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Pentax Q Digital Camera Review

By
Updated: November 2, 2011
q-front.jpg

Pentax’s ultra-compact interchangeable lens camera is indeed very small, but that’s its only real standout feature. Otherwise, it’s an overpriced camera that does not perform as well as the competition.

3.5 stars
(3.5 out of 5)

The Pentax Q is a pricey interchangeable lens camera whose biggest feature is its diminutive size and wide selection of special effects. Its photo quality, performance, and feature set certainly don’t justify the price premium, so you’re really paying for whatever Pentax did to make the Q so small. The Q isn’t a great camera, nor is it a poor one — it’s somewhere in the middle. If you want the smallest thing out there, then it’s worth a look. If you want more bang for the buck, I’d suggest looking at something else.

Read full review @ Digital Camera Resource Page

Pros

  • Smallest interchangeable lens camera in the world — solid build quality
  • Good photo quality at low ISOs
  • Sensor-shift image stabilization
  • Sharp 3-inch LCD display has 460k pixels, good low light visibility
  • Full manual controls, with RAW support, WB fine tuning, and custom functions
  • Tons of special effects, many of which can be accessed via the Quick Dial on the front of the camera
  • Effective HDR and D-Range Correction tools
  • Multiple exposure and interval (time-lapse) shooting capability
  • In-camera RAW editing
  • Hot shoe for external flash
  • Records Full HD video (1080/30p) with stereo sound and full manual controls
  • Full, printed manual in the box

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Body may be too compact — controls are small, cluttered, and often poorly placed — hard to hold camera without accidentally bumping something important
  • Middle and high ISO image quality not as good as competition
  • Tends to clip highlights (use DR Correction to reduce that) — images on the soft side
  • Poor battery life
  • Redeye a problem (but can be corrected in playback mode)
  • Movie mode annoyances: no sound for first second, can only record movies in dedicated mode, videos seem a bit jumpy
  • Unimpressive burst mode: buffer fills quickly at low speed (1.2 fps), slow write times, LCD blackout at high speed
  • Included prime lens a bit telephoto for most folks — limited lens selection at this point (obviously)

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