Customer Reviews

Pentax K-x Digital SLR Camera (Single Lens Kit 18 - 55mm)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is my first dslr and was an upgrade from the fantastic Fujifilm s9600. Being particularly interested in sports photography, the continuous shooting speed of 4.7 on this model was the main feature that attracted me. This is considerably faster than one of it's main competitors, the Canon EOS d500.

Still learning my way around the camera, I took it to the Dubai Rugby Sevens tournament last weekend. Lighting conditions ranged from bright sunshine, bright floodlights to low-lit nighttime. Steering away from the automatic exposure setting, I found the camera extremely responsive with very intuitive menus, the most important of which can be easily modified during use with your right hand.

There are many more modes and features on the camera, including HD video which I have not yet played with, but judging by the experience I have had so far I'm sure they will be easily accessible and produce stunning results.

The lenses I used were the kit lenses 18-55 and the 55-300 from the dual lens kit. Auto focus was speedy and accurate.

Having gone through the results on my computer after getting back I could not have been happier with the results.

I had a Nikon FE in the days when we used to boast about how old our cameras were; still got it in fact. I never really took digital photography seriously, but couldn't live in the 21st century without a digital compact. This packed in recently, so I thought it time for me to take the plunge and get a DSLR. Did a lot of research, and this is the one that ticked most of my boxes and was within my price range. It arrived this week and I love it. Had to wait a while because I'd ordered the special edition in red; well, it's more of a dark pink really but I still love it. This is a beautiful camera.

If you're right handed and have hands that are not too large, then one handed operation is a pushover; all of the controls are within reach of your right thumb or forefinger. There are the usual scene and exposure modes, including a sensitivity mode, plus a number of digital filters that can be deployed at the picture taking or editing stage, not to mention the various shooting modes. The screen is big, bright and sharp enough for me. The information screens and menus are not 100% intuitive, so I've spent some time studying the operating manual, and I think it will be a while yet before they become second nature. I suppose this is the price you pay for having a camera with so many creative possibilities. Still don't know why they call it 'entry level'. I chose it because it was the camera I wanted, and not with a view to 'upgrading' in a year or two. Barring accidents it should last forever, and thus earn the designation 'exit level'. It certainly looks and feels as though it will last a long time, though does not boast weatherproofing. (I would have liked weatherproofing, but all of the cameras that have it are both too expensive and too big and heavy. The first manufacturer to realize that there are a large number of us who lug our cameras up mountains, and who would therefore place a high value on a combination of light weight, small size and weatherproofing rather than technical gadgetry will make a killing.) I think the advertised weight of the camera must be for the body only. Body + lens + batteries + strap weigh a total of 836g according to my kitchen scales.

There has been a lot of discussion about the use of AA batteries in a DSLR, and a suggestion that battery life in the K-x is poor. The answer seems to be to use low self discharge batteries such as Sanyo Eneloops. I was pleased to find a set of these bundled with the K-x when it arrived. So far battery life doesn't seem to be as good as that on my old Canon Powershot, but it's too early to pronounce judgement on it yet.

Pictures I have taken so far have been excellent. I can heartily recommend this camera, and would also like to add a word of appreciation for Amazon partner Binoculars UK Ltd for their excellent service. Lastly, if you're looking for a bag for your new DSLR check out my review of the Tamrac 5531, which fits the K-x perfectly. Please regard this as an interim report; I hope to return to it when I've put the camera through its paces in various conditions.

As promised, here is the update. I've had the chance to use the camera in a variety of conditions over the festive season, including taking it to the tops of the Brecon Beacons in deep snow and sub-zero temperatures on New Years Day, and my admiration for it just grows and grows. Had fun using the built in filters, especially colour subtraction and high contrast. The controls and displays are becoming more logical and quick to use. (They are really very logical; it's just me that's a bit slow.) Pictures are great, though noisy at the higher end of the sensitivity scale (as you would expect), and the camera performs particularly well in low light situations, with or without flash. I've also appreciated that fast continuous shooting mode and the exposure bracketing mode. Still haven't taken any movies, except for one just to try out the movie mode. With regard to the batteries, please do not be put off from buying the K-x because of those tales of short battery life. I haven't done an exact count, but must have taken three or four hundred shots including some with flash with one set of Sanyo Eneloops, and they're still going. Still lots more to explore with this camera. I'd give it a couple of extra stars if I could.

Having upgraded from a Pentax Super ME 35mm SLR with a collection of lenses I decided my first DSLR would be Pentax, (or a Samsung - their compatible partners). I couldn't be more pleased the various modes don't take long to learn. I can use all my old Pentax lenses; with the one caveat that the focal length of a 35mm lens is around 1.5 longer due to the physical size of the sensor compared to the exposed film. A benefit for my old 300mm telephoto that now shoots at 450mm. Change one setting in the menus to allow the camera to use non-automatic aperture lenses, (which can be kept left on with no side effects), then simply tell the camera what the 35mm focal length of the lens is and you now have your DSLR using an old lens with full anti-shake!

Now consider most Cashconvertors shops have old lenses from a tenner. And you can shoot HD video onto larger SDHC cards with any lens.

If you upgrade the camera's firmware from the official site you can also unlock the higher 12800 ISO mode for stunning low light photography, as well as allocate the green button next to the shutter to various modes. I opted to assign the Raw function so if I'm framing a shot that will need extra work done to it I can avoid Jpegs noise and use the Raw format with its better colour depth.

Invest in a decent bag though as the Pentax K-x is not as weather proof as the more expensive Pentax DSLRs, and of course put filters on your lenses to avoid scratches happening directly to them. A decent tripod is needed to use the two built in HDR modes.

My only regret is the coloured bodies offered by Pentax are not available in the twin lens kits.

This is my first digital SLR, before this I had a panasonic GF1 and a Canon G9 which were both very good, however I decided to "upgrade" despite the kx being cheaper than the panasonic, I "upgraded" to this one... the main difference it this cameras ability to take pictures which are not only usuable but actually very sharp and clean at high ISO. I think the high ISO photos really are this cameras party trick and even 3200 iso images are very good, imfact when out with friends in a resturant or party for example the 3200 are fine... Anything under 800iso really donr show any noise at all, at least compared with the panasonic which were terrable at 800 and the canon which were only usuable upto 200, due to the tiny sensor...

The Pentax with kit lense produces very good sharp images above f8, anything lower than this are a bit soft. I have sold this lens and bought a sigma 18-200mm which is vastly better, maybe a little more distortion and softer edges but usuable right down to base f3.5. I would recommend you buy the pentax with the 18-55mm lens as its cheaper than the dual kit lens and having bought the dual kit lens (18-55 and 50-200mm) version can tell you both lenses are soft at base f-stop... The 50-200mm lens was also horribly noisey when focusing and pretty slow... I didnt like using it at all, thus I sold it... The Sigma is better...

Apart from the kit lenses the camera really has very minor faults... It burns out slightly in high contrast shots as the emphasis seems to be on shadow detail and not highlight, however simply dropping the exposure a stop can fix this. Mine is constantly set to -.7 to -1. Also the white balance in artificial light is not great, but using raw will help with this... I have read the jpeg and raw quality differ very little. This simply is not true... the raw DNG files can be post edited really rather a lot... I have had jpegs which showed objects as black but with the raws was able to bring back a great deal of detail and colour in these areas... I had the jpeg shadow correct on full...

The battery isnt an issue... lithium batteries last for thousands of pics and the sanyo eneloops last for about 600 baring in mind I use the viewfinder but do review pretty much every image I take on screen... I have no problem with the battery...

All in all this camera is simply fantastic, it has flaws which I have mentioned, but for the price and with a better lens it trully is a joy to use and using raw you always have the feeling any image you take will be usable. I did not feel this way the the Panasonic...

I love this camera and would happily recommend it to any of my friends...!!

I recently bought this camera as an upgrade to my great little Optio. I've tried a number of SLRs and this seems better than many much more expensive cameras that I tried. The low light/high ISO performance is really good and matched the 5/5 that I've seen in some magazine reviews. It is also much lighter than some of the cameras that I tried which is a big plus for me. I think the images from this are some of the best quailty i've seen. Have not seriously tried the HD movie yet but from the bits i've done it's looking good. I think it is a great little camera. Highly recommended.

After steadfastly refusing to pension off my 30 year old Pentax K1000 I finally capitulated and bought the K-x and I am delighted with it. The camera is very easy to use and all my old manual K Mount lenses fit. It uses AA batteries so no expensive replacements, but as is common with digital cameras it eats normal alkaline batteries, so buy a couple of sets of good quality rechargeables such as Duracell Active Charge Rechargeable AA Batteries 2000mAh Pack of 4 HR06-A they are cheap enough and last much longer than alkalines.

Image quality is just superb, the sensor is very low noise which makes taking pictures in low light very easy, it's even good enough for some Astrophotography. The 'Auto Pict' mode makes day to day photography a doddle but for the more adventurous there are all the usual manual modes, fully manual, aperture priority, shutter priority, etc. It's just a shame I can't add a few sample pictures to this review!

Just one down point; to update the camera's firmware the manual recommends the use of the optional mains power supply, this little gem costs over £117!!!! a total rip off, and unfortunately at the moment there is no alternative. It's possible to send the camera to Pentax Service twice to be upgraded and still be in pocket! There is no other reason to have the power supply, the memory card can be installed in your PC so connection vis USB isn't really necessary.

If it wasn't for that I'd have given it 5 stars.

I am a Pentax buff and have several Pentax cameras, including the ist. The Kx is in a class of its own.One review said that it did not have a depth of filed preview, but using the green button, it does! Focussing is quick, exposure is generally accurate. It is a bit heavier than expected but it handles well. Controls are intuitive and quick to use. the only criticism is that the focussing point selection is a bit fiddly and difficult to do quickly. I've printed A3 an print and it was great. The other bonus is that I can use all my old lenses, including a Tamron 500mm T2 fitting mirror lens. The batteries are a great idea. They last well and are easily and are cheaply replaced. More cameras and electronic stuff should follow suit. A great camera! Best buy I have made in a long time.

Nice small camera for those who do not have dustbin lid sized hands.

Having now had the camera for about 2 months I can say that it spanks the Nikon and Canon cameras I have access to in work (both of those are about 18 months old).

You can zoom in to about 110% before any serious pixellation takes place, the quality of the photos are simply breathtaking.

The kit lens is rather good (as kit lenses go) and you should not pine for something more expensive.

The camera is ready to go from the time you switch it on, in less time than you can say "Right, here we go" - even if you say it really really fast.

The colour reproduction is excellent, there is no chromatic abberation I can see, no lens barrelling or pinching even at the extreme ends of the lens.

The ISO settings are rather quite amazing - I compare it against my aging my Fuji S9600 and the two work cameras and there is NO comparison. I can take really nice photos indoors with the built in flash (which I have supplemented with an excellent Metz AF 50) with ISO speeds of 3200 and I am suitably impressed.

Clearly Pentax, who are now owned by Hoya, do not wish to persue the lions share of the market occupied by Canon and Nikon. Thats OK - I personally like to be different and the looks I get when my little Pentax pops out of its bag is worth a kings ransom. Whats even better, are the comments you WILL get when you print your images, when all the other leading names have failed to capture that low light image - you will be king of the castle.

I went to a wedding at the Lazaat in Hull, on December 11th 2010 as a guest and the images I captured are far superior to the "official weddings photographs".

I have been involved in photography since the mid 1970's and this is without doubt one of the most capable units to grace my collection. Amazing ISO range, all usable until you get to 6400, which is rather grainy, but by then you should be using flash.

Eneloop batteries last for about 600 shots and they are not expensive to buy and are rechargable.

My honest opinion is that if you buy another manufacturers model - you have been swayed by nothing more than advertising blurb rather than knowing you have purchased an extremely capable camera.

There is no reasonable argument which would make me switch my K-x for something else.

Obviously there is a lot to be written about this camera but the awards the camera press threw at it should tell you something - and Pentax call this an entry level camera - OH COME ON!! - its way better than that.

Buy it - use it - love it.
(and save £££££s)

Despite reading some negative reviews about the battery life, I decided to ignore those comments and buy this camera with the twin-lens kit. Three weeks and over 2000 shots later the same batteries are still going strong and I'm a very happy bunny!

This camera is excellent, and I would have no hesitation in recommending it to amateurs and semi-pro's alike. There is plenty of intuitive help for the beginner, as well as enough headroom for those of us with a wee bit of experience. The old Pentax K-fit lenses fit too, so even more of a bargain than I thought.

I was looking for a camera to replace my old Nikon FA 35mm SLR camera. After reading many reviews of all of the current digital SLR cameras I could not find a review to say anything bad about this camera. I ordered it from Amazon and it was delivered 2 days later, and was supplied with 4 x Sanyo eneloop rechargeable batteries and charger.The camera is everything I have read about and more. I am very happy with the quality of the photos I have taken to date.
I would recommend this camera to anyone who is looking to purchase a DSLR camer without having to spend an absolute fortune. One of it's plus points is that older Pentax K Mount lenses will fit on this camera. There are absolutely loads of these for sale, so again you do not have to spend a lot of money to put together a good collection of lenses to support this camera.