Another Home Run, NO Grandslam for Pentax...
581990
If you have questions I would be happy to answer them.  There are literally hundreds of other user reviews for this item, so I will not be duplicating it.  It is very simple Pentax cameras are made by photographers FOR photographers.  The layout of buttons, the feel of this well built machine, the worry-free magnesium alloy weather sealed body, and most importantly the always awesome Pentax image quality.  This thing is a beast.  And for the prices they are selling this for it is a WHITE HOT steal of a bargain.  Just order, make sure you have the latest firmware, 2 SD cards ready to roll, some juice in the battery and you are ready to take amazing photos.  There is NO CAMERA COMPANY that gives you so much for your money.

The only words of caution I would give is that this is not an entry level camera; this is on the opposite side of the spectrum semi-pro/professional level.  It won the TIPA 2014 Expert level DSLR award and the EISA 2015 advanced DSLR awards.
 If you are new to DSLR's I would recommend a Pentax K-50 (also selling for a ridiculous low price) or the KS-2, those two are slightly more user friendly, but still pretty advanced.  You can always go for the KS-1 which I do believe is now the Pentax entry level camera system.  Either way if you care about stills photography you cannot go wrong with Pentax.  I love them from day one a K-x entry level system, then on to a K-30 and now the big leagues with the K-3.  Don't hesitate and buy buy buy....

UPDATE 8-18-2015:  SO the tornado sirens are blaring, lightning is flashing all around, take shelter?  NO!  Take pictures.  So I run inside to grab who knows what and place my new baby on top of the washing machine.  I then go to run outside and look down and my baby has fallen 4.5' to the ground.  I will not bore you with the details of broken filters and potentially ruined threads, what I will tell you is this camera is a TANK.  It hit the ground from far away and didn't even have a single scratch on it.  THANK YOU Ricoh/Pentax for making this thing out of Mag-alloy.  The camera AND the lens are fine, besides some potential thread damage.  I do not have to worry about replacing a $350-400 lens and a $600+ camera.  XOXOXO Ricoh/Pentax you have a customer FOR LIFE!!!
2778399
Pros:
Ability to use all old Pentax SLR lens
High quality
Excellent design
Excellent Image quality
In body image stabilization

Cons:
No video
No image orientation sensor

This is an excellent camera for those looking for a DSLR or moving from a Point and Shoot.  It's picture quality is great and the camera is easy to use right from the start.  I choose this camera because I was looking for a camera that could use all my old Pentax SLR lens so when I found this it was perfect and I have not been disappointed.  I have always liked the Pentax brand and they still make excellent cameras as far as I'm concerned. As another reviewer said the camera is solid, shoots fast, focuses fast and the price is right. I also like the fact that this camera uses regular AA batteries which are  available anywhere. I have been on vacation with another camera that did not and when the battery died I was stuck and had to pay an inflated price to get a new one when I found one.  Battery life is great, I use the Energizer Ultimate Lithium's have have had great results. If you choose this DSLR, you won't be disappointed.
2029770
There is a developing wish list of firmware updates that have been suggested both here and at other sites on the web and 90% have both merit and are possible; so I will not rehash those items, but instead, I will turn my suggestions to hardware issues. This camera and I expect its successor(s) will be around for some time as the lens map provides clear indication. Let me premise the comments that follow with the statement that: "I am not looking for a small camera; that will never be a deciding factor for me." The 1st thing I would like to see is an off camera flash cord because as another "never"; I will never use a flash perched atop of a camera. It will be mounted on bracket, thus the need for the cord. Second I would like to see someone like Jenis develop a two battery switchable grip that would provide not only the two battery capacity but also a larger camera grip. I will not spring for the add on Fuji grip but would pay for a unit that increase battery carry and provides the grip feature.  I am anxious to get my hands on lens adapters that will accommodate Nikon, Olympus, Contax G2, lenses as well as lens offerings from Zeiss and Voightlander.

Yes sir; picture my XP1, mounted on a bracket with a battery pack and cord attached to a bracket mounted flash for fill flash purposes/situations...no my XP1 would not be a small camera, but then I still love a fully loaded Nikon F5. The XP1 and I have already become good friends an none of the camera's quirks, and they all have their own, has posed a problem in the learning and set up curve.

OH, and SilkyPix; it will vanish a soon as Adobe offers up the "raw .raf" conversion...enough said on that issue. I have already communicated that matter to/with Fuji in Japan.
1989053
I recently upgraded from an advanced 'point and shoot' camera to the Pentax K5 in mid 2012. Initially, i worked the kit lenses and not long after purchased the Pentax 70mm prime. I was very impressed with the image quality. The thing is, later that year(2012), Pentax announced the K5ii and the K5iis. At that point in my life in mid 2012, i predominantly did work in the auto-sport arena and i was very enthusiastic(still is) about that type of photography. I had however moved onto Weddings by the end of 2012.

I ordered my K5iis early January 2013, the Tamron 70-200, Pentax 40mm prime and i was ready for business(Tamron 17-50 on the way). My first few shots with the K5iis looked quite nicely on the new gap-less screen but, i was blown away with the sharpness i saw after i viewed those very photos on my computer! I have been using this camera mainly with my Tamron 70-200 and the sharpness is remarkable. I believe any user coming from a K5 will also appreciate the fact that the ISO performance is noticeably better along with quicker low light focusing.

Basically, what Pentax claims you get with this camera, i can confirm is true. In the end, we want a camera that's dependable, sharp, quick enough, easy to manipulate and a joy to handle............the K5iis is all that and more. Now, its not perfect because i have had few occasions where moire was present but, subtle and corrected in my post processing 90% of the times. The K5iis promises incredible results that will impress ANY client you have or will have. Any competitors you have i believe will now have to try harder to be you OR, better you!!
410609
Well Folks, Here I Am Again,

Much has been said about this little jewel of a Retro Camera already so I will not repeat but make "One Comment about this Pen-F!" 6 1/2 months ago I purchased the Silver Model Pen-F and fell in love with 99.9% of everything good that is and has already been said about it. If you are a gear nut in addition to the Art of Photography and have been shooting Pro Gear for more than 50 years, then this Retro just might make you very happy, LOL! But, if you have only been shooting from the advent of the Digital Age, "Maybe Not!" Your desires, as are mine are extremely subjective and the influences of time spent in photography over many years, new and improved technology will shape your point of view. For me, this Oly Pen-F is a worthwhile investment but not a "Must Have, Kind-a Maybe!" I started shooting with a Nikon F in 1962 while in Japan and owned and used Nikon exclusively for over 54 years, last Nikon SLR was the F6 and last Nikon DSLR was the D4 and just about everything in between. I purchased my first Black Oly E-M1 (3) years ago and then purchased a second Silver one 2 years ago along with all the PRO MFT lenses to date. Then I picked up the Oly E-M1 MkII (OMG) then a Silver Pen-F Dec 2017 and waited for a great deal to pickup the Black PEN-F at a huge savings. Am I sold on the Olympus PRO Class Systems? "YES!" Maybe nuts you say but at 75, you only live once. I enjoy my new Venture with Olympus MFT System more than my previous 54 years with Nikon, "Bottom Line!

P.S. The only CON that I would mention that might be a problem for you is that the Olympus Menu System is a bit difficult but with time. use and diligence, one can overcome this shortfall.  This accounts for the small -.1% I noted above in my comments. This Menu thing is across the entire Olympus Line-Up and not a show stopper for me 

V/R The PhotogDog
805501
I couldn't beat the price for this entry level DSLR. It's got all the features I want, a neat look and is overall sturdy. I went with Pentax because all their older lenses (even going back into the '70s) work with the new cameras. They don't have the pull of Nikon or Canon, but they still have a good reputation with a small cultish community backing Pentax products.

I went with this specific model because of the good price vs quality ratio, fast firing speed and unique look.

I have traveled everywhere with this camera and it has survived. I didn't expect metal casing/heavy plastic or weather sealing at this price level, but the addition of this would have put it over the top.
86577
Did some quick comparison between this and a pentax zoom EP of quite a bit higher retail price but similar specification (FOV and FL)

Comparison was done by both using a binoviewer's 2 ports and switching back and forth, after a small scope (nexstar SE4) with and without a pretty low quality 2x Barlow(the one in Celestron kit, which creates a 'brighter blob' around planet in both EPs). Looked at moon/Saturn and Jupiter under heavy LP. Only the 24mm and the 8mm settings were compared.

Long story short, I don't believe I can relaibly tell between the 2 under most of the above situations if someone else sets it up and let me peek through the EP without seeing what the EP is.

The pentax does have some advantages, it seems to be much better made (heavier, sealed) and is quite a bit bigger but whether it is optically superior is hard to say. Maybe the small and slow scope did not let it show its full power? Maybe it works better for DSO? Or maybe I haven't looked hard enough for the differences? All are possible but for me it does not worth the asking price. Esp. because telescopes are in general quite fragile (reads not weather proof and unlikely to survive any drop), the mechanical excellence of the pentax is not of much use here.

Pentax does come with lifetime warranty though. But I can't foresee needing to buy more than 5 replacements of the Celestron either.
1975846
When my Powershot finally died, I decided it was time to buy a new camera. I came across this camera recently, because I saw that Pentax (a SLR camera brand I also know) sold a compact camera, I had to try it.

I have been impressed so far! It seems to have so many more features than other camera (including Canon) has. It has a 16-multishot burst frame mode, Face or Smile detection and even macro and super macro modes. All for about 30% less than those other Canon, Nikon and Panasonic cameras. I liked this better than another Fuji camera I was comparing it with. Plus,  it had good reviews on Photography Blog dot com and CNET UK.

What I like about it most is the fact it has so many customization options including muting the camera, changing the sounds and the option to use the 22x digital zoom. I also liked the fact the charger is separate from the camera and the battery life is excellent. It has held up about 3 months between charges and only takes about 1-2 hours to charge.

Great job Pentax!
4137585
Clearly, this is not a camera for everybody. It's designed for those outdoor enthusiasts who's willing to trade the picture quality for the taking anywhere feature. I wish I could have a compact camera that can be used anywhere but still has DSLR picture quality -- but that camera doesn't exist!

If the underwater capability is important to you, then there are not so many choices out there -- and the only two get head to head are Olympus 1030 and the Pentax W60. Both are 10M pixels which I don't think it's really needed -- you can't fully use the 10M capability because of the lens quality. Some important difference:
- Olympus can go 30 ft deep, Pentax 10 ft.
- Olympus is crash proof, Pentax is not
- Olympus's lens is 28-105, Pentax is 28-140
- Both can take video of 640x480, up to the size of the flash card (Olympus may need a firmware upgrade), but Pentax can take 1280x720 in 15 fps.
- Olympus can't use zoom during video taking, Pentax can, but records the zoom sound as well.
- Pentax has slightly better picture quality, but little noisier.
- Pentax uses SD/SDHC card, Olympus uses xdpicture card, which is more expensive.

Finally I decided to go with the Pentax.

Things I like besides the under water capability:
- Feature rich. There are 24 different scene mode, a good fit to novice users, and there are also face detection, blink detection, smile detection and some on-camera editing capability. You can also do the slide-show on camera.
- Easy to follow interface. I learned to use more than 90% of the functions without even reading the manual.
- Macro that closes up to 1cm, not so many cameras are capable of that.
- Picture color is normally good.
- Live histogram view

Things I don't like:
- Poor low light performance, very noisy
- The so-called image stabilizing is just to bump up the ISO, which cause noisier image
- Below average image quality (comparing other point and shoot)
- Metering/White Balance/EV Adjustment only available in the P mode! This is my biggest complaint. I don't know what's in Pentax engineer's mind. I can live with no AP/SP/manual mode, but I still need these adjustments!
- No lens cover. Even though there is a protective layer in the front, so one can't touch the real lens, but that layer can still get dirty and I'm also afraid to simply put the camera in my pocket with other stuff.

With all that said, am I returning the camera? The hell no! I have my DSLR for better image quality, but I still need a compact one that I can bring with me on trips to ski, beach, or even snorkeling!
1494037
I was using my 18-55mm kit lens that came with my&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Pentax-K-x-Digital-SLR-with-2-7-inch-LCD-and-18-55mm-f-3-5-5-6-AL-Lens-Black/dp/B002OEBTC8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Pentax K-x  Digital SLR with 2.7-inch LCD and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL Lens (Black)</a>&nbsp;for almost a year. As this was my first DSLR I bought along with&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Sigma-70-300mm-f-4-5-6-DG-Macro-Telephoto-Zoom-Lens-for-Pentax-and-Samsung-SLR-Cameras/dp/B000B8T6E2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Pentax and Samsung SLR Cameras</a>&nbsp;I was not able to spend any more on lenses for a while. But the time came for me to update my gear with quality glass. My first consideration was a telephoto lens, but I also needed a simple, good walk around lens that can deliver. And my search led to this lens.

I am not into landscapes yet and I feel I can not take the time and put the effort to travel to the locations. But a lens around 350$ with quality glass and high performance made me take the decision to buy it. And you know what? I am happy I took the decision.

Negatives first
---------------
1. If it was at least 20mm longer, it would be a dream come true
2. Using flash is almost killing a photo, as the shade of the lens intrudes the picture.
3. Often times the DOF can be very thin.

Positives
---------------
1. Sharp, sharp and very sharp
2. The quick shift feature will be very valuable while shooting portraits
3. It is also a very good macro lens. If you don't need to shoot the but of flies then you may not need a true macro lens
4. The lens hood has a opening to rotate a polarizing filter. Very nice!
5. It is of moderate weight and the design of this lens looks beautiful. You will love the look of your DSLR with the lens on it.

For many people this lens would be sufficient for landscapes, interiors and portraits. What impresses me is the sharpness and color reproduction of this lens and it's macro capabilities. I can recommend this lens to anyone.

Cheers
Gunasekhar
654513
Just got this last night and wow. If your an old film SLR shooter like me and haven't been impressed with any of the mirror-less offerings this camera might win you over. I've waited a very long time, since the later 90's to find a digital camera that I could afford that was fast enough and small enough  that I'd actually want to carry it with me. With the pancake lens this camera should be that camera. (I'm waiting on prime lens)

The auto focus is FAST, the lens (18-55 kit) is solid and smooth with very good image quality. The film simulations are fun. This camera handles like an old SLR. The dials are GREAT. I can shoot and shoot without having to dig through menus. Everyone talks about how amazing the EVF is, well I'm glad I waited for this "dramatic improvement" because frankly anything less would be  unacceptable. It's still electronic and you get the occasional flicker and can be a little grainy at times (night time B & W) , but it's bright, big and shows all kinds of shooting info. The flash is kind of goofy but seems to work well enough. Since it doesn't have any batteries I wonder how it will effect the camera's battery life.

For just a little more than the x100s you can get this body $1299 and the 27 f2.8 pancake lens for $199 (Amazon promotion) and have a much better camera which can be expanded later with the power grip, prime lenses etc. (I got the kit lens since I'm starting out and I have the pancake lens on order)

Here's a link to that lens deal.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00DCM0DUU/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

UPDATE: I've been shooting for a week and all I can say is WOW! This camera is amazing, it's easy to use, produces great images and is compact enough to carry even with the 18-55.  I still haven't got the pancake lens (it's on order) but if it performs like the 18-55 I'll be in heaven. The battery life is not great. It seems to require daily charging and if I don't plan for it I have to wait. This has cause me to miss a few opportunities but I just received two spares and will start bringing at least one of them with me. I really love the high contrast "presets".

The image stabilization of the 18-55 lens works very, very well. I can hand-hold long exposures with a high percentage of usage photos. It's a joy having IS and really makes (for me) a tripod optional for much of my shooting.
The quality of the body is impressive, this thing is SOLID. The controls feel great etc. People complain about accidentally pressing buttons and yes that does happen. You can either reassign the functions or like me, learn to be aware of where your fingers are and be careful.

My next purchase will be a FAST lens, most likely the 35 f1.4 since it seems to be the best compromise for performance, size and price.  The included flash is OK but not really able to fill a large room. For now, I'd rather have a fast lens than a better flash unit.

CONCLUSION:
This is an amazing camera, the image quality is first rate. It handles like a old school slr.  Its a cliche but in the simplest terms taking photos is fun again. I don't feel like the camera is resisting.
226338
I am pretty happy with my LX3 even though it is missing some advanced features (see my previous review).  I skipped the LX5 and finally can't resist the $299 offer on the LX7.  I have not been able to try all the new features so this is my initial feedback:

Be able to take on a filter without an extension unit like in the LX3 is a big step.  However, you have to purchase a separate $26 adapter which comes with a 37mm len cap.  Ok, no problem I will pay for it, but it is out-of-stock for a few months now.  There is OEM adapter selling for $10 on ebay but without the 37mm len cap (I want a official LUMIX cap).  Why can't Panasonic include the adapter ring and the 37 mm cap with the product?  They don't cost that much.

The product does not come with a printed manual of the advanced features.  Again, why try to save a few bucks, Panasonic?  A lot of people still prefer reading hard copy especially with high tech product.

The time lapse feature is awesome except it has limited setting.  I am waiting for a firmware upgrade that offers custom timing.

The 1.4 lens is awesome; so is the progressive video mode, the built-in HDR, the fast focus, etc.

It is a good product line which keep getting better.
4913718
I have not run into the same problems with this camera as I have with other brands.  Although the color in the pictures is a bit dull, it still focuses extremely well, including in underlit areas.  The image is constantly adjusting to get the best shot possible, so that's a plus.

The coolest feature so far is the Panoramic Assist.  Using this feature, you take your first photo, then move the image to the right and you can see a ghost of the previous image showing up to the left, helping you determine where to line up your next shot.  It's pretty neat.

There are multiple modes on this camera along with Panoramic Assist, such as Face-priority AF, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Portrait, Party/indoor, Beach/snow, Sunset, Dusk/dawn, Night landscape, Close up (Macro), Museum and Fireworks show.

The zoom isn't spectacular, only a 3x, equivalent to 18.6mm.  The digital zoom is a joke, as it is with all digital cameras.  Please don't use this feature on *any* camera!

Deleting images is a snap!  Take a picture, don't like it?  You don't need to go into the preview mode.  Simply click on the trash can button twice and scroll down to Yes and you're done.  Need to go back to shoot?  Hold the shutter button down halfway and you're back to where you were before.

The Nikon L11 also allows for video and, in my opinion, does a pretty good job of it.  You have the option of 160, 320 or 640.  Definitely nothing to produce a movie with, LOL.

In preview mode, if you use the zoom in button, it will zoom into the photo you are previewing (obviously), however, if you click on Menu, your photo will be cropped to that size that you are currently viewing.  A pretty neat feature.  Up, down, left and right can be used interchangably, as down and right are the same (going up in numbers), left and up go down in numbers.

The maximum off time is 30 minutes, which makes it ideal for uploading photos from your Eye-Fi.  You can also turn sleep mode off.  I have never had any issues with this camera uploading with the Eye-Fi.

I wouldn't highly recommend this little one, but it's recommended, nonetheless.  I will say that this camera is much better than some competitors that are price $100-$200 more.
4215978
It gives me immense pleasure to write a review for this item
Pentax is always Pentax, Super built quality and wonderful specs. I have taken several shots with my K-r it gives me good picture.  I compare with my friends Nikon D3100 But K-r is far better than Nikon.  I am very satisfied with my Pentax Kr
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Pentax-K-r-12-4-MP-Digital-SLR-Camera-with-3-0-Inch-LCD-and-18-55mm-f-3-5-5-6-and-55-300mm-f-4-5-8-Lenses-Black/dp/B00427Z7OG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Pentax K-r 12.4 MP Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 and 55-300mm f/4-5.8 Lenses (Black)</a>
3536306
Love this camera.  Great low-light capability, zoom of 5x is very useful (and the wide 28mm is good), nice pocketable size, good control layout, fast response for shooting and playback even with the high 10.1 megapixel, good screen clarity, (but wierd slight lag in "focusing" in reviewing - why?).  Also selected this because one of the last remaining series with an optical viewfinder for when it is very bright outside or when my reading glasses are not handy, (just wait- it will happen to you too).  I think only Canon still has optical viewfinder models available.  Viewfinder is  only approximate of real view at various zoom levels, but errors on side of giving more than you see, which is good - you can always crop later.  But my real beef is that with all of this face and smile detection junk, (come on, do you really need a smile detection with such settings as child vs. adult, etc?), they should have kept some way to choose aperture or shutter priority.  As a minimum, there should have been a "sports" or "action" mode and a "near & far focus" mode.  Anyway the camera is fast (high EV), so in many cases, action blur is not a huge problem.  The shutter button is elongated and you need to be pretty well centered on it for proper actuation - surprising quality design slip for Sony.  Like I say, love this thing but I give it 4 instead of 5 stars because of of the drawbacks indicated.  One of the best choices out there overall.
3750392
Great camera, complement  my DSLR from Sony and Pentax... was so great that was stolen at recent holidays, now I replaced with sony A6000  but miss the touchscreen and size.
4664740
If you are looking for a K-30 or K-5, you have probably already read reviews on DPreview.com or Pentaxforums.com

I have done a lot of research when I purchased my K-x and I am glad that I chose Pentax over Canon/Nikon. I also read reviews of K-5 and K-30 to decide which would be my upgrade for my K-x.

I chose K-30 because I have found a better price for it and it was offered with 18-135mm WR (which cost a lot more by itself) I enjoy this mid-range dslr with performance and build quality of Pro-dslr.

K-5 was reviewed and named the best APS-C sensor dslr for Image quality, Dynamic range, and ISO performance.  Since K-30 shares same sensor but just with slightly different filter its images are almost identical.  Therefore, you get one of the best APS-C dslr on the market for less than half of the price of K-5 when it was introduced.

Overall it is a great step up from K-x with too many improvements to list. (live view focus is way faster than K-x, and should be faster than K-5 and it has focus peaking to help with using awesome Pentax manual lenses)

16mp is more than enough to make huge prints if needed, My K-x was 12mp and that was enough already. Some competition is increasing MP to 24 and higher, but I beleive it will not make pictures much better on APS-C sensor; It will fit full frame sensor much better because of less pixels per sensor size.

I highly recommend K-30 to anyone that is looking to upgrade or to a new user that wants to get best dslr on the market, very good value for your money and with WR body.

(see some of my images in product info for comparison of K-x and K-30 high ISO)