And here it is the first picture of the K-01!!! That new 40mm is incredibly tiny!
And here another one:
via Clubsnap (“fengwei007”) and Xitek. Thanks Luis! Click on pictures to enlarge the images:
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165 Responses
The lens probably protudes into the body. Not a bad idea, I’d say. You can still use K-mount lenses, or you can buy protuding lenses for this camera and stay on the smaller side.
This is a GREAT camera if you don’t want people to smile at you as you’re taking pictures… another plus, no one will want to steal it.
I also thought the same before but no, its just like a normal lens.
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/pentax/1039690-pentax-k-01-smc-pentax-da-40mmf2-8-xs-official-embargo-date-2-2-2012-a.html
Aieeeee! The bright yellow version! 😮
Man, to me that’s not an aesthetically pleasing camera at all… 🙁
aleeeeee pentax will reborn!!!
@ chris..you take pictures WITH it, not OF it…. at least you would if you were a photographer..
let’s see… sensor from the k-5..
dedicated video button….
looks weather sealed…
winner if you ask me..I’ll buy one!
two if it can record two hours of video straight..
“@ chris..you take pictures WITH it, not OF it…. at least you would if you were a photographer..”
There’s little point in being a photographer if you don’t have a developed sense of what you find aesthetically pleasing and act on that basis! 🙂
ufff.. what a brute 😀
very bold design. 🙂 i like designer’s vision. It remind me of the london olympics logo. It was not popular at beginning, now people seems to love it.
The design of k-1 got that kind of impact, over time, hopefully people will love it.
Who are these “people” that like the London 2012 logo, and can I eradicate them from the planet? ;D
Seriously though, I have yet to meet a person who actually likes that thing.
I haven’t met anyone who says they like the logo either. One trouble is that once someone’s mentioned the ‘Lisa Simpson’ thing it’s difficult to take it seriously! 🙂
I like it and will buy one if it includes an EVF.
ugliest thing. this will never be a success. what did they smoke fgs?
OMG, how can a camera possibly be that ugly???
And how can people release mirrorless camera with the same registry distance as a SLR? This is nonsense, why didn’t they create a new smaller mount with an adapter to enjoy old SLR lenses and new smaller ones?
I guess they are competing with Sigma for the worst camera fail ever.
kill it!! kill it with fire!
It finally looks like the russian forum drawing, not like the Photo Rumors sketch.
The 40mm lens is really tiny and seems to be compatible with the DSLR K-mount bodies:
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/pentax/1039690-pentax-k-01-smc-pentax-da-40mmf2-8-xs-official-embargo-date-2-2-2012-a.html#post7705465
Dear God!! The beast has returned. Run for your lives!
Looks very different. Good job pentax! But why no VFinder??
LOL.. and the winner of the most ugliest mirrorless camera is? 😀
Actually, I think it’s a tie with the Pentax Q.
well, fortunately you can hide your pentax Q in your pocket.. but with this one Quasimodo I would not go out from my house 😀
goood pentax will reborn and sink that sonysss
With that look it better be weather sealed because people will assume it is. And for the same reason it better be shockproof as well.
It obviosly is not for everyone but it just might find a market anyway. A bit refreshing with a camera that is not even trying to be retro. A rarity these days.
Wathever else you might say; it is different as promised.
What a letdown. 🙁
That thing looks really ugly. I dont get the point. Why will I buy this camera over the K-5 if it is exactly the same?
Brilliant idea.
Horrid execution.
Normally I say that function rules form, but this is TOO UGLY.
And, why no EVF when there is a hump ?
Pentax Q, and now this !
@Dan.
“A bit refreshing with a camera that is not even trying to be retro. A rarity these days.”
It is not cool 50’s or 60’s retro. I think it looks like 90’s retro. Like a cheap chinese plastic toy with faux metal trim here and there.
+1
I used to own a Pentax MX in the early 80’s, it was such a beauty. K-01 by comparison is so ugly. Pentax has lost its touch. What a waste…
Damn … I mean damn boy that’s one hell of an ugly camera. it has failure written all over it. I have nothing else to say … Damn …
Buy a pink Nikon S30 if looks matter. 🙂 I’d rather be interested in the actual image quality and operability.
It’s gonna be cheap, cheap, cheap
and it will take great pictures.
Seriously – this is just a stop gap measure
until they figure out a new mount and how to compress
down to the size Sony, Panasonic and Olympus can achieve.
It’s so ugly that it’s beautiful.
Wow, it actually looks quite good. Hopefully more manufacturers will start replacing their entry level dslrs with mirrorless bodies like this!
Chop off the pentaprism on a K-5 and you have a mirrorless! Quick and dirty work by Pentax….. I will NOT buy one of those.
Yeurgh!
Sorry, I mean, bleargh!
Wait no, I mean, it’s… it’s, ummmm… nice?
D:
Yeah, a famous designer… ugly.
I still don’t get the point of making a mirrorless, K-r sized camera.
You sacrifice OVF and PDAF for what?
Maybe…to replace K-r?
Man o Man this camera got beat with the ugly stick. What were they thinking?!? I wonder if Pentax got the designs and were just silent but kept them to save face.
It’s really ugly.
I guess I’d first have to ask what this world class designer is famous for designing … obviously not cameras. Refrigerators maybe?
I don’t get the logic of removing the mirror box and leaving it empty. No size or volume savings by this move. They could have designed it for a small body/new flange and provided an adapter that would work with existing lenses. Perhaps this is Ricoh influence, I don’t get the logic of their GXR cameras either.
exactly my thoughts. Strange enough, people seem to hate adapters. That the pentax solution is nothing but an internal adapter people don’t realize…
No size saving? Didn’t you see there is no pentamirror hump at the top of the camera? That’s a size saving to me.
It also reduces weight, especially compared to camera with pentaprism.
Marc Newson, what have you done?!?
As a proud Australian who steals Marc Newson eating and drinking implements from Qantas aeroplanes and lobbies, this is unacceptable. Starck could have done better!
And whats the price? Any rumors about that?
I will boycott Pentax until they drop this designer altogether. End of story.
I think the design is not that bad. I like it that they dare to make a special design! They also understand we want small quality lenses. Go Pentax! Curious to see all the details of this camera 🙂
And who is most harmed by the boycott claimed above?
(Sorry, this seems to have appeared as a reply to the wrong post.)
Looking at how the lens is constructed, I think they have missed an opportunity here.
What stopped them from making the lens F1.8, or F1.4, or F1.2 ?
F1.8 would have been a little bit bigger, and probably more expensive, but it would also have made a much more desirable lens.
And F1.4 or F1.2 would have been enough reason for some photogs to get the camera, warts and all.
Size, size and size. And price, but mostly size. You probably physically couldn’t make a pancake this thin with a faster aperture. There are faster pancake lenses than this, even from Pentax, but none are this thin and small.
Pentax lives in a vacuum! Hello! It’s cute, yes. The lens is cool, but 61mm??? Huh? And the HUGE Pentax ad on the strap. What the heck! The first thing I’d do with that is sell it on eBay!
Fuji is the only company, IMHO building cameras for serious photographers, Period!
It’s so bad, that’s it’s actually good. Yeah, refreshing. Very 80s retro styling. I like it. You’ll have a conversation starter! I’m serious, I like it. But to the point, this is the way to go. Chop off the mirror box. I would like the price to be nice, competitive with Sony NEX. Pentax has designed many great lenses. That is one small lens!
It’s the Ricoh GXR brother’s ! But faster and with better IQ.
I like it ! Totaly unusual but it looks like a nice tool for photography.
Unfortunately, there is no viewfinder, i’ll never buy one.
At least, you can be sure than the image quality will be top notch(like a k5), and it should be the first consideration for a real photographer, not how the camera looks.
keep the aluminum knobs, keep the black grips, paint the rest metallic copper or gold and watch the muther sell like crazy!
Steam Punk K-01 Rules!!!!
woo-hoo!
I expected much worse from this designer. It’s not the most beautiful camera in history but it’s not an ugly camera at all, and anyway, it looks far better than any dslr ever produced.
Better looking than K5 ?
I think it doesn’t look that bad, kind of form needs to get used to. If it takes great pictures like K5, why not? But no VF!?…Pentax, what are you doing?
Honestly I think it’s all about price.
If they recycled the K5 sensor, with no mirror, no viewfinder etc, I would expect this would cost far LESS than a K5.
And if this costs only 500 euro and gives the really high quality of the K5, it would be a real deal!
But of course if it does cost 1000 euro.. I’d buy a K5 for 800 euro (weather sealing, optical viewfinder) and not this ugly mirrorless.
HOT? I wouldn’t touch that with a ten foot pole. Ugliest camera i’ve seen in a long time.
Its so ugly, that its beaut… No, its ugly.
It stays ugly and I wouldn’t touch it.
If there is NO EVF, than why the viewfinder hump ???
If it makes the models that I shoot with this camera laugh, it will be a good invest. But if they copy the look of that camera on their face, the images will be trash…
unattractive camera design….
Why would anybody bitching about how the look of the cameras? Are you taking pictures with it or you’re dating it?
It’s all about IQ, handling and ergonomic design, and price..well ofcourse, VFinder :/
It’s not bitching, it’s an opinion. Pentax went out of their way to market the designer they hired for this thing, so I I’d say it’s pretty fair to offer one’s opinion on the results.
There’s always some smarta$$ who says exactly what you’ve said. Get off your high horse and take a chill pill. As soon as the hands-on results of testing are in, then we can comment on the all-important “IQ, handling and ergonomic design, and price..well ofcourse, VFinder”. For now, all we have to comment on is how fugly that thing is!
Pentax even appears to put the designer’s signature on the camera. So, the looks matter.
I am sure not all the samples are going to be bought by the designer himself..LOL.
In all honesty if that’s how it looks, that doesn’t look that bad at all. I was expecting something far worse.
Now one thing Pentax does damn well, is an ergonomics, photographer centrics control camera. We’ll see when this gets out in full views.
I’m definitely lusting for the yellow version. Seriously Pentax, WTF?
I am looking for one in pink with matching Hello kitty accessories.
FUGLY. Pentax wasted their money hiring that designer.
Why is there an exhaust pipe coming out of the camera ?
Perhaps that’s the crack pipe that Pentax is smoking.
nah – it’s where you put the oil
Wrong place. Moved.
K-01 with thick body + pancake lens is the opposite of the NEX with small body and huge lens, so give me that pancake on the NEX and call it a day.
I’m going against the grain, but I’m intrigued. The design looks interesting enough to make me want to pick up and shoot with this camera. I don’t understand why every camera has to look exactly like the cameras of the last seven decades.
Looking different is great. Question is why should a modern camera look much worse than the old camera it’s inspired from?
http://www.picturesofdigitalcameras.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/asahi-pentax-spotmatic.jpg
That is ugly. So pathetic. But not surprising. When I heard it was designed by the designer who designed Talby, the Japanese mobile phone sold in 2004, I already set my expectations very low. Those designers only know how to design toys. They don’t understand the ethos of cameras. Amateur cameras may be toys in fact, but most these amateurs would likely to purport (pretend) their camera to be a tool rather than a toy. And this K-01 is utterly a toy. Just go away from my sight already.
you know, if you take the silver parts away (or paint the silver parts all black), this may be an OK design, perhaps a 6/10. But apparently, it is a 2/10.
What were they thinking? Perhaps lack of confidence among the top management guys who are desperately trying to show others that they are not too old and still have it.
..why does it have a chimney and a viewfinder hump where there is no viewfinder? and seemingly a lot of flat useless plastic surfaces where there could be tons of buttons..
the lens looks tiny though, but i guess thats because of the flange distance, so half of the lens sits inside the cam..
i guess the poor pentax fans will not get to play with all the cool hipsters out there 😉
Sweeeet. Finally something different. I will take ‘ugly’ over ‘ordinary’ or ‘predictable’ any day.
It looks heavy, and ‘gripable’- good. Manual Focus aids?
Sorry ladies. As I spected it has a “Tough-Macho” look, despite those cristalic NEXis and PENis(ups)
A MACHO STYLE, Yeah. I LIKE IT A LOT!!!
“Warning: don´t carry this besides a poodle”
Main thing to comment about: new and old-fashioned font for the “PENTAX” logo (in contradistinction with the Pentax Q or the Pentax K5). Big applause.
Wow, at first sight it DOES look ugly!!! Not sure about the usefulness of a 60mm equivalent lens either.
On the other hand, Pentax did something smart. This camera can take any k-mount lens, so they basically don’t have to come up with a whole new set of lenses – they can leverage the existing ones, including some pretty small, quality primes. Wonder about the AF performance (i’m assuming the body has CDAF, but these lenses should be optimized by PDAF?). Another question is, it has a hump, does it have EVF?
Not sure if i’m interested in this camera, but intrigued I am. Pentax, the weird kid on the block!
That is one butt-ugly camera.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing to give it scale, so no way to tell how big the thing really is.
Well, it looks like there will always be a big supply of both the hideous Q and now the hideous K-01. What a schmuck looking camera…..dont care if its good at taking photos.
Arggggggggg my eyes!!!
I don’t care about the look of the camera. It just looks like the angle and placement of shutter button isn’t the best choice.The big question is presence of evf.
looks like a weirdified Ricoh GRX with Pentax mount….
wow… i wonder what kind of reactions the designer got when he presented the first drawings… i can’t imagine people actually cheered… probably it was just very silent for a while…
Essentially a mirrorless adoption of the K mount. In itself not a bad idea. Mirrorless does not need to equate compact nor miniature. And the deep K mount register can lead to some interesting optical design with the mirrorbox absent.
I think we are not going to see a K-x / K-r replacemtn soon … this is the way the lineage evolve. It would be most interesting to see what else Pentax might have planned for this Mirrorless
As I mentioned before, the big question is AF performance, as K-Mount lenses surely are not optimized for CDAF. Is a shame they didn’t add a proper EVF.
Wasn’t the K-r replacement going to be announced in march?
It is the lens design on the camera that looks weird. If you put a 16-45mm lens on it, the look will be quite different. Most of the new cameras are actually quite ugly, especially the full frame bodies., they look like a square brick rather than a rectangular brick.
arggggg my eyes….
Blooooahhh. Ugly as hell.
It does look boxy. On the other hand I find the buttons amazingly nice.
Interesting idea: make the back of mirrorless lens enter existing mount and thus have smaller register distance than current K-mount lenses, but you can use all other K-mount lenses without an adapter as well.
And that lens is not a pancake, it’s a crepe lens :). The body design is ugly only due to a few stupid details – a mode dial that sits on top of a cylinder (?!) and too thick grip.
As with Nikon 1, the potential is there, but the first try is a letdown.
is it that much smaller than K5? doesn’t look it. That would be my only reason to buy
Does Pentax have something against selling their own cameras?
lol
I want the yellow one!!!! for sure one will get noticed in a crowd 🙂 can’t get much worse design wise..or???? and the K5 was really nice & ergonomic
Sort of has that retro 2002 early digital look.
LOL, little like so Olympus E-100RS
totally. as someone mentioned on ricehigh, has an agfa ephoto vibe. which i kind of dig, actually.
No EVF – really?
Its fugly for sure, but as was posted the fact that it takes k mount is huge.
Had Nikon introduced this instead of that still born J whatever I prob would have bought one.
Damn it’s ugly.
Who the fu$k designed this?
This is an ugly turd!
Sorry, I have no better words to describe this heinous act. Pentax could have made an exact copy of the K1000 and it would have been a much better design.
aka billgates, zetlorf, bob, mrbill, etc. who pays you to astroturf, canon or nikon?
Interesting designs are those who seems different (or strange) at first sight, not just copying cameras from the past… Even if I don’t like it that much. 🙂
I don’t need this camera but the K-mount in a mirrorless camera is really interesting with so many very good lenses !! So wait for the reviews to judge it..
Oh and Pentax made this tiny lens just to not read (so thanks) a thousands times: “we waaannnt pancakes..”….
NO VF of any type? strange…too bad, no deal.
The mode dial looks like a snorkel for the camera. Without the snorkel and the silver trim, the camera might actually not look terrible. Still far from good looking though.
Very much agree. Maybe they will come up with all black version later, but nothing can be done with the snorkel. Too bad, otherwise it’s a good design.
Snorkel? Maybe it’s made for underwater use. Yeah, that’s it. I don’t mind ugly if it was for functional reasons. I hope there is a reason for no EVF or swivel/tilt LCD, and it seems as big and thick as a regular DSLR. Strange indeed. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.
Wow that is one ugly camera.
Looks like there’s no EVF and fixed no swivel no tilt LCD. What were they thinking??
If Pentax haven’t included a proper viewfinder in the K-01 I think they’ve shot themselves in the foot. I certainly wouldn’t be interested in it. And as Pentax already haa a nice line in SLRs I can’t understand why they’ve made the K-01 look like an SLR too, especially if it doesn’t have a built-in viewfinder. Just because Marc Newson has designed cutlery for airlines it doesn’t make him an expert on the subtleties of camera appearance, ergonomics and operation.
Oh well, I await the Olympus E-M5 (only 1 sleep to go) and hope I can hold it up to my eye to capture happy photographs.
If not, will nobody (apart from Leica and my pocket-money is not boundless) make a proper walk-the-streets camera for this frustrated flßneuse?
Wait, so it has a hump, but no viewfinder?
Moves like this are why I *used* to be a Pentax shooter. I loved the lenses and the color rendition, but it’s moves like this that really make me question their long-term viability.
I have to agree. A faux viewfinder hump?!!! While it’s hard to gather from a photograph, the camera seems unnecessarily bulky.
On the flip side, that lens looks very interesting….
So let’s sum up, everyone thinks if it doesn’t have two dials, a viewfinder, a swivel lcd, a 28mm lens, a battery grip, and doesn’t look like a 1960’s range finder, it’s worthless? Gotcha.
Joe-
For me the big misses here are the lack of an EVF and a swivel LCD screen.
I do just fine with one dial, no battery grip, and I could care less about the retro-trash look that others seem to hold so dear.
U.G.L.Y, you ain’t got no alibi, you ugly, *clap clap*, you ugly.
I must confess, I don’t really get this camera – I know Pentax have a few compact primes already, but… not for me.
Fugly. People who like bulldogs and pugs will love this.
I think you got it Joe. But it is disappointingly unattractive. Design constraints? Lens to sensor distance required for K mount lenses? Anyway, my Pentax Limited primes have had their trip to Eek Bay postponed until further notice.
By the way guys, this is intended for taking photographs with, not making love to.
Hahahaha, you gotta be kidding me. Good luck Ricoh/Pentax, you’re gonna need it.
Yet another stillborn from Pentax.
They should start making lenses for m43…
Photorumors and now here? Hope Canikon paid you well.
Are we SURE there’s no EVF? I don’t seen anything about it in the article.
Is there a way to put a bag over its head?
OMG, it *IS* ugly. It is not even small. And it has no VF.
I was looking for a travel camera. Now it seems the Fuji X100 is the best choice. (Or maybe a GX1 with 20mm f/1.7 and EVF)
pimpin’
I agree with many comments that the dial mode is so obstructing. Can be more interesting if the designer manage to redesign this part.I personally more interested on simple design, like Sigma DP-1 or Leica X1 but with interchangeable lens for their limited lens series.
I think this design not either good or bad design , but this design just remind us of Agfa Optima 1535 series on film days with have striking red colour on their film lever.
Most camera companies cannot design something so UGLY even if they tried.
Kill it with fire.
Good Lord. That is one fugly camera!
No VF? hahahahaha
Next!
K5 sensor ? If so, I’m in. You fashionistas can go get a Nikon 1 or some other junk. I take pictures with my camera.
Pentax Q, Pentax K-01… Come one, Pentax! You could do it better.
is this a beauty contest??? a camera is a tool.
writer “oh my new pencil looks beatiful now i can win the nobel prize”
There’s nothing wrong with having a nice looking tool.
But if someone cares that much, then perhaps they are the tool, no ?
@hugh: Yeh, – and a car = vehicle = ‘transportation tool’. Nobody minds the look of those. 🙂
OMG DId they fire the designer of the K7/K5 ?
These were beautiful cameras…this one looks like from toys ´r us!
it’s on the large size with out EVF, what were they thinking when design it :/
This is frankly very confounding. What is their target market for this camera? Don’t tell me it’s specifically existing K-Mount users who want a “mirrorless” camera, that level of stupidity was only recently championed by Sigma…
Pentax SLRs are beautiful, yes slightly heavier.. K-01 has no chance to be bestseller.
Damn is this camera ugly. No EVF and that ugly??? I would never buy it. Thats really ultra bad!
geez i love all the whingers on here complaining about how ugly it is.so is the sony nex.or should i say the sony lens with a body,that is ugly.
IBIS?
I think it’s awesome. It will be a huge seller in Russia and China. Americans are all broke so who cares what they buy.
I have wrong thoughts about russians at least. People here don’t understand WTF is this sh1t 😀
Camera is too “artistic” looking for the photo community? :p We actually like straight sharp edges of the cameras of old. Marc Newson’s style is different and will take some getting use to.
Oh! I feel dizzy in my stomach if I see this ugly little brick.
Wouldnt touch it even with a stick.
There are so many damnugly but loveable cameras out there.
This little guy is not one of them!
It reminds me kind of an underwater housing.
😀 lol… so ugly design! ans Pentax love it! Sorry but not me lol…
it looks like a gxr hand grip and a pentax q met in a supercollider
no evf is bad news , ill wait for a real review before i call this a fail however