Pentax K-1 Full Frame Hands-On Review

On this video Chris Niccolls from the Camera Store in Canada and photographer (and Pentax fan) Nick Devlin take a look at the Pentax K-1 – the company’s first full frame digital camera.

So, after years of waiting Pentax finally released the K-1 (it actually happened in February 2016, but let’s not be too picky). On paper the K1 is very impressive – the K1 has a similar sensor to the 36MP Nikon D810 (but noise levels seems to be just a bit better), very well sealed with freezeproof to 14°F (-10°C), thanks to 87 different seals (possibly better than any other camera in it’s price range (and maybe well above),

We know that some avid pentaxians are probably going to hate us for saying that but from our experience people coming from more common platforms such as Nikon, Sony or even Fuji, Pentax just never felt right (we had a pretty poor experience with an early version K-5 II in Photokina 2012 and the now discontinued Q10 always felt like a joke). In all it seems that Pentax cameras will continue to appeal mostly to Pentax existing users, people who might have old Pentax glass or used Pentax cameras in the past and to be brutally honest – we are not sure if Pentax, as an independent camera manufacturer could even exist today without the support of Ricoh (which seems to be holding on to the Pentax brand more like a nostalgic trophy than a real way of making profits).

Our experience aside – Niccolls and Devlin seem to be very pleased with the camera – especially for landscape photography (although the Pentax 645Z might be an even better option in this case – although much more expensive).

Another big advantage of the K1 is the price – for under $1800 you get a camera which is at least in some respects has the same or even a bit better image quality than a Nikon D810 which currently sells for around a $1000 more.

You can find many more previews and reviews on our Photography review section here on LensVid. You can find many of TheCameraStore videos here on LensVid.

Iddo Genuth

Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.