27.01.09
Pentax K-m Review
Words by Julian Lass
Pentax DSLRs are a force to be reckoned with these days and the latest offering from the Tokyo-based company is the Pentax K-m, at a price sure to appeal to compact users. Its design is rather minimalist. Perhaps following the motto ‘less is more’, there isn’t a single button on the camera that will confuse a compact owner.
Potential owners of the K-m are faced with a dilemma. A quick look at the features on offer will show you a specification similar to the very fine Pentax K200D. Resolution-wise, it offers the same 10.2 million effective pixels count and yet the K-m’s selling price when it hits the shops will be £20 more than the K200D. So how do you explain that?
There are some big differences that account for those extra pounds. For starters, it is smaller and more compact. Pentax says the reduction in size and weight was made possible by the development of a new stainless-steel chassis covered by reinforced plastic, a decrease in the size of the Shake Reduction mechanism and a more efficient positioning of the circuit boards. It also lacks the weather sealing of the K200D. All this means the K-m is 85g lighter.
Don’t think that this means Pentax has compromised on build quality. The steel chassis means it’s robust and solid in the hand. A newly-designed layout positions practically all the camera’s controls on the grip side, largely to make it easier for first-timers stepping up from compact models. Gone is the top-plate LCD of the K200D, so the settings are now displayed on the camera’s LCD monitor.
The maximum sensitivity has been increased from ISO 1600 to ISO 3200, selectable in 1/3EV steps and a faster burst rate at 3.5 frames-per-second. The K-m also comes with a new lens – the Mark II Pentax smc DA L 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6AL. It is said to be more compact and lightweight than the older Mark I lens – 25g lighter – without affecting optical performance.
Sitting on the top-plate is the mode dial. There’s a good choice of modes from the typical PASM to an Auto Picture mode. This automatically selects the best shooting mode for your chosen subject – like portrait, landscape or macro. Pentax claims that since all the settings are automatically adjusted by the camera, the user can concentrate on image composition and the decisive moment.
With the K-m, Auto Picture mode has been further upgraded to detect when the night scene portrait mode is needed. Also on the mode dial is the SCN mode, which offers shooting modes like kids, pet, museum and food, the latter upping image saturation for example. Museum mode is a good one as it disables the flash (museums often prohibit its use). Selecting each of these is a simple affair and involves a quick navigation in the LCD menu. There’s also Pentax’s Sv or sensitivity-priority mode on which the user selects the ISO speed and the camera automatically sets exposure.
Metering options are between a 16-segment multi-pattern type, centre-weighted and spot. I hardly see the point in offering centre-weighted metering on a budget-level DSLR when multi-pattern metering will get the exposure right in most cases. However, spot metering from a very small portion at the centre of the viewfinder is a useful option when you’re looking for more control over your images.
Exposure compensation between 0.5EV and 2EV steps is accessed via a button on the top-plate and exposure bracketing by the rear Drive Mode button. There’s no flash bracketing, but you can dial in flash exposure compensation from two stops under to one stop overexposure.
Autofocusing is taken care of by a wide-area five-point AF system, all cross-type sensors for both landscape- and portrait-orientated shooting. The custom menu also allows you to fix the AF detection point at the middle sensor, but that’s the only user-selectable position. Pentax says the K-m sports a new AF algorithm, which offers better speed in poor light. While we’re on the subject of AF, it’s worth mentioning that there’s no Live View.
I’m a big fan of Pentax DSLRs after having used the lovely but now discontinued Pentax K10D. It’s wonderful that the K-m doesn’t disappoint on the handling score either, despite (or perhaps because of) its minimalist design. Okay, there are some direct access switches on the K20D that I miss on the K-m, like the metering mode switch under the mode dial.
I also miss a top-plate LCD. But the K-m’s layout is easy to understand, especially for compact users, and I never spent long searching for a feature. The menu system is well designed and child’s play to use. There’s also myriad custom functions to tweak and twiddle to suit your needs exactly. Time spent getting to know the menu system is time well spent.
The K-m is robust, but I did find the battery compartment tended to spill open in my bag, releasing all four AA batteries. I mention this because it’s a pain to put them back using the correct polarities.
Using standard alkaline, lithium and NiMH AAs mean you should never run out of power – additional back-up batteries are cheap. I did find that after fitting brand new alkaline batteries, the camera read them as half-empty, and only lithium batteries registered as full. Lithium AAs are more expensive. The batteries fit inside the redesigned grip, which is suitable for larger hands. However, those with longer fingers may find the shutter button awkwardly placed.
With the new, standard 18-55mm lens attached the K-m is well balanced. In terms of optics, the 18-55mm range is suitable for wide-angle shots and portraits. Picture quality is acceptable for a kit lens, though there is the inevitable barrel distortion at the wide end and slight pin-cushioning at the other end. Select a middle-range 35mm and no distortion is evident. In any case, the quality of the lens is far superior to most compact cameras – those stepping up will really notice a difference.
Kit lens quality aside, the K-m delivered cracking images. Exposures were mostly spot on, although the camera tends to underexpose foregrounds when there’s more than 50 per cent sky in a picture. This is easily remedied using exposure compensation.
Autofocusing is fast, accurate and locked on to pretty much everything I pointed it at, though shooting through a wire mesh fence was tricky as each focus point covers a wide area. The K-m’s five-point system may be less sophisticated than those sported by some higher spec models. It compares favourably to other budget models, though, like the Nikon D60’s three AF points and the Canon EOS 1000D’s seven.
The integral flash is not the most powerful with a guide number of 11m at ISO 100. It does the job though, if you use it to fill in with portraits or party grab-shots.
Noise results are good. Like most DSLR sensors, using the lower ISO settings gives images without noise at normal viewing distances and print sizes. Above ISO 800 and the K-m suffers from pixel blocking, though it retains fine detail.
The Pentax K-m comes packed with Pentax Photo Laboratory 3, a Raw converter and Pentax Photo Browser 3, but if you shoot using the DNG Raw mode you can pretty much use any Raw conversion software. That said, the supplied software is intuitive and easy to use, taking under a minute to convert a Raw file. JPEGs were also excellent and the camera also allows you to develop Raw images in-camera.
With one eye on another type of market, I’ve heard that Pentax has introduced a ‘bling’ version of the K-m. Apparently Pentax asked design agency Bling My Thing to do the job and the result is a K-m covered in Swarovski crystals. Price is on application, but is unlikely to be in the budget sector.
FILTERS
The Pentax K-m offers a set of digital filters to add creative fun when taking images. There are 14 including the new Toy Camera and Retro filters. Toy cameras such as the Diana F+ or the Holga 120 are renowned for cheap construction and a plastic lens.
Switch the K-m to Toy Camera and after a few seconds the K-m produces an image that’s indeed darkened in the corners and blurred. You can choose the level of darkening, blur and tonal separation. The Retro digital filter frames the picture with a white border and adds a 70s faded look.
Other filters offered in playback include high contrast, soft, extract colour, pastel or watercolour illustration, HDR and a black & white mode. Filters can also be used in combination.
SPECIFICATION
Price: £400 with smc DA L 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6AL lens
Distributor: pentax.co.uk
Resolution: 10.2 million effective pixels
Lens mount: Pentax K, KA, KAF, KAF2 and KAF3
Focal length: 1.5x magnification
Sensor: Self-cleaning 23.5x15.7mm CCD sensor
Autofocus: 5-area (SAFOX)
Exposure: 16-segment metering, system centre-weighted, spot
Exposure modes: P/Sv/Tv/Av/M, SCN, Auto modes Picture, 5 scene modes, no-flash mode
ISO range: 100-3200 in 1/3EV steps
Shutter: 30-1/4000sec, bulb
White-balance: Auto, daylight, shade
Settings: cloudy, tungsten, fluorescent (W, D, N), flash, manual setting, with fine adjustment
Monitor: 2.7in 230,000pixel TFT LCD
Viewfinder: 96% coverage, dioptre correction
Integral flash: Yes, pop-up with button release, GN11 (100/m)
Image file: JPEG, Raw (12-bit) formats
Drive system: 3.5fps
Storage media: SD/SDHC
Interface: USB 2.0
Battery: 4x AA (lithium, alkaline, and rechargeable NiMH) batteries
Optional: AC adapter also available
Dimensions: 123x92x68mm (WxHxD)
Weight: 625g with alkaline batteries and card
PROS AND CONS
Small and compact, ideal for first-time DSLR users and enthusiasts, cracking image quality
No Live View, battery compartment’s impromptu opening
THE VERDICT
The Pentax K-m is a solid camera and good all-round performer. It’s tiny, so will easily find a home in your bag, but is robust enough to stand up to some abuse as well.
Photographers moving from compacts to DSLRs represent the fastest-growing sector of the camera market. Rather than cut prices on existing cameras, DSLR manufacturers are designing pared-down cameras like the K-m that can be made more cheaply, but still offer some of the sophisticated features found on their higher-end cameras.
The K-m offers no Live View or weather sealing, but there are plenty of other features to whet your DSLR appetite. The Auto Picture setting is a useful addition for those wanting to get on with picture-taking rather than get bogged down with technical stuff. There’s plenty of room for growth as well, and the number of features on offer means the K-m is an attractive camera for the enthusiast as well.
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