes. but they were cool to watch which is really what matters most

[@grdprojekt]

3:24 "let's get the bad news out of the way, there's a lot of cats" Thanks Chris, I've never been this offended as an ailurophile

[@imabigsandwich1292]

Please do an episode or a series of videos on a ricoh gr2 or gr3, or maybe dvx100. That would be pretty fun.

[@borderlands6606]

We've moved from lo-fi to cinema quality consumer cameras, in a few years. That said, if the content is interesting and the sound is clear, most people stop noticing image quality after a few moments.

[@yulinchu]

I would appreciate it very much if you made a video about the video quality of K-3III

[@kekw6816]

Me and my friend who also has k-01 always thought that k-01 doesn't really have fullHD video, it feels like it's 720p upscale to fullHD :/

[@MBroam]

As a Pentaxian, I will say, they never really seemed to get the video thing. I was half expecting the K-3 3 to not even have a video mode...

[@dracphelan]

So, when are you reviewing the Pentax K3 Mark iii.

[@thatjordandrake]

As soon as we get one! We're talking with Pentax about it right now.

[@coolcat23]

I can summarise the DPReview video review for you already: Jordan will be crying a river that there is no EVF and no flippy screen. Video AF will be terrible because Pentax prioritises photography over video and hence does not use on-sensor PDAF.

[@JohnMFlores]

K-01 rules! Actually, the 16 megapickle sensor is quite nice for stills.

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

You sure it's 16Mp John?, pretty sure it's 14Mp.

[@JohnMFlores]

@@PiDsPagePrototypes Yup, I've got one on the shelf behind me.

[@MrBartolomeo22]

For the 500 000 subscribers challenge, I expect Jordan filming on 8mm Ektachrome.

[@IanInChengdu]

How can I get that Jordan blue eye LUT?

[@ericfak]

eyy! I made a cameo lol but yea obviously modern cams are above and beyond the K01 but for the age it def could be waaayyy worse image quality, but yea def not a first choice lol

[@martographie]

Jordan looking sharp ;)

[@joshblank1]

I had K3ii. Great stills camera but video was horrendous (and no autofocus)

[@gschweiger]

I'm curious to how the K-01 video compared to other cameras from when it was released. Was it bad then?

[@WildBikerBill]

It was second rate. Part of the problem is Pentax didn't use the full 25 Mbps bandwidth of AVCHD, instead using ~20-21 Mbps. So right there they are going to have to throw away some more resolution/detail compared to cameras that used the full bandwidth. Another audio issue Jordan didn't mention is while the camera records PCM audio, it is at 32KHz vs. the video standard 48 KHz sample rate. I think Pentax's focus for video has been trimming the Mbps and resulting file sizes for the consumer market.

[@-szega]

The K-01 footage looks a lot like the image from a "HD security camera" off amazon for 30 $. Probably because it's a low resolution image that was sharpened a lot and the low dynamic range probably plays into the look as well. On those cheap security cams shadows are always completely full of noise, and everything that's bright is just blown out. That shot at Chris from a pole at 0:40 actually looks very convincingly security-camera-ish. Maybe just a little worse quality.

[@Ritalie]

"jellowy artifacts" Lmfao!! And "over dubbing." OMG. This is my favorite episode by far.

[@83442handle]

Plotwtist: This is actually the Pentax K3 Mark III video

[@MrSpartan172]

You can record for the next Milestone With a old slt sistem, those are hot garbacho for video, and the 0.3 stops of light that you lost for being a slt, and if it is apc-c ohh mama...

[@ariesmight6978]

It's Just Bob posted a comment about the Pentax. You Jordan Drake replied that you won't knock it's still image quality. Will their be a video produced. Where the still image quality of the Pentax cameras. Are compared against their competitors?

[@Softrocks]

Love this!

[@thehighermine6496]

We all plan to shoot action movie on K-01.

[@MexinPL]

using Nikon d3300 for video :D I want to upgrade to at least a Canon M50

[@mrlightwriter]

Well, I'm using a Canon 700D with Magic Lantern (it was lauched in 2013). Check some results on youtube - you can also see what's possible with the Canon EOS M; the internals are basically the same.

[@themitheophotography3978]

You should have chris use an old camcorder to take pictures next

[@martysender5539]

Lesson learned. the key to a boffo presentation is CONTENT, not megapixels. the idea, on a Pentax or an Arri is key, not the clarity or tech specs. good job. REVELATION acknowledged.

[@danieldougan269]

For the next challenge, shoot a Wooden Niccolls with an original Olympus OM-D E-M1! I used to own one before upgrading to the Mark II, and the video wasn't as terrible as you might think. You can get 24p out of it with the later firmware, but the quality is still not great.

[@christopherward5065]

It’s a great stills camera.

[@henrikw377]

So "professional quality" actually means using good lighting, meaningful composition and framing,.. Who would've guessed? ;) Jokes aside: great to challenge ourselves like this, it will inevitably make us better and more humble when it comes to the whats and hows of the content we create.

[@108u9]

Jordan putting the pent in Pentax

[@TheOffertonhatter]

I have to admit, I loved my K-01 when I had it. The stills side was excellent, with a great dynamic range. However, I only really did two videos with it, as I am more a stills photographer and not a videographer. One video was a corporate interview with a colleague, and that was fine for the purpose required, the second was for a stage musical for a local society, and again it was fine for what was needed. But overall, great stills camera, very average video camera.

[@lesterway542]

Find a guy who looks at you the way Jordan looks at his pentax k-01 ​​​​

[@slammermx]

So..... when do we see your review on the K3iii?

[@VariTimo]

Everybody keeps forgetting screen size and the incredibly terrible KZbin compression.

[@thebitterfig9903]

No, the K-01 doesn't stack up. But if viewed on a lower-res screen, with those nice Pentax colors, I mean, I can see how folks might not hate it. And I say this as the proud owner of a KP.

[@fmrphoto]

Do the Amazon 4k vlogging camera!

[@harknesswoo3043]

Try the new Pentax K3 iii， see how good it is.