Pentax KP: Is it the best camera of 2017?

[@videojeroki]

3 years later, this camera is still a great choice. I'm surprised how little the host did not know about Pentax, maybe he did not have internet.

[@pauldomsten8331]

The Pentax K3 II also has a built-in GPS with an astro tracer function as well for $846.95 on Amazon. Pentax has some excellent limited prime lenses as well.

[@JimHarmer]

I guess I need to spend more time with Pentax...

[@pauldomsten8331]

If you are into landscape photography, it's hard to beat Pentax for bang for your buck. Another big plus for Pentax is their latest cameras all have Pixel Shift technology. Don't bother if you are into video or sports as Pentax doesn't seem to focus on the type of photography.

[@gryphongryph]

Difficult to go over 24 MP for an APS-C sensor. All top models from Pentax do pixel shift.

[@JCole78]

The K-3 ii and the K-1 has GPS built in for the Astrotracer mode, and the K-S2 and K-70 are both compatible with the same GPS hotshoe attachment that the KP uses.

[@AffordablePhotography]

I really don't care for You Tube reviewers who do a review without ever having touched the camera that they are reviewing. Who are you kidding? Anybody can read the specs themselves!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@zeljkoplavsic784]

This is not review,it's preview

[@luckyblueduck]

The sensor shift technology you guys are talking about for astrophotography is called 'Astrotracer'. It has been around in Pentax bodies for a few years

[@jfarleyanaheim]

Love my KP, moved up from K5. The Limited Lens are the best! The 20-40 limited on my KP 90 % of time.

[@beauxmedia3560]

is the electronic shutter "silent"?

[@wendyoster7218]

Thank you for the Pentax love. I have a Pentax K3 and it is an awesome camera. Takes great pics and is weather sealed. Only drawback is that it doesn't dominate the market so third party items aren't as available like new Sigma and Tamron lenses.

[@SokolHazizi]

Astrotracer has been around for quite some time now, i have a 2012 k-30 and it has the option. You just need the gps unit mounted on top. Yes Pentax has a lot of features people dont know, but if you do a little research before buying a camera you will surely come their way.

[@nicm1411]

Regarding lenses for apsc, pentax has arguably the widest selection lenses made for apsc crop. Canikon has mostly FF models.

[@StevenBrener]

Check out their limited series of DX lenses. They're real gems.

[@ronniemaclellan6940]

F.Y.I, Pentax have a bigger range of crop sensor lenses than any other manufacturer, and they are good, especially if you like small primes. If its number one thing your interested in, and I agree it is of utmost importance, why not check it out, just a couple of clicks on your computer will take you there. You'll need to get the add on gps if you want the astro tracer function. It was first demonstrated on the K-3 ii which was launched three years ago and as you pointed out in on their more recent K-1. Look out for the K-3 ii replacement, coming out soon.

[@nicm1411]

You've stated you want at least 30 mpx, which you can only get on FF... why bring this up with apsc?

[@baptistepayendessin]

"A little bit low on Mpix ????" Seriously, stop that kind of nonsense. You never print images ? 8 Mpix is enough to print good A3+. I often print 24"/36" with 24 Mpix files with no issues.

[@dunnymonster]

I'm going to guess that you will probably not be able to fire a flash when electronic shutter is used. I say this because every camera I've seen which featured both mechanical and electronic shutters, the flash would only work when mechanical shutter was used and even then only up to the normal sync speed ( you will of course be able to do high speed sync with a suitable compatible flash). All in all the Pentax KP seems nice, however in common with pretty much every Pentax, auto focus and burst speed shooting will be significantly less capable than alternatives from Canon or Nikon.

[@christopherward5065]

It helps to do research and know your subject. These two were making ridiculous statements. They were like two blokes at a pub airing their opinions. A collection of misheard anecdotes doesn’t cut it.

[@TheNachtportier]

Nice to see some excitement about new Pentax camera body! But your research was minimal, if any at all. Good that your discussion partners knew about the Astro Tracer feature to point that out. Kudos to him. Pentax makes the ultimate cameras for landscape photographers, their mid and top range cameras are weather sealed so you need not to worry much about the elements. Some of their top cameras have built in GPS (K-1, K-3 II), so the Astro Tracer feature is right in there. All other Pentax cameras without GPS can be upgraded with the extra GPS-module. One of the top Pentax features you forgot to mention is the in-body-stabilization (Shake Reduction). This makes stabilization with all lenses possible, even all vintage glass you pop on gets it. As a result of this in body SR feature the lenses can be built much smaller. In fact Pentax makes the smallest high quality dSLR prime lenses on the market. Google "Pentax Limited Series". Another great feature you did not mention is about the AA-filter. There is none built in, that is correct. But also incorrect, because Pentax uses a proprietary system to simulate the AA-filter. It is even adjustable at different stages so you can fine tune it to your subject' pattern (if you're shooting fine fabric in studio, for example). This very usable and highly professional feature is unique to Pentax. Having no AA-filter increases sharpness overall but it can be a real PITA if you encounter moiré artifacts. And it happens in real life.

[@rebelcharlie]

The shake reduction feature, yes! I have a legendary 500mm (750mm equivalent on my KS2) lens deigned back in the 70s and sold under several brands, and auto nothing lens. I was shooting surfers handheld with the elbows resting on my knees and you should see how sharp those photos were! Only Pentax and Sony has this feature. And it is great!

[@Mr_DOHC]

24mplx is low? For an APSC camera? Really?

[@oz1dwf]

Dannae worry, Pentax crop lenses works flawlessly. However, the modern AF-lenses don't deliver the high quality that my old Pentax-M lenses can provide. My first SLR-camera was the legendary K-1000, and the loyalty Asahi have shown their early customers, from the analog days, is not forsaken, thank You Pentax. The programming of the green button allows full functionality of all the good old analog lenses. Today I operate the K-500 and K-x. They perform very well. Next move may be selling the K-x and buy a K-p. That 's a major step up, but don't underestemate the older ones, they still delivers quality images that fully honors my expectations of a quality product from Asahi Pentax.

[@michael.hiran-ph]

If you want to stay portable and light, their Limited series lenses are amazingly small. The DA15 f4 handles direct sun amazingly well (even better if you get the HD DA15 as it has the latest coatings). The DA*55 f1.4 is a fantastic portrait lens as is the FA77 f1.8. The Sigma 18-35 f1.8 would probably need the larger grip on the KP. The DA*50-135 f2.8 (since this cam is aps-c, that's the fov of a 70-200 on FF) has really good optical quality and you could shoot with that lens in a torrential downpour since it's WR is so good. Their DFA100 f2.8 Macro WR is a stellar lens also though the DFA50 f2.8 macro is probably their sharpest. A guy on Luminous Landscape was saying a few years back that the DA35 f2.8 macro was one of the best lenses around. And the FA31 f1.8 is known as a Pentax jewel in the K-mount crown. If you want affordable an good weather resistant lenses, try the DA18-135 ($400 street) or my preference, the DA16-85 ($600). The DA20-40 Limited is a great WR lens with image quality and construction to earn the Limited badge. There's a lot more lenses like all the Takumars, Voigtlanders, 50 f1.2's, Helios that work and meter fine on Pentax cameras AND they are all 5-axis stabilized on a Pentax KP. Oh yeah, don't forget about the DA10-17 Fisheye - great color, sharpness, and dare I say utility for a fisheye. At 17, most of the fishiness is gone, so it's a solid wide angle all rounder.

[@happyeverydayeverydayokay3407]

what's wrong with sony sensor? majority of cam manufacturer uses sony sensor.

[@JimHarmer]

Good point. We did talk about that in the video. All I was meaning is that it's not a reason to move to a new camera systems to use this sensor, because since it's sony, it'll almost certainly pop up in other cameras as well. It's just a reason not to switch more than it is a "negative."

[@fingling8]

I agree with the commenter below who is pleased that Pentax gets some love here, but that you are so unprepared ... didn't know about Astro-Tracer/pixel-shift, didn't know the flash synch speed, don't seem to know much about electronic shutter (and nor do I ... but I'm not hosting a KZbin review site), seem unaware of the renown of Pentax glass. But again, you do seem eager and nice and the enthusiasm is great. Just maybe prepare a bit better ... thanks for the vid all the same.

[@li-chungchih7494]

Correction. Not the same screen as Pentax K1.

[@matsbjalkholm9091]

Astrotracer has been in pentax cameras for years, their aps-c lens lineup is probably one of the best (Fuji is no 1), 24mp is top in aps-c and pretty much all of them are sony sensors. Please do your homework before the review!

[@stevenjohnson4283]

You guys don't know too much about Pentax. Pentax stuck with crop sensor, and developed lenses around crop sensor, much like Olympus and Panasonic did with micro 4/3rds. Fuji came a long and basically copied a lot of what Pentax did, but lept ahead with better focusing and 4K in the X-T2. I use both Pentax and Fuji and Pentax is still much better than Fuji IMO.

[@Wokegooglers]

the K1 and K70 both have astro shift

[@MrPetebuster1]

considering its only February, bit of a silly question

[@nicm1411]

Pentax has had astro tracking for a number of iterations, since K5 mode.. You've can't do 30 seconds though.

[@DrawsACircle]

I've done 1min+ on my K-70, it depends on the lens you use. 10-15sec using my plm 55-300, 1min+ using an M28 lens.

[@royjenkins2293]

I Don't see how it is much better then the K70.

[@lboymusic]

No 4k??video!?!?!?!

[@JimHarmer]

I know! Isn't that kinda crazy? Even my iPhone has been able to do that for years.

[@Orion795]

Nice to see people notice Pentax, but man you should do your homework first.

[@studio96vienna64]

iso 768 trillions, woww, but looks like van gogh modus.

[@bjaminphoto]

Astro-tracer guys, come on now. And weather sealed can't forget that. And all their lenses work as well. Anyone who looked at the K1, knows the KP screen is very different. Sensor is one part, lenses are another. Pentax has never been a video company. WEATHER SEALED!!! You don't know the crop line...no big deal when you review a camera, how hard is it to google the lenses? Come on. They don't release that many lenses. Get a Pentax guy on the call to bring in some insight next time.

[@StaffViet2009]

KP has very bad grip........my choice best crop dslr for me go to K70

[@dadautube]

begin rant - attention mostly young digital photographers with little or no film photography background experience born into the digital age and obsessed with the Pixel Race thing PLEASE! grow up and face the truth: the APS-C size sensor and similar ones CANNOT yield noise-free (or actually little-noise) images above 8MP and they will probably never will unless some kind of a "miracle" happens in the digital imaging industry! (very unlikely!) at its highest (but not best) the average APS-C size sensor is topped at 12MP and that's about it! by the same token, Full Frame is best at 16MP ... or 20MP at its topmost ... Medium Format has also failed to give really good results at resolutions higher than 40MP, with 60 or 80MP being the tolerable range to go somewhat higher in pixel count but not giving the best quality image necessarily ... (that's one major reason why one of best MF digital cameras by Hasselblad comes with a 50MP sensor but uses the pixel shift trick in order to raise the resolution up to 200MP without having to jam pack more pixels in the same area as lower pixel count sensors so as to get a reasonably sharp image albeit still with a lot of restrictions!) film suffers from similar restrictions too! the only way to have better fog-free / fine grain higher image quality is to apply the same emulsion (preferably a very low-ISO one!) on a larger base and go medium or large format - PERIOD! - end rant

[@StaffViet2009]

what the hell are you talking? sensor technology is getting better

[@videojeroki]

This man is condescending and ignorant at some point... Sad