Pentax K-01 is a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera announced in February 2012 and discontinued in February 2013. It uses the Pentax K mount.
Overview
The Pentax K-01 is the first interchangeable single-lens mirrorless camera (SL camera) which is compatible with lenses from a typical SLR camera without the use of an adapter. This differs from cameras from other manufacturers such as Nikon's Nikon 1 or Pentax's own Pentax Q, where the manufacturers designed a new lens mount specifically for the new line. It is fitted with a rear 3inch LCD screen hosting a 920,000-dot display.
Lens compatibility
The K-01 is the first and only camera of its class to be able to use lenses from the reflex-version bodies without the use of an adaptor. The camera is compatible with all K-Mount lenses which initially launched by Pentax in 1975. Older lenses without the A designation will only meter properly using stop-down metering. Manual focus lenses will continue to function as manual-focus only.
Image quality
The K-01 features the same sensor as the Pentax K-5 and Nikon D7000 DSLRs, a Sony 16 MP sensor. DxOMark has rated the potential image quality of the K-01 as slightly lower than the K-5 and D7000. However, compared to other MILCs, the Pentax K-01 is rated slightly better than the Sony NEX-5N, and slightly below the Sony NEX-7. DxOMark's Sport (low light ISO) rating placed the K-01 first among all MILCs at the time it was tested.
Design
The camera body was designed by Marc Newson.
Awards
The K-01 was selected as a Product Design winner at the 2012 red dot design awards, and for a Gold award at the German Design Award 2013.
Variants
The Pentax K-01 was released in four body colour combinations: black body with silver top and black grips, black body with silver top and yellow grips, silver body with black top (Europe only) and white body with black top and black grips. A blue and white version was released in July 2013.
References
External links
Official website