**Item: **Pentax 12MP Digital Camera w/ 4x Optical
Price: $249.99
Shipping Options: $5 Standard
Condition: New
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Can you picture yourself with this camera?
Check out the Previous Sale
Read some reviews from BH Photo Video
Check out this review from DP Review
[youtube=Vah3NkigNEY][/youtube]
Check out this video from CES [youtube=Fr8vpa0YOzU][/youtube]
to current owners, did anyone figure out how to:
thanks.
I bought this the last time around as a gift for my wife, to upgrade from her current compact camera. It’s a great price, and after playing with the camera I liked it so much I’m reluctant to give it to her. The good things I noticed right away about this camera:
outstanding build quality, very solid and well assembled
Very sharp optics, unusually fast lens combined with a good sensor produce excellent photos; not DSLR quality but excellent for a compact camera
The camera is loaded with customizable features. You can leave it on full auto or you can dig down into the options and make all the creative adjustments you want.
The menus are easy to navigate and mostly easy to understand. I’ll explain “mostly” below.
The rear LCD is big, bright, and tilts for high or low shots.
The not so good things -
Pretty big and heavy compared to other cameras with similar specs.
Only a 4X zoom. Generally this type of camera comes with a 10 or 12 or even 20X zoom. But because this lens is optically superior, they had to limit it to 4X. So you’ll get a very sharp shot of that bird, but it’ll be a very small bird.
Having to remove and replace the lens cover by hand. Another DSLR like feature but kind of odd in a pocket camera.
“Only” 12 MP. “Only” because 12 MP is plenty if you use good form taking your photos. Pros will take their 24 or 36MP camera and set it to shoot at 12MP when that’s all they need.
But it does severely limit your ability to crop images.
The nice printed manual lists all the camera features, but doesn’t explain some of them. So you’ll have to experiment or go to the Pentax forum to figure out how to use some of the options.
Overall this is an excellent camera, and the Woot price is well below any other vendor. But there are numerous other cameras on the market with similar features. Obviously this is one of the slower selling models, since they’re having a fire sale on it. But apparently the whole compact camera market has collapsed since people just use their phone cameras now.
So don’t be just another geek taking pictures with your phone. Get a real camera. This Pentax is most definitely a real camera.
Purchased this last time it was offered.
Couldnt be happier.
This is a quality camera with a bright sharp lens.
It is big and it is heavy and I’m sure it will last for years. I do have another camera with a 20x zoom since 4x is a little short. I dont think anyone will be disappointed with picture quality. For 249 it’s a steal!
DP Review gave it a silver award and a 74% review score on their site. They liked the sensor and lens but didn’t like some of the settings and the size.
I was not familiar with this camera prior to seeing it here. We currently use a combo of Canon compacts and DSLR but would definitely consider this camera if we needed an “in between” camera.
We like that it not only takes good pics but feels solid unlike a lot of stuff out there.
The B&H video posted by @lichme above is very helpful and quite detailed. Shows some of the really clever thinking that went into this camera. For example, if it works as advertised, the “blink” detection feature that warns you if someone in a shot blinked.
That large articulated digital viewfinder would be very handy in several scenarios like shooting overhead in a crowd - it is something we regret not having on our DSLR - was added to the next version of our model.
@bowlingb, we would never consider a camera without first checking it out on DP Review. Amazing site for very thorough reviews, comparisons, and user forums. But you can get lost in there for hours if you aren’t careful!
I wooted a mx-1 a week ago, received it yesterday. Lovin this camera. Such a great deal, I highly recommend the mx-1. Thanks WOOT!