In brief
As swiftly as the leaks about its existence surfaced, Pentax has announced the real deal K-01 interchangeable lens camera (ILC). Sporting a 16.3-megapixel CMOS sensor and a 3-inch, 921,000-dot LCD screen it looks competitive on paper with its ILC brethren. There's full 1080p video recording, as well as an input for an external microphone.
Mentioned in the leaked specifications, the kit lens is a very appealing 40mm f/2.8 pancake, which is the thinnest and lightest available for a camera of its class. The lens mount is able to accept K-mount lenses from Pentax cameras of old, with the added bonus of image stabilisation and dust reduction compatible with any lens mounted on the K-01. It can achieve a burst rate of six frames per second in continuous shooting, and of course can capture RAW and JPEG images.
What is puzzling is the lack of a viewfinder of any sort — there's even an "N/A" written next to viewfinder on the specifications sheet. Looks like we may have to wait a little longer to work that one out. The K-01 is also heavy — 561 grams of heavy — which puts it firmly in the league of entry-level digital SLR territory.
The K-01 will be available in Australia from March at AU$849 with the 40mm lens. All we have to say is: what's going to happen to the poor old Q?
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