Life in a glass case: We peer at new Pentax full-frame DSLR

I shoot lot´s of different things and I understand what you mean when you use RAW, but I learned the hard way - believe me, sometimes having the right WB is the difference between staying there and tuning for a better shot or leaving the place on the first test and not insist on it

Your point is only valid if you believe the end result is what you see on the camera screen. I don't trust and have never trusted the camera screen except as a guideline. As long as its shows close enough to what i want out of the shot that i can adjust it in post it doesn't need retaking or rethinking. Knowing how and why the camera's AWB gets fooled and what to expect despite what you see is also paramount. Basically the camera is a tool to get me close enough that i can make it right in editing quickly. When it comes to image parameters i don't rely on the camera any more than that. I still chimp because we all make mistakes but i get what can be fixed and what can't be fixed with a quick glance.

WB is on the 4-way controller on the back. Metering used to be on the K5/K5ii, but is gone since. Knowing Pentax, there must be an easy way to get to it, other than digging into the menus.

I do!

Yes. Is it typical to have one in the back? This camera will have more than one & that sounds fairly convenient to me.

@ FantasticMrFox
Good points, astro tracing is something intriguing especially in FF world. Haven't though of it. The price I guess will show how it goes.

Hopefully the Fa ltds play well with it.
They're amazing on 35mm film format, time will tell how well they perform on the new high res ff sensor

Why do you need a dedicated video button?

People using cameras with video buttons often want at least an option to use the shutter release button to start the video. One advantage of the latter arrangement is that one can remotely start a video recording with a conventional remote control or remote radio trigger.

My only concern is that DPReview will criticise the absence of a video button and reduce the rating accordingly (for no good reason, AFAIC).

P.S.: @DarylK: The control you are referring to is the "video/stills"-switch. I believe kritztian is concerned about a "video start" button.

I wouldn't expect flawless 4K from any high-Mpixel camera. Look at the Sony A7RII's non-Super 35 (that is, full sensor) mode - it's pretty bad.

Currently, even with the latest Sony 42 Mp sensors, you simply can't get full sensor readout. Only with significantly lower pixel count (12-20 Mpixels; see for example the A7SII or the RX100 Mk4/ RX10 Mk2)

That is, we don't lose much with the lack of 4K - again, not even Sony could make it work. Unless they could deliver a cropped 1:1 mode, as did Sony with the A7RII.

My guess is you switch it to video then hit the shutter button. I like that implementation.

Repeated below....Found the direct video, its a switch under the rotating dial next to the viewfinder housing. There is a video icon right there next to the timer icon, which means you can switch direct to video and likely the shutter button will activate it. I'd prefer that to a direct video button on a DSLR like this.

Very clever, very!

Not only that, but where on earth can one find video coverage of the Pentax FF booth? Nowhere. I wonder why? All this talk of video in a slr and nobody takes a video, just still pics... curious!

OK but can you tell me where the video button is also?

Kriztian, I'll say two things. This camera isn't final. However, the green button could be utilized in a custom menu to function as the video button. At this point there are more questions than answers but I'm sure Pentax has a solution. I doubt this will be a Nikon DX tragedy.

Lets hope you are right :)

Kritztian, don't discount other buttons that can be customized either :).

More details are surely to follow regarding this camera before next spring. Even if it was a dedicated stills camera, a lot of Pentax fans would embrace a full frame camera such as this. But I really doubt they'd not include video in it.

Carl

Pictures were shot close up with a WA lens, so there's a lot of distortion.

@Barney Britton: Do you have measurements?

If the dimensions of the FF model are similar to what the 3D printed prototype was like then it may be a bit taller than the D750 but otherwise may even be a bit smaller.

It will probably be heavier, though, due to the typical Pentax quality construction.

N.B., would you downgrade the camera if it turns out that that there is no customisation option to turn any of the existing buttons into a "video start"-button? If so, why?

Starting videos with the shutter release button has advantages, such as being able to use a remote cable control, or remote radio triggers.

It was under glass, so no - no measurements. Sorry!

I honestly am not a big fan of the "looks" of the rear LCD area. The molding around the articulated LCD looks like some cheap plastic TV remote or gaming console from the 90's. However other than that, and especially the prism, the camera is gorgeously sexy.

At least it's just one unlike on recent Nikons. Also to note, the 5D III also has an Auto mode.

"A camera of this calibre has "AUTO" on the main dial?
I suggest erasing that, and adding "Canon user" mode. Or "m4/3 folk" mode."

You seem not to have used your camera full manual then, or, have never had to quickly make at least some of the settings auto.

For example, if you do shoot panoramas (something I do, and a LOT of them - see my thread and Finnish panos at http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3896092 ), you certainly know EVERYTHING must be manual. Absolutely everything: aperture, SS, focus, WB, ISO, possible DR enhancement etc. Good luck changing all (or at least most) that back *quickly* for a quick street shot if you see something interesting. Believe me: a quick "Auto" switch is a godsend in these cases - for example, Fuji's implementation on the X-T10. Just a switch flip and everything is auto - no need to flip a lot of switches, navigate menus etc at all.

Believe me, it's a life saver if you use full manual mode extensively.

I didn't know that about Canon and Nikon, the German and Soviet filiation. It explains everything!

Well, some heavily-attempt with million spent at form and still come up with something like a SL (Type 601), so...

...also, we don't a good reference frame in those photos but I am getting the feeling that this might be the most compact FF DSLR ever.

Well what I meant was that many of us would like to see a 35mm Pentax, especially as many Pentax lenses are 35mm. Yet despite the rumours that have been going on for years, it's never quite made it to the market.

Which is similar to Nikon who have been rumoured to be preparing a mirrorless camera for F mount for years, but also that never actually seems to make it to the market.

They are both big 'holes' in the market with no apparent reason for the void, but no product ever actually arrives :D