The Pentax Q

Fun in the palm of your hand

Said to be the smallest interchangeable lens camera, the Pentax Q sure is big on fun
by June Yang
Updated 05:15 PM Oct 11, 2011



When you think about interchangeable lens cameras, you might imagine heavy, bulky cameras the approximate size of a fridge. Myriad compact cameras have gone a long way to smashing those perceptions, but this new contender from Pentax is doing the most damage yet.

The Pentax Q, with businesslike stylings on a body that fits in the palm of your hand, is guaranteed to turn heads. Less than 10cm long, 6cm high and 3cm thick, it is one of the smallest interchangeable lens cameras on the market.

It comes with a specialised 1/2.3 inch backlit CMOS sensor that shoots 12.4 megapixels and stores them in JPEG or RAW format, and ships with a standard prime lens with a super-wide aperture of f1.9 and focal length 8mm (which is the 35mm equivalent of a 40mm lens).

A variety of other lenses such as zoom lenses, fisheye lenses and "toy camera" lenses have been announced, but no details on the availability have been released. Hardware highlights include a pop-up flash and a hotshoe attachment for mounting a electronic viewfinder.

The camera has multiple shooting modes. Yes, it has all the bog-standard ones: Full auto, scene, priority and full manual. But what will get people talking are the special effects modes.

The effects were honestly my favourite part about shooting with this camera. A customisable quick-access dial at the front of the camera switches between effects quickly. You get filters that mimic watercolours, Lomography camera lenses, and so on. There's even a cross-processing filter that slaps random colour palettes on every photo you shoot. Gimmicky? Perhaps. But I bet the Instagram crowd will love it.

Yet the camera isn't perfect. Compromises have clearly been made to achieve its Lilliputian dimensions. The sensor shoots pictures of decent quality, but there are DSLRs that shoot better pictures for the same price point. The autofocus is temperamental, which may not bother point-and-shoot-ers but sits ill on a camera that also shoots in RAW and comes with a bokeh control setting. If you know what those terms mean, then the autofocus failing will definitely be a bugbear.

To sum up, the Pentax Q is a small, fun camera, but if serious photography is what you're after, you might be better off with the ones that weigh a tonne. It retails for S$999 with the standard lens, and is available in black and white.

Source: www.todayonline.com