Customer Reviews

Pentax MX1 Expert Compact Digital Camera - Silver (12 MP, 4x Optical Zoom) 3 inch Tilt LCD

The camera does everything is supposed to. Personally I like the size and weight of it. It makes me feel like I'm holding a real camera and not some kind of a toy, without the extra weight and size of my canon 7D which draws a lot of attention and muscles to carry around.
The lens is sharp and focuses quickly at all lengths. It is a little less sharp than the Leica one on my Panasonic LX7, but the results are fantastic. I have taken some wonderful pictures with it. I still struggle which one to take with me, the LX7 or the Pentax MX-1 but I feel the MX-1 will eventually be the winner due to its flip up or down screen.
I have taken out one star, due to its slow refresh rate. After taking a picture it takes a while for the camera to process the information and return back to a shooting status. Not a major delay with jpeg but noticeably slow when processing Raw files. Perhaps, a firmware update will take care of that. I would also like a hot shoe and the aperture control on a ring on the lens, like the LX7. All in all, a wonderful camera which I will always keep.

Update:05/01/2014
Two things that I came to appreciate about the camera and the company.
1. The fact that the camera lets you customize your own WB (white balance) in SCN mode (handheld night snap) where the camera takes a number of pictures in rapid succession, combining them internally into one thus reducing camera shake and noise.And it does that quite good. Usually one has to revert to this mode due to poor lighting conditions and in most cases "weird" one, due to most of the times, to many different kinds of lighting sources . Being able to adjust the WB in circumstances like that, to my opinion, is more than essential to any photographer. Something that cannot be done with my LX7,fujifilm HS50 EXR or any other compact camera I owned before.
2. In shutter priority mode, one has the option to slow down the shutter and more importantly to even revert to "Bulb" mode where the shutter stays open for as long as the photographer wishes."Bulb" in a compact bridge camera!!! This is just fantastic!

I have yet to see the above two points to any other point&shoot; or bridge camera.
Well done Pentax !!!

Update: 02/FEB/2014
I have been using the camera for a while now. It is indeed a pleasure to use and hold. The lens is indeed very sharp at all focal lengths.
Unfortunately,though if you are one of those shooters who like shooting panoramic images, don't look here. It's 2 panoramic modes (Digital Panorama & Digital wide ) are a joke. So basic and primitive. Nothing compared to the automation and ease of panoramic modes in other cameras. It will take more effort, skill and lots of luck to be able to successfully create a panoramic image. Better learn the technique and stitch in Photoshop or some other program.
Another thing that I didn't like is that in HDR mode it won't even let you change the aperture you want to shoot with.

So everybody is marvelling at the Rx100 (or the II if you will it so).Big sensor and all.
BUT
The lens on this one here is a beauty. About the same zoom range like the Sony and SHARP. Whatever Range, whatever distance (it is beautiful for macro although cannot beat my OMD with an old Konica lens and macroextensions).
The Handling is really good, and with a WIFI SD Card you can work on your pictures with snapseed (or instagram if you insist) on your mobile / pad.

Ok, although I am pretty much sold on this and want to keep it until the brass shows there are a few

CONS:
- Lenscap - ..... I mean really? This is especially annoying because the camera wont turn on with the Lenscap on. I mean it is literally pounding on the lenscap in the inside...Thankfully ebay offers some help in form of an automatically opening Lenscap - SOLVED,
- Panoramas - while in Theory a good function it broad daylight there is next to no chance to see the overlaying parts on the screen. So forget about it and try doing it with software.
- Size. It could be a tiny bit smaller. It is pretty thick AND wide. While I personally find the RX100 too small - I have seen friends (with bad technique) shooting lots of pretty slanted photos, which I can be atributed to it's size as well.
- Viewfinder - I got so used to it on my OMD so I had to go back to display framing on this one - and still miss a Viewfinder. The RX100 you can at least attach one.

Other than that it has brought me lots of shooting pleasure. It just does things right and the Aperture Range from 1.8 - 2.5 is soo usable. On the RX100 you have to stick to wide when it gets darker. Not on this one.

Just try it out and see if it is for you.

Me? I am so in the Market for a Pentax MX-2. Integrated Viewfinder like on the Panasonic GX7 or at least in the LF1 and you have me.

Last word on image quality. Landscapes is not a strong suit of this one. Sure, it does it. And the lens is a beast. But with this sensor size and 12MP you wont win a prize - probably. But for your run of the mill Holiday shots, street shooting, Quick portraits, buildings, etc. it beats about 90% of the Point and Shoot Cams out there. And while talking about beating stuff: My GF was carrying my old Olympus PEN E-PL2 with a 14-42 kit lens. Needless to say that the Pentax outdid this combo even in resolution because the Oly is just not very sharp - and we should not begin about aperture. Of course outfit the Oly with the compact Pana 20mm F1.7 and things look different. Taking into account that the Pana 20mm costs roughly the amount of the whole Pentax MX-1 that is a bit of a unfair comparison though. That said, the MX-1 still comes awfully close to what you can do with that combo.

This camera exudes quality. It is beautifully made, built like a battleship and has a solidity which none of my other cameras have bar the Fuji X100. It feels just right in my hands with sufficient heft and grip to keep shots steady without using a mono or tri-pod. The MX-1 is a lovely camera to use and I have been truly surprised at the excellent image quality which for me, betters my much loved Fuji X10. The tilt LCD is bright and razor sharp and the zoom retains a large aperture from end to end of the focal length. Metering is accurate, focusing is fast and my only gripe is the slight yellow tinge caused from indoors light and the sometimes sluggish SD card write times. But they do not detract in anyway from my enjoyment using the camera.

I would never have bought one at the initial launch price but like my Nikon V1, the free fall in list price meant I could buy one and see whether the very favourable reviews stacked up. They do and the MX-1 has really impressed me with its build, image quality and (now), superb value for money.

I love this camera. The build is right, the look is good (mine is silver) and the output is excellent. This has a 1/1.7" sensor - don't expect miracles. Used carefully and with a bit of thought the output is truly excellent. Delivered today, I took it out to photograph a local church. Dramatic, overcast sky meant that i kept it at about f4. Put the results through silver efex pro and I have been looking at the photo's all evening with a sense of disbelief. They are really good.
I also have a Nikon D610 with prime lenses, a Sony NEX 5n with Sigma 30mm and a Panasonic LX3. I get the feeling that those camera's are about to become redundant.....

I like this camera because [a] the screen tilts, I can hold the camera at chest [or stomach] height with my elbows against my sides and look down to see the screen. I find this more stable than holding a fixed-screen out in front [b] there's an "exposure compensation" dial on the top. I can turn that to make a picture lighter (good when people's faces are in the shade) or darker [c] its lens lets quite a lot of light in compared to a cheaper Compact Camera, so it uses a faster shutter speed or a lower ISO in low light - both of these improve the picture quality. So far I’ve left the camera on ISO range 100-800 and I’m very happy with the results.
It works fine on “Auto”, except indoors with our compact-fluorescent-lamps when the photos look yellow (you can’t alter the “White-Balance” if the camera is set to “Auto”) This isn’t critical for me as I use the DNG “Raw” images and sort the White-Balance later [With Photoshop Elements 7, I haven’t tried the “Silkypix” software that comes with the camera] Mostly I don’t use “Auto”, but “Av” mode, and indoors set the White-Balance to “Tungsten”, there’s no yellow tint then. You can use Flash indoors of course and as the flash provides the light, there isn’t any yellowness
I’ve read that when the camera stores the image as a “Raw” file, it’s a bit slow between shots, because it’s busy storing the previous photo? I use a Class 10/UHS-1 SD card and I’ve not noticed a problem, but when I press the button to view the photo-I’ve-just-taken then the screen sometimes tells me “Data being recorded” As the .jpg it makes are almost-as-good-as-the-Raw files, if I know I want to take-photos-quickly, I change to .jpg-only file storage.
The fact that it’s heavy is not a problem for me - heavy cameras suffer less from camera shake when you press the button [I just use the “Sensor Shift” shake-reduction, “Dual” doesn’t seem necessary and adds to photo-processing-time]
I give it 5 stars because I don't think there is another camera available at the price I paid (225 pound) that had the features I wanted that would give me equivalent image-quality.

This is a good camera that seems to have kept under the radar. I was looking for a replacement for my Sony W300 that is showing its age and started looking at Sony RX100 mk1 and mk2 but thought them too expensive for secondary camera that might not always be well treated. I looked at other obvious choices such as Canon S120 and Fuji X20 and in my Internet trawling stumbled across the MX-1. Whilst Internet reviews weren't filled with universal acclaim the basics of this camera looked right to me with solid build and a sharp bright lens that stays bright through the zoom range making the bulk worthwhile. At �220 it seemed worth a try and I have to say it has exceeded expectations. I shoot jpeg only, normally aperture priority, and pictures produced are excellent. The ability to use wide apertures saves using very high ISOs and so avoids noise from the modest sized sensor. The tilting screen is excellent and largely makes up for the lack of a viewfinder - you can set the screen horizontally and shoot from the waist. The only real negative is the automatic white balance that seems a little inconsistent.

Overall a high quality compact camera that takes excellent pictures and is a pleasure to use. If you are a keen photographer looking for great value technically excellent camera get one while you can!

This camera is bigger and chunkier than you might expect; it has quite a weight to it but the build quality seems extremely good and while I won't put it to the test, I suspect it would take a few knocks. The styling is rather retro, which personally I like. The rubberised body is easy to grip, but a small raised grip for the fingers of your right hand (as many other advanced compact cameras have) would have made it more comfortable.

The screen will flip up 90 degrees (allowing you to shoot macro subjects from ground level) or down 45 degrees (to shoot over people's heads more easily), but won't turn back on itself to prevent the screen from being scratched, nor will it turn around to help with self portraits. The screen is large, bright and clear, and the display well laid-out.

The feature set should suit all levels of photographer. As well as the standard automatic mode, there is an extra-easy 'green mode' that will take even more decisions for you. At the other end of the spectrum you can turn it to full manual mode. In between are scene modes, a user customisable mode and aperture or shutter-speed priority. Each of these modes is easily set via a mode dial on top. There is also an exposure compensation dial, so if you want to easily make the photograph lighter or darker (for example, if you are shooting a portrait against a very bright background on one of the auto modes, this could be used to ensure the person's face didn't come out too dark). The user interface is very good - drive mode, flash function and ISO are very quickly changed via dedicated buttons, or pressing the INFO button while shooting brings up a simple interface to change any of 15 different shooting parameters.

The camera will shoot full-HD video, and first attempts of this show the quality to be extremely good.

The screen display includes an electronic level, making it straightforward to avoid wonky landscape images. The autofocus speed and shutter lag are surprisingly good for a compact camera. A pop-up flash works fine when needed, although there is no hot-shoe for adding external flashes or triggers - which many of the competitors to this camera have.

The sensor seems good for a compact camera, and is slightly larger than lower-level compacts (though not as big as some of the competitors at this level). Noise levels seem fairly well controlled through ISO 800, and still produce usable images at ISO 1600. The camera will shoot up to ISO 12800 but this seems pretty pointless as the images are not usable by this point. 12 megapixels, as most camera users these days know, is more than adequate for producing large size prints.

The most important part of any camera (in my opinion) is the lens, and here Pentax have done very well. The four-times zoom has a maximum aperture of f/1.8 at the wide end, allowing in lots of light, and this only decreases to f/2.5 when fully zoomed in, allowing you under the right conditions (short distance to subject, long distance to background) of producing some pleasant background blur to your portraits. The closest focus distance (with the appropriate mode set) is 1cm - something DSLR owners have to spend a lot of money on hardware to achieve. Colours and contrast are good, and distortion not easily evident.

Overall, the MX-1 is a serious camera that is worth the money and worth owning. The major drawbacks (speaking personally) are the lack of an optical viewfinder and flash hotshoe - things that may not bother the majority of its owners.

Length:: 5:48 Mins

♦ Brief ♦

I have to say I was in complete awe when I first unwrapped the camera, it has a wonderful sleek retro look and is very comfortable to hold.

The camera does feel a little heavy in weight, but has a great amount of grip along the body to compensate.

One of my favourite external features is the screen, you can extend it outwards and then tilt it if needed, I found this extremely useful when taking macro shots at ground level.

♦ Navigation ♦

The camera has a mode dial located up the top, this allows you to quickly change from the modes most suitable for point & shoot situations such as 'AUTO PICTURE' & 'SCENE' modes, to the more advanced settings like the 'Manual' mode.

The button layout on the camera I found to be very well placed and everything has a clear label/icon so you know what your clicking on.

As for the menu, it may not look like someone has designed it in Microsoft paint, however it's clear and due to the tab system, makes it easy to find the settings you want.

♦ Picture Quality ♦

Honestly, the overall image quality I think is superb, although there are some situations it doesn't cope so well in, it generally does well:

☑ Outdoors/Daytime; Results have been great in such conditions, however be careful when pointing near the direction of the sun as it's highly likely you will get lens flare.

☑ Beach/Sea; Would recommend using the 'SCENE' mode and select 'Surf & Snow', this will really bring out the colours, alternatively use the 'Blue Sky' for a vivid blue sky.

☑ Macro shots; To guarantee a crisp macro shot, press the flower icon located on the back of the camera and choose "Macro" for close-up shoots, or "1cm Macro" to succeed in focus insanely close to the subject, I was honestly blown away at how well this camera can focus at such close range, with stunning results.

☑ Flash; There are a lot of flash modes to choose from such as 'auto', 'off', 'on', 'auto + red-eye', 'on + red-eye', 'slow-speed sync' and more. I normally use auto, which when used has been the perfect amount and doesn't drown out the subject. #NOTE: Flash isn't really suitable for close-up shots.

☑ Indoors; Although I've had a few dud shots, most have been good results. For even better results indoors, I would recommend putting the flash on auto.

☒ Night scenic shots; Considering this camera boasts a low-light performance, I wanted to see what it could do. I tried the camera on a lovely moon-lit night that had a good amount of light lighting up the sky whilst using a tripod. The initial results on the cameras screen seemed promising, but when I had viewed the photo on my computer, there was a lot of noise on the photo. At the same time I attempted the same shot on my Sony RX100 (a rival competitor in these range of cameras) whilst using the same settings, the RX100 had little to no visible noise in the photos.

♦ Final Opinion ♦

The MX-1 by Pentax is probably the nicest looking camera I've seen in a long time, it's comfortable to hold and is easy to navigate.

Whilst it may struggle in some lower-lighting conditions, the overall performance is extremely good, especially when it comes to macro shots, the results really are out of this world.

#NOTE: I have shared some photos for your viewing, you can locate these by going under the product picture located at the top of the page and click on "View all customer image(s) and share yours". Hopefully this will give you a better insight to the quality of the camera.

As for the video uploaded, it's an unboxing of the camera as well as a quick overview of the exterior features.

It feels like a real camera and so far the pictures I have taken testing it out have been all I could want.
It will take me a while to truly get to grips with all it can do, but you will buy this camera because of how it looks and nothing else...

As a household the kids and I have a few Nikon DSLRs, a fujifilm x20 and 2 of these. So we have seen how this compares to many different cameras in different situations. Put simply this is the best advanced compact on the market for under �250. The build quality is stunning and the functionality very intuitive. A few niggles ( the lens cap stops the camera from turning on yet it still tries is breathtakingly stupid but apparently ebay sell a work around for that ) but all in all a fanastic bit of kit. RECOMMENDED HIGHLY ...