The recent announcement that Pentax intends to release a mirror-less K-Mount camera is no surprise. Eliminating the mirror mechanism from a DSLR camera not only reduces the number of moving parts, which take costly time and labor to manufacture and assemble, but also makes a whole new bunch of features possible, that could not be included in a traditional swinging mirror camera. It also means that, if they want the camera to interest the enthusiast and the professional markets, it will have to have a viewfinder, and with no mirror, that means either a traditional (or hybrid) optical viewfinder as on the Fujifilm X-10 and X-100, or what is being called an "EVF" for Electronic View Finder, such as fitted to the Sony A77 and Panasonic DMC-G3.
Whether Pentax have managed to overcome the disadvantages of the EVF designs of the competition, remains to be seen. In my opinion, the technology is still way short of what is needed to provide a viewfinder image that compares with a traditional ground glass mirror box viewfinder, which after all, displays the actual image as projected by the lens, in real time. If you have not yet tried an EVF camera, I suggest you do so. Go down to your local high-street camera store (if you are lucky enough to have one in your town) and try one out.
When Panasonic released the DMC-G1 two years ago I thought that it would be ideal for my Best Beloved as a travel camera. One of the first places she went to with it was a show jumping event - the horse kind. Disaster! She could not use the camera in multi-shot burst mode to shoot the riders taking the jumps because the EVF simply could not keep up with the frame rate set to the slow 2fps setting. Things have improved since then, However, even the cutting edge EVF in the Sony A77 cannot effectively be used to follow fast moving action at high frame rates - it's fine for static of slow moving subjects, but it can't keep up with panned action shots. This is because the viewfinder doesn't show the scene as it is right Now, but as it was a moment ago. For fast sports action, it just doesn't work. If it had a conventional optical reflex viewfinder combined with it's translucent stationary mirror, wow, would Sony have a winner!
A clear, bright, uninterrupted high magnification viewfinder makes a camera useable all day long, with little or no fatigue. I have had more than one professional tell me, when debating the relationship between pixel count and image quality, that the reason they love a full-frame DSLR camera is because of the viewfinder, not the sensor size. (For those of you who prefer to stand, arms outstretched, swaying in the wind, wishing for better eyesight, squinting at an LCD screen, I have no sympathy.)
So, what would I like the new Pentax K-01 to have under the hood? Here's my wish list:
- An APS-C size sensor of not more than 16 Mpx (The K-5 sensor, made by Sony, is fine and is one of the best there is.
- A fixed translucent mirror housed in a traditional mirror box reflecting the image onto a ground glass, active LCD screen like the Canon Eos 7D has.
- The space between the mirror and the sensor should be sealed to prevent ingress of dust onto the sensor - the mirror is more easily cleaned.
- The fixed mirror to have anti-dust cleaning mechanism, as well as the hi-pass filter.
- A Hybrid, electronic first curtain shutter like the Sony A-77 has.
- Twin SDXC capable memory card slots selectable for all / jpg or raw / backup / still or video like the Nikon D7000 has.
- Eye-fi memory card compatible like the Nikon D7000
- Articulated rear LCD screen like the Canon D60 has
- Conventional neck-strap lugs like the Pentax 7D / 5D has, not linear slots (which eventually cut through the strap)
- A battery compatible with the Pentax 7D / 5D
- AF sensors evenly spread over the entire frame, especially towards the edges top and bottom (I know there is a light fall-off problem here, and the translucent mirror exacerbates this)
- Acrylic optical eyepiece components to reduce condensation (fogging up) in cold weather.
- Environmental sealing.
- And all of the character that makes the Pentax K5 such an amazing camera to use!
Dear Pentax.......Do I dream the impossible dream?
-Graham Serretta
