Born for classics, Pentax flagship new product MX-1 trial evaluation

IT168 reviews have always had the most rumors about Pentax. Since the K20D era, there have been rumors flying all over the place that full-frame will be released in 20XX, and before the release of Pentax Q, the outsole was widely rumored to be replaceable. Lens mirrorless cameras, during this period, many wives have become mothers, and the editor has also graduated from a young boy to college, and finally released the K-01, a large-sole interchangeable lens digital camera, but this product is actually a K mount, 45.46 The flange distance of mm makes fans cry.

The appearance of the MX-1 released by Pentax at the beginning of this year surprised many people. As soon as it was released, it won this year’s Reddot design award (Reddot design award, a very famous award in the field of industrial design). ), but you can’t just look at the surface. What is the control performance of MX-1? Can it inherit Pentax’s consistent imaging style? What are the highlights? Let’s find out together below.

▲Pentax MX

In terms of basic parameters, the MX-1 is equipped with a 12-megapixel 1/1.7-inch CMOS, and the maximum aperture of the lens is F1.8-F2.5. The focal length of the 35mm camera is 28mm-112mm with 4x optical zoom. The body comes with SR dual anti-shake. ISO100-12800. It can shoot videos with a resolution of 1920~1080 30P. The screen uses a 3.0-inch 920,000-pixel LCD flip screen that flips up 90° and down 45°. The top cover and base of the entire machine are made of brass.

▲Front display of the fuselage

First of all, let’s take a look at the appearance. The front style of the fuselage continues the appearance of the classic MX model from the film era, except that the MX-1 does not include an electronic viewfinder. or optical viewfinder, the whole machine is thick and solid, and the front of the fuselage is decorated with leather, which makes it very comfortable and high-end to hold.

▲Display on the back of the fuselage

The buttons on the back of the fuselage inherit the style of Pentax SLR. I believe friends who have used Pentax SLR can get started immediately. From the buttons on the back, it seems that MX- 1. The control is quite professional. Basically, some parameters commonly used during shooting can be quickly adjusted.

List of metal fuselage and fuselage attributes

The metal fuselage was regarded as a major selling point at the beginning of the MX-1 promotion. In terms of design, the MX-1 does not seem to be Pursuing the ultimate in lightness and thinness, the lens bulges out significantly when turned off, and it is substantial when held in the hand. This is an obvious point that distinguishes it from other digital cameras of the same specification.

▲Display on the top of the fuselage

On the left side of the top of the fuselage is a pop-up flash with the word "BRASS" engraved on it, which means brass. Some internal parts are made of brass. On the right side are the mode dial, switch, zoom lever, shutter, exposure compensation dial and video keys. From my trial experience, it seems that it can basically be operated with one hand, which is very convenient. The only drawback is that it does not come with a hot shoe. For many professional photography enthusiasts, it may be a pity that external flash or recording equipment cannot be used.

▲The top cover and bottom cover are made of brass

Because the paint will peel off and expose the copper after a long time, many netizens also claim that the MX-1 with peeling paint is the real one. Retro, just like Canon's old camera NEW F-1. However, most of those cameras are used by photojournalists or the military, so naturally they don't care much about maintenance. But our MX-1 is for personal use, so we should take care of it.

▲Body thickness display

The thickest part of the whole machine is about 51mm (the lens is not extended), and the weight of the whole machine when loading the SD card and battery is 386g! No comment on the weight Those who are familiar with the concept can refer to the iPad mini, which weighs 308g. From this point of view, it seems that it is a little difficult to put the MX-1 in your pocket as you like.

▲Flip screen angle display

The screen uses a flippable 3-inch 920,000-pixel LCD display. The actual display effect is very good. It can flip up 90° and down. Although it is not as exaggerated as the 180° flip that some other models can achieve, this angle is enough to free the cervical spine. You deserve it!

MX-1 button layout and detailed display

Since Pentax positions the MX-1 as a professional-level DC, and now this type of camera is generally used as a backup camera for professionals, what about the controllability and buttons of the body?< /p>

▲Front layout of the fuselage

▲Back layout of the fuselage

As we can see from the picture above, the MX-1 has a remote control receiver that supports Wireless remote control, the button layout on the back of the fuselage is the same as that of a Pentax SLR, and the thumb dial and exposure compensation dial allow the MX-1 to be quickly adjusted during shooting. With independent AV/AE-L key and INFO key to quickly adjust parameters. It can be said that the MX-1 even exceeds the controllability of entry-level SLRs.

▲Pop-up flash

MX-1 has a built-in pop-up flash. Compared with the built-in flash, the advantage of this flash is that it can minimize the impact of the front lens on the fuselage. For flash blocking, all mid-to-high-end cameras currently on the market adopt this design.

▲Close-up of the right shoulder

The most professional thing about MX-1 is here. In addition to the mode dial, there is also an independent exposure compensation dial, and the video button is next to the shutter button. Nearby, you can quickly switch to video while taking photos.

▲Pentax’s unique green key

The green key on the Pentax SLR is retained on the back of the fuselage. When using M mode manual exposure, if you need to quickly get the accurate aperture Shutter combination, just press the green button, which is a very convenient feature. If you don’t plan to take off the lens cap to take pictures, but just want to review the photos, you can browse them by long pressing the playback button without turning on the phone.

▲SMC coating color display

The maximum aperture of the MX-1 lens is F1.8-F2.5, and the focal length of the 35mm camera is 28mm-112mm. 4x optical zoom, unfortunately the lens The cover is not integrated with the body, so you need to take it on and off manually when shooting. It is worth mentioning that the lens uses SMC coating technology that is unique to Pentax SLRs, which can protect the lens very well and reduce glare and ghosting. Slight dust and oil can be wiped off directly with a lens brush or lens cloth. SMC coating is better than General coatings are much more durable. In addition, the lens does not support external wide-angle lenses or teleconverters.

▲The back-illuminated CMOS used in MX-1

The MX-1 uses a back-illuminated CMOS with an effective pixel of 12 million pixels 1/1.7?, which can shoot Although the pixels of raw format photos are a bit lower, I think Pentax did this to reduce the pixel density to improve the CMOS imaging quality under low light. In addition, as a backup camera for professional photographers, there is no need to worry too much about the number of pixels. If you need to print large photos, there is also a SLR.

▲SR anti-shake logo

MX-1’s SR dual anti-shake technology is one of the biggest highlights of the whole machine. You can even hear it when the MX-1 is shaken slightly. The sound of shaking internal parts of the fuselage, just like the previous K7, is actually caused by the CMOS anti-shake component, not the quality of the camera. In actual use, the anti-shake effect is very good, much better than ordinary consumer-level card cameras.

▲The place of production is Indonesia

The place of production is Indonesia and it is not original from Japan. However, the workmanship and quality of Pentax cameras are relatively good in the industry.

▲ Comes with a 1250 mAh battery

MX-1 comes with a 1250 mAh rechargeable lithium battery model D-Li106. When fully charged, it is about It can take 290 photos, which is basically enough for a day's short trip, and the battery life is pretty good.

▲List of side interfaces

The side of the fuselage contains an HDMI output interface and a USB 2.0 interface, which can be connected to a computer or high-definition TV to directly view photos or videos. Although there is no shutter cable interface, However, there is a built-in infrared remote control receiver in the body, and the camera shutter can be controlled by the remote control (the remote control needs to be purchased separately).

MX-1 menu interface and display of some digital filter samples

Opening the MX-1 menu, you can clearly see that it is exactly the same as the interface of Pentax SLR. People who have used Pentax SLR can use it. You will feel that it is quick to get started, and even for users who have never used Pentax cameras, the interface is very intuitive and easy to understand.

▲MX-1 menu interface

The white balance drift function in the menu is very practical. Compared with the traditional camera setting color temperature value, MX-1 can directly adjust the white balance through the lower right corner of the screen. Balance fine-tuning and previewing while adjusting are features that very few models have at present.

▲White balance fine-tuning can be previewed directly on the screen

MX-1 also has 21 built-in scene shooting modes, including more practical handheld night scenes, digital panorama, small models, etc. Popular scene modes enrich our shooting themes.

▲Various filters and shooting modes

In addition to 21 shooting modes, MX-1 also integrates a variety of post-processing filters, including face-slimming filters, in-camera RAW processing, digital filters, etc., and the imaging style can be fine-tuned within the filters. While being positioned as a professional-level DC, the MX-1 also has considerable entertainment performance.

▲Original film

▲Small model effect

▲Toy camera effect

▲Black and white effect

▲ HDR special effects

▲Built-in picture collage effect

It can be said that this MX-1 basically has the mainstream digital filters on the market. Even if you don’t understand it, For those who are into post-processing or are too lazy to post-process, the MX-1 can basically complete most of the post-processing tasks, which is also something that future consumer-level digital cameras must have.

MX-1 real-shot sample display and detailed close-ups

MX-1’s retro appearance and substantial feel, coupled with Pentax’s first replica of the classic film camera era Because of the MX model, many people are very concerned about the image quality of MX-1. Let’s take a look at the actual image quality of MX-1.

▲Aperture: F2 Shutter: 1/80 second ISO: 400 Exposure compensation: +0.3 Equivalent 135 camera focal length: 28mm

▲Aperture: F4 Shutter: 1/1250 second ISO :400 Exposure compensation: -0.3 Equivalent to 135 camera focal length: 6mm

▲Aperture: F4 Shutter: 1/400 second ISO: 400 Exposure compensation: 0 Equivalent to 135 camera focal length: 28mm

< p>▲Aperture: F4 Shutter: 1/160 sec ISO: 100 Exposure compensation: 0 Equivalent to 135 camera focal length: 28mm

The imaging characteristics of Pentax cameras are rich layers and sharp images. In the previous CCD camera era It left a very deep impression on the majority of moviegoers. Among them, Pentax’s performance of green is the most flattering, commonly known as “Pentax Green”. Although it was only cloudy, the expressiveness of green in the sample was also more prominent, and the overall contrast was moderate.

For a CMOS with only 12 million pixels, the decrease in pixel density will ensure an improvement in image quality to a certain extent, but the detailed performance is also eye-catching. From the sample, the performance of the MX-1 is completely acceptable. .

▲Aperture: F4 Shutter: 1/160 second ISO: 400 Exposure compensation: 0 Equivalent 135 camera focal length: 28mm

▲Aperture: F4 Shutter: 1/200 second ISO: 100 Exposure compensation: +0.3 Equivalent 135 camera focal length: 60mm

1/1.7? CMOS also has inherent advantages in blurring compared to ordinary consumer-grade card machines. With the maximum aperture of F1.8-2.5, you can easily obtain a good background blur effect.

▲Aperture: F2.2 Shutter: 1/1600 seconds ISO: 400 Exposure compensation: -0.3 Equivalent 135 camera focal length: 38mm

▲Aperture: F4 Shutter: 1/125 Second ISO: 400 Exposure compensation: -0.3 Equivalent 135mm camera focal length: 30mm

Low light has always been the weakness of small-size sensor digital cameras. Let’s take a look at the actual shooting effect at night.

▲Aperture: F1.8 Shutter: 1/13 second ISO: 800 Exposure compensation: -0.7 Equivalent 135 camera focal length: 28mm

▲Aperture: F1.8 Shutter: 1 /100 seconds ISO: 800 Exposure compensation: -0.7 Equivalent to 135 camera focal length: 28mm

▲Aperture: F1.8 Shutter: 1/40 seconds ISO: 800 Exposure compensation: -0.7 Equivalent to 135 camera focal length :28mm

When the ISO is controlled at 800, the image quality is still good, there is not much noise, and you can capture wonderful photos handheld at the large aperture of F1.8. Because it was raining, the editor held an umbrella with one hand and shot with one hand. Even when shooting with one hand, the picture remained clear, thanks to SR dual anti-shake technology.

Advantages, Disadvantages and Summary of MX-1

At present, MX-1 is still in the stage of being launched soon, and the price is around 3,500 yuan, which is too high for a camera of the same grade. One point, moviegoers who are interested in it can buy it when the price drops below 3K. After all, Pentax’s MX-1 has a retro body and professional controls. It seems unlikely that it will drop a lot in price. If it is within 3K, the editor It felt like a very reasonable price.

Summary of the advantages and disadvantages of Pentax MX-1

Advantages

1. Excellent controllability, no entry-level SLR.

2. Excellent workmanship, with many parts of the body made of metal.

3. The menus and buttons inherit Pentax’s consistent style, and old Pentax users can get started quickly.

4. Comprehensive functions (green key metering, raw format photos, ND filters, etc.)

5. Bright appearance, very retro style.

Disadvantages

1. No hot shoe interface.

2. Due to the flip-up screen, the body is slightly thicker and heavier.

3. The lens cover is not integrated with the body, making it troublesome to use.

4. The price is slightly expensive

Summary: Regarding the positioning of MX-1, in terms of price, controllability and functions, it is undoubtedly prepared for SLR backup. It is said to be more suitable for those who have a certain photography foundation. Its excellent controllability is slightly better than that of entry-level SLRs, but it sacrifices the popular high pixels for better imaging quality. Many netizens think that 1/1.7-inch CMOS is too small, but the editor believes that this size is more suitable. If a larger CMOS camera can be made while maintaining a compact body, currently there are only Nikon Coolpix A, Ricoh GR and Sony Black card, but the first two are 28mm fixed focus lenses, which are subject to certain restrictions in terms of convenience and shooting themes.

In addition to the SR dual anti-shake on the body and the large-diameter lens, the editor feels that Pentax may be preparing for a larger CMOS non-interchangeable lens camera in the future. Pentax has made a world-unique The Q, which has a 1/2.33? inch interchangeable lens, has made the K-mount K-01 with a compact body but unchanged flange distance. Now it has embarked on a retro style, replicating its own classic model MX. Of course, MX-1 is just the beginning, the fun is yet to come.