What is there left to write about the Pentax K1mkii? It is a camera that was released in April 2018 that was an upgrade to the original K1 which debuted two years previous. The internet provides an enormous resource of information pertaining to both products, so writing this article may seem moot. In the fast moving world of camera development, the K1mkii is ancient and from a technical perspective some would argue that the DSLR is a relic from bygone times, ergo it is obsolete.
We made our first contact with the original K1 back in February 2016 thanks to the team at SRS Microsystems in Watford. Our initial commentary can be found here . This was a machine that we really liked, but justification to pre-order one could not be found at that time and, as they say, the rest is history.
My world finally collided with a mkii variant at the end of last year, where it became the first 36x24mm sensor DSLR I owned. Since then it has been sharing duties with the rest of my camera bodies, all but one of them being mirrorless designs.
Why?
I guess the first question that springs to mind is “Why buy one?”.
Anyone reading through the articles on this site will quickly realise that I am someone who does not care much for being at technologies’ sharp end. This is particularly relevant when it come to photo gear. I enjoy the journey taken to create an image irrespective of using the latest shiny new toy. Given the pace technology moves, keeping up with the latest innovations would be a costly exercise and a practice which I am happy to sit on the fence and spectate from.
As I had chosen Pentax as a second system to use alongside my Leica gear, I was very aware of the long product development cycles and when it came to larger sensor bodies, the K1 mkii was the latest offering. Rumours have circulated for years regarding a new body but, at the time of writing, non have yet come to fruition. So what we have is what could be construed as a ‘mature’ product that is still available new and receiving occasional updates. Rumours abound concerning the whole Pentax DSLR system being discontinued and, given the lack of new products and roadmap, it is easy to see why. However a recent survey by parent company Ricoh indicates there may be a future (albeit niche) for the system. Time will tell.
The main reason for wanting a K1 was to allow me to use the awesome DFA* 85mm f1.4 lens at its intended focal length. It is superb on my K3 mkiii but the angle of view is akin to 135mm due to the APSC sensor size. The 85mm lens was purchased following a particularly bad experience with Leica’s SL 75mm APO lens, which remains to this day the most unreliable photographic item I have ever owned. I needed something with a similar focal length to address my short telephoto needs and the 85 cost a fraction of what the Leica was. Up until now has been very reliable. I also own the DFA* 50mm f1.4 as my ‘standard’ lens, so the K1 is the only game in town that allows me to use this with no cropping.
The K1 mkii’s sensor was, of course, state of the art when released. As the megapixel race continues, 36 megapixels seems underwhelming by todays standards. As an owner of cameras ranging from 16 to 47 megapixels, I have found that 24 megapixels is the sweet spot for my purposes. Therefore the K1 mkii occupies the upper echelons of what I own, which seems a bit outdated now 60+ megapixel sensors are standard. But it also remains an excellent sensor that delivers superb low noise results even at higher ISO’s. The dynamic range also remains relevant to my own style of shooting as I like to take time getting my exposures accurate to reduce the amount of post processing. With careful exposure there is a lot that can be recovered from highlights and shadows if necessary.
In Use In my opinion Pentax have always had the edge over other brands regarding their handgrip design. Even back when Ethan owned his original K5, the grip felt good in my hand. At the time I was using a Canon EOS 10D and Olympus E-1. The 10D felt very poorly designed in this regard and I never considered it comfortable - simply more of a hammer to knock nails in.
Pentax’s K3’s and K1’s have maintained a positive feel and comfort factor of their grips, gradually improving them over coming generations and offering ergonomic sculpting that is sadly lacking with my Leica SL2. The K1 is a large camera compared to many mirrorless offerings, so it is important that the grip is comfortable and secure. On this point Pentax have excelled.
It was when I purchased a Pentax K3 mkiii in the early part of 2024 that I realised how much I had missed the optical viewfinder experience. My gradual transition to mirrorless cameras meant saying goodbye to them with a certain amount of regret. Pentax made large gains when developing the new prism for the K3 mkiii. It resulted in an unsurpassed viewing experience that makes composition an absolute pleasure. Due to the K1 mkii being a much older camera it does not take advantage of this. This is not to say that the K1’s viewfinder is poor. Contrary to this; a larger prism required for a larger sensor ensures a big, bright image with an almost 100% field of view. I can only image the amazing experience should Pentax use the same prism technology from the K3 mkiii in a future K1 mkiii.
Something I have dearly missed in the mirrorless revolution is the ability to compose an image without powering the camera up. I very often look at subject matter and decide not to capture it. Having to either wake or power up a mirrorless camera each time I do this becomes a chore and I sometimes find myself not bothering to explore an image’s potential because of this. Not so with a DSLR. The optical finder is always there to look through and a quick twist of the lenses manual focus ring allows me to very quickly see a subject. And of course there is no battery drain when doing this.
Electronic finders have evolved considerably in recent years and I enjoy them immensely especially when shooting night scenes. But I have to admit that my preference lies with optical finders for their ability to deliver a pure and connected experience that their electronic counterparts lack.
Another aspect of DSLR’s that I appreciate is their energy efficiency. For me the biggest downside of mirrorless cameras is power hungriness, driven no doubt by the electronic viewfinder. Some, like my Leica CL, are pretty bad and I usually find myself having to swap batteries during a day’s shooting. If I am shooting away from home for a week or so, constantly having batteries on overnight charge becomes a chore. My Q2 and SL2 are a little better, but still way below what a DSLR is capable of. Battery life with my K1 mkii means I can usually shoot for two to three days before they run down, assuming I am not using GPS or enabling image preview. This is very close to what I get from my K3 mkiii. I could easily shoot for a week on three fully charged batteries without having to use a charger. Ethan often does not take a charger with him for his K3 when travelling, opting to take a couple of spare batteries with him instead. To my knowledge he has never run out of power adopting this approach.
My K1 came with a detachable battery grip. I have yet to use this but it holds a second battery (or a bunch of AA’s) that will double the already excellent battery life. Of course this comes at the expense of additional weight and bulk which are the reasons I do not use it.
What may seem a bit strange to some is that the K1 mkii is the first camera I have ever owned that has a tilting rear screen. But what appears an anathema to some has never been of any concern to me. I very rarely use a rear screen for composition purposes, the exception to this being when I owned Leica’s X1 and X113 cameras which lacked built in finders. Even though I have yet to use the tilt screen on my K1 for anything other than curiosity, I admire the different approach Pentax have taken regarding its engineering. As far as I know, there is nothing else on the market like this, and the sturdy metal rods securing the screen to the chassis feel like they will take much more punishment than other designs. I recall when the original K1 was released, a guy from Pentax swinging the camera around by the screen to demonstrate how robust it was. I admired this demo, but would not like to personally try this with my DFA* 85mm f1.4 lens attached!
For now, the screen remains tucked in to its resting position, although I envisage a time in the coming years when a tilting screen will compensate for knackered knee and back joints.
As I have written in previous articles relating to Pentax DSLR’s, the level of environmental sealing on many of their camera bodies is something some other brands can only aspire to. Over the years, it has been tested in punishing conditions and simply does not fail. If you have not already researched this, a gander on the internet will provide sufficient proof and entertainment. Currently I rarely shoot in conditions requiring this, but it is nice to know that the equipment I am using is rugged enough to stand harsh weather or sandstorms. Used with an equally sealed lens the K1 mkii is a very tough unit.
What’s not to like
OK, so you can tell from the above notes that I like the K1 mkii. Like all cameras there must be something that is not perfect. For me this would be, like other Pentax DSLR models, the sheer amount of buttons and dials protruding from the body. When I initially pick it (or my K3 mkiii) up after using one of my Leica’s, I find it difficult not to press something somewhere that changes a setting. Anyone handling a Leica will understand where I am coming from as all Leica’s take the ‘less is more’ approach when it comes to buttons. So switching to a DSLR is an interesting adjustment, made all the more so if you have sausage fingers like mine.
To some degree this can be forgiven with an ageing model like the K1 mkii, as it was born into the world without a rear touchscreen and back in a time when DSLR’s were king. Therefore without the surfeit of buttons a deep dive into the menu system would be required to change some of the more commonly used settings. But there are several buttons that (to me) are less than useful and would be better served from a menu, allowing for a much tidier external appearance. Also, the presence of the AF/MF switch is a further example of redundancy. As the same switch exists on the more modern lenses, it could be removed and added to the function dial. I think that a future iteration would greatly benefit by a touch screen, allowing many of the buttons to be removed. I guess what I would like to see a much cleaner approach similar to Leica. I am thinking of something similar to the legendary Pentax LX body with an enormous rear touch screen not unlike Leica’s TL models.
I have found the camera’s autofocus to be a bit hit and miss and much like my K3 mkiii, calibration of each lens is critical in reducing focus errors. Unlike my K3 mkiii adjustments have been minimal, but given I often use lenses at their maximum aperture, it has been an important task. Even with correctly calibrated lenses there are situations where the subject is disappointingly out of focus; for example I was on a woodland shoot using the DFA* 85mm lens at open aperture and shooting into the dappled sunlight coming through trees. Focus was confirmed as correct by the camera and looked to be OK through the viewfinder. A review of the results back home revealed that critical focus had not been achieved. Looking at images on the rear screen failed to reveal this as it lacks the necessary resolution. My workaround in situations like this is to adjust focus manually a tiny bit before taking the picture. Thankfully, conditions like this are a rarity and generally the autofocus is accurate. Compared to the blazing speed of many mirrorless cameras, it would win no awards when trying to photograph moving subjects. But for those of us who like to take our time and photograph more sedentary subjects, it is generally fine.
The K1 mkii’s menu structure is very much a product of its time and a world away from the superb layout of the K3 mkiii. Pentax really did their work when re-writing it and finding settings in my K3 mkiii is much easier and more logical than the K1. It is what it is I guess and I am happy to accept that it is something I will have to live with while I use this camera.
Out of all of the cameras I have ever used my K1 mkii’s shutter button is the most sensitive, and there appears to be no way for me to adjust it. Switching from other cameras I use, I always find myself firing the shutter prematurely until I adjust my own approach to my ham-fistedness. Comparing the release to my K3 mkiii, the experience is very different.
Having only used my K1 mkii for under a year it is difficult for me to personally comment on its reliability. Up until now it has been perfect and has not frozen in a similar way to some of my Leica and before that, Olympus bodies. The build quality is second to none and I feel that I could take it into almost any environment and it would not fail. This is typical of most Pentax DSLR’s. My own research has found the K1 series to be very reliable performers that just keep going, so I am optimistic it will simply trundle on for many years.
Given all of the naysayers that constantly pop up on the internet regurgitating the old “Pentax is Doomed” statement, the brand has an extremely dedicated following. It is true that the product development cycle is far longer that other camera manufacturers, but in my opinion this is not a bad thing. Small incremental updates passed off as new releases do not appeal to me, so I am happy to use what I own for several years, reaping the benefits of true innovation that comes with the passing of time.
The fact that Ricoh have recently distributed a survey that asks many questions around a further DSLR suggests that something may be in the pipeline. Operating in an ever decreasing niche, it is encouraging that they are garnering feedback from their user base as to what they would like to see in a future DSLR. Time will tell if this is in the form of an updated K1 or K3 series camera. Or perhaps something a little different - questions asked around a manual focus only body sound interesting…maybe a retro looking model taking advantage of a new super bright prism and finder assembly. We can speculate, but only Ricoh know. Whatever the future holds, the K1 mkii remains a very relevant alternative to a mirrorless solution.