Pentax Q

As a member of the press, every year I photograph the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, always with a big DSLR camera. Day Two of the 2012 conference, I slipped and fell on my Nikon.

Said the rep at the Pentax booth, "You have the perfect back-up camera." He was referring to the $700 Pentax Q - a teensy camera smaller in height and width than an iPhone. I had a new one and brought it along as an emergency second camera. While it was never intended to replace my DSLR, it did the best it could.

So, how was "the smallest, lightest, interchangeable lens camera in the world?" ( A quote from the Pentax guy.)

The Good, the Bad and the So-so

First off, the Pentax Q really looks like a plaything for Suri Cruise - a miniscule baby-doll camera, just like a minikin of what Mommy and Daddy have. Even the manufacturer named two of its five Q lenses a "05 Toy lens telephoto" and a "04 Toy lens wide."

Obviously, it can't do everything the big boys do, especially as it comes with a smaller than usual sensor. (This makes sense, since large sensors require larger camera bodies and larger lenses.) The Pentax Q is not a point-and-shoot as its size implies; and it's not a DSLR as its price suggests; so what is it?

A little bit of both and neither one.

It's a camera you can grow into (or share with a spouse: one a novice, the other knowledgeable.) It can be programmed for automatic picture taking or for flexible sophisticated photography.

The body is sturdy, made of a magnesium alloy. And there are five interchangeable lenses available (albeit at another steep investment), but both assets might upgrade the camera to an ideal versatile pocketable travel companion - whether to a party or to Paris. You won't get either option in a point-and-shoot.

The three inch LCD rear viewing screen is a great size, (but it is not articulated, helpful for minimizing blinding sun reflections). Buying the optional-add-on viewfinder resolves this problem - again at an additional price.

You have lots of those damn Smart Effects to choose from, but no "Effects" are OK by me. I'd rather shoot the best image possible and alter them later in a program like Photoshop. I don't want a serendipitous money-shot to be permanently disfigured by some convoluted distortion or texture.

The pop-up flash is clever and compact but fragile - yet good for avoiding red-eyed portraits.

You can save shots in RAW file. A JPEG-only camera is a deal-breaker for anyone who is remotely semi-serious about enlarging any pictures. Happily, the Q provides the option of the smaller JPEGs (that use less battery power), or the larger RAW files.

To be fair, the Pentax Q's image quality is quite acceptable especially for Internet sized output and small prints. Though when you pit it against the Sony NEX-5N with its APS-C sensor, the differences are evident. Roll the Scope over the textures on the top and you will see a real lack of detail at 100%.

The high definition 1080p video and audio capability, with appropriate outputs for viewing and listening on HDTVs is another fine feature of the Q (available as well with any other price-comparable companions).

Then, there is the issue of megapixels. There are lots of them: 12.4. But the pixels are cramped onto a tiny sensor. Naturally. It's a tiny camera. Admittedly, I am coming from using DSLRs and their 35mm film predecessors, so a large sensor is my celluloid security blanket. But I was stuck with the Q and am grateful for it. I have Pentax to thank for the memories.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a point-and-shoot upgrade, you need to assess your future wants and must-haves. But if you are looking to chuck the weight of those hefty DSLRs, you'll have to decide what to give up. Either way, the Q may be a good option.

But my hesitation to recommend it is twofold, both based on price. First, there are other fine cameras in the $700 price range from which to compare and select. And second, were it to sell for, say $300 OR $400, it would be the "perfect backup camera." But either way, it isn't.

Nonetheless, its value lies in its total package of total tininess.

A much better Pentax representative in this Mirrorless category is the Pentax K-01, which will be reviewed in a later Mirrorless shootout.

Pentax Q Photo Gallery

More about the Pentax Q

Pentax Q spec sheet

Compare the Pentax Q to the Competition