Pentax KP – Quirky grip design – great camera (Part Two)

The Pentax KP – an APS-C Digital SLR competing in the same category as the Nikon D7500 and the Canon 90D – was presented in a recent blog entry. It was sold between 2017 and 2021, and was spec’d to slot between the “amateur” oriented Pentax K-70/KF, and the very expensive Pentax K-3 Mk III.

The K-70/KF and the K-3 have bodies which are very conventional for dSLRs (and make them easy to live with), but the design of the KP is reminiscent of the manual focus SLRs of the eighties (and of the very successful Fujifilm X series mirrorless cameras), which creates some ergonomics and battery life challenges.

Without a direct legacy in the current Pentax line-up, the KP remains a very interesting proposition for Pentax shooters – with a 24 Mpix sensor and a processing engine of recent design, it is still up to date when compared to mid level APS-C mirrorless cameras. In fact, in terms of image quality and high ISO performance, it’s only second to the much more expensive K-3 Mk III in the Pentax APS-C line-up. And contrarily to its K-3 biggest brothers, it has an articulated rear display, which makes composing the image in “Live-View” mode easier.

*High Falls State Park, GA – Pentax KP – Pentax DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro Limited*

Shooting with the KP : the optical viewfinder

Because it’s Pentax’s main differentiator, the optical viewfinder of their dSLRs is the object of the utmost care – and the truth is that – for an APS-C camera, the KP has a very good OVF. The specs sheet reads like a dream come true. The OVF’s pentaprism is made out of glass, it covers almost 100% of the captured image, with a magnification factor of 0.95x and an eye relief of 20.5mm. The focusing screen is fine and bright enough to let you set the focus “manually” with pre-autofocus era lenses.

It’s still an APS-C (meaning cropped sensor) camera, which makes some of the figures of the specs sheet misleading – the announced magnification factor of 0.95x would translate into a relatively mediocre 0.63x on a full frame dSLR (a Pentax K-1 or a Nikon D780 reach 0.7x, and the very best full frame cameras 0.76x). The viewfinder does not exactly give you the immersive view you get in the OVF of a professional full frame dSLR – but composing your pictures through the viewfinder of the KP is still a very pleasant experience – it is large and luminous enough to let you judge how the image will look like without having to double check the rear digital display all the time – it’s very significant step up over the “dark tunnel vision” experienced with the entry-level dSLRs from some other manufacturers.

There is no electronics to introduce a delay between what happens on the scene and what you see on the focusing screen, and – for whatever reason (I know, old habits and old age…), I find it easier to mentally project the final image when I compose on the focusing screen of an optical viewfinder rather than on the LCD panel of an electronic viewfinder.

Shooting with the KP: The third control wheel

Like cars, cameras are software defined those days. Everything can be configured and menus have become incredibly long and complex. The KP is not different, but Pentax has introduced one trick to make the photographer’s life easier, the “third control wheel”.

On a relatively compact camera like the KP, the real estate where to place dedicated buttons and switches is limited, and the quantity of options and settings offered in the menus can be overwhelming.

There are settings for which no dedicated physical control is available but that you may wish to change without having to dig deep into pages and pages menus. That’s where the third control wheel – the so called “smart function dial” comes into play.

The “smart function dial” is a big knob on the top plate that can take one of six positions – three pre-defined by Pentax, and three user-defined. Imagine you’re in front of a high contrast scene – you know you’re going to need to set the camera to HDR mode, but don’t know how to configure it. Place the big dial on the HDR position, and rotate the third control wheel at the far right of the top plate to select the desired HDR setting. Take the picture, review the result, then simply rotate the third control wheel left of right to select another HDR setting, and repeat until you get a picture you like.

*The “smart function dial” with its “AE-HDR-CH/CL…” markings is paired with the unmarked control wheel on its right. A very good idea, nicely implemented.*

In my experience, the real value sits with the user configurable functions, C1, C2 and C3. I’ve set C1 to change the exposure compensation value. If I’m facing a scene difficult to evaluate, I position the knob on C1, and use the third wheel to circle through the different exposure compensation values. Similarly, I configured C2 to easily switch from an ISO value to another.

The third control wheel may seem gimmicky, or redundant (I could also access the exposure compensation or the ISO settings using a dedicated key and the second control wheel or the Info page on the rear display), but it saves time if you need to change a parameter frequently or if you’re trying different options when facing a complex scene, and I ended up using it a lot.

Not so good: Battery life

Well, it’s not brilliant. Not as bad as a Fujifilm X-H1, for instance, but not great at all, and frankly disappointing for a dSLR. Because there was no room in the KP’s body for the large battery of the K-5/K-3 series, Pentax used the small 1050 mAh battery introduced in 2010 with the K-r, and typically coming with Pentax’s entry level models (it’s still being used in the KF). For reference, the K-5 and the K-3 use a 1860 mAh battery, delivering almost twice the capacity.

The KP is begging to be used in Live View Mode (why would Pentax have specified a tiltable rear screen otherwise), which increases the power consumption and makes the choice of a small battery even more puzzling. When Nikon dSLRs can easily shoot 1000 pictures on a charge, the KP is struggling to deliver more than three hundreds (it’s rated at 420 shots per charge by CIPA, which seems pretty optimistic). Be sure to have one or two charged spare batteries with you, or the battery grip attached.

The battery grip accepts one lithium battery (either the small type of the KP/KF or the large type of the K-5/K-3) and its capacity comes in addition to the battery already in place in the body of the camera, effectively doubling the total battery capacity (with the small KP/KF battery) or almost tripling it (with the large K-5/K-3 battery).

*Apart from the KP, only the full frame Pentax K-1 has a tillable rear display – it tilts forward….*

The Live View mode and macro-photography

This is not a mirrorless camera, and even though the image sensor has photosites dedicated to phase detection autofocus, they are only mobilized when shooting videos, and not when taking still images.

Therefore, when in the Live-View mode, the KP won’t have the speed and reactivity of a good mirrorless ILC (to shoot sports, wild life or other moving subjects, use the optical viewfinder, that’s what it’s here for). But on relatively static and evenly lit subjects (landscape, interior photography, macro photography), the autofocus of the Live View mode works extremely well.

On other subjects (moving objects or people, scenes with strong highlights), it struggles, and hunts vainly for focus (I’ve read it performs better with recent lenses equipped with an internal focusing motor). On earlier Pentax models, Live-View looked like a clunky afterthought. Here, it’s well implemented but only usable with a limited type of subjects.

Image Quality

I don’t know if it’s the camera, or the prime Pentax 35mm Macro “Limited” prime lens . Or the combination they form. But I’ve been really pleased and genuinely impressed with the quality of the images.

The images (RAW and JPEGs) are correctly exposed, with pleasing colors, they show an impressive dynamic range, and need very few adjustments – no need to play with the exposure, the highlights or the clarity sliders to get pictures you can be proud of. And it’s true for landscapes, for interiors, for pictures of objects, when composing through the optical viewfinder and on the rear display in Live-View mode.

You can see Pentax dSLRs as obsolete pieces of machinery, and you would have a point when it comes to their live-view or video capabilities, but as far as still image quality is concerned, they’re perfectly up to date.

*“Only time will tell” – on the trail markers of the Sweetwater Creek Park (GA), interesting messages are often written by visitors. I saw this one long after the picture was taken.*

A mirrorless killer?

No way.

The KP is a niche product. You shoot with a KP either because you’re a committed Pentax dSLR photographer and will not consider any other camera system, or because from time to time you want to enjoy to experience of composing your images through an optical viewfinder, with a camera whose user interface you can configure in depth and to your liking.

Objectively, compared to the best mirrorless ILCs, the KP’s autofocus is not as capable (it only offers face detection in live view, for instance, not when composing through the optical viewfinder), the autofocus in the live-view mode only works well with relatively static and evenly lit subjects, video capture is comparatively primitive and most surprisingly for a dSLR, battery life is sub-par (recent mirrorless cameras do better). As for the ergonomics, it’s an acquired taste – the KP is extremely compact (smaller than a Fujifilm X-T series for instance), but also heavier and not as pleasant to hold if paired with its small grip.

Image quality is extremely good and pictures have a pleasant “Pentax Touch”, but the best mirrorless cameras are no slouch either, and nowadays a lot can be accomplished with presets and filters in image editing software. Last by not least, the vendors of APS-C mirrorless cameras – Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon or Sony – all have a significant market presence and a clear product roadmap, which can’t be said for Pentax.

So, what’s left? The thing that mirrorless cameras can’t offer: the direct, immediate view of the scene through an optical viewfinder. That, and the fact that the user interface is so rich in buttons, knobs and control wheels that the camera can be configured to work exactly like you feel it should. The KP is a genuine pleasure to shoot with and naturally pushes the photographer to explore and experiment.

Except to pay between $550.00 and $750.00 for a used KP located in the US. Pentax cameras used to have a much stronger following in Japan than in America, and most of the used KPs are located there. They will be subject to tariffs and fees if imported into the US. Tariffs and fees may (or may not) be included in the announced shipping costs. It’s a point to validate before placing the order.

More about the KP:

DPReview: https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentax-kp-review
Pentaxforums: https://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-kp-review/introduction.html
PentaxUser: https://www.pentaxuser.com/review/pentax-kp-dslr-review-1038
Kobie MC on Youtube: https://youtu.be/N5fAc45_UdE?si=iMBC23n53vBdcwA9

For a similar budget, should you buy a used K-3 Mk II or a used KP?

The KP is a more modern but somehow quirky evolution of the K-3 Mk II. Its image sensor is more recent, its image processing engine more elaborate, and it will deliver marginally nicer pictures, particularly at high ISOs. The third control wheel is also unique to the KP, and more useful than I thought.

The tiltable rear screen is in my opinion the main reason to prefer a KP over a K-3 II. It makes the camera easier to use for macro photography, when shooting with a wide angle lens or from the hip in the street, all situations where the live-view option can be put to better use with a tiltable LCD. Alternatively, its more conventional design is the main reason to prefer a K-3 Mk II, in particular if you shoot with long and heavy lenses, and believe that the tiltable rear screen is going to make the KP too fragile in the long run.

K-3 Mk II or KP, it’s up to you – but be warned: it may whet your appetite for an even more modern take on the classic Pentax optical viewfinder camera theme, the K-3 Mk III.

Pentax KP – Quirky grip design – great camera (Part One)

Only Canon, Nikon and Pentax still have dSLRs in their product catalogs, but although they’re still on the shelves of the retailers, I don’t know if any of those dSLRs is still being manufactured.

Pentax is committed to the dSLR architecture, and with the full frame K-1 Mk II, and no less than three cropped sensor models, the KF, the K-3 Mk III and the K-3 Monochrome, they have the youngest dSLR model range of the remaining big three (all four Pentax models were launched between 2018 and 2023).

Between the predecessor of the current KF (the K-70) and a then to come K-3 Mk III, Pentax thought there was room for an intermediate model, the KP, a technical evolution of the K-3 Mk II, but with a totally different design.

*Pentax KP (left) and K-5 (right).* *A very different ergonomic study* *(this KP is shown with the “small” removable grip).*

Launched in 2017 and retired in 2021, the KP begged to be different – from its Pentax siblings and from Canon & Nikon’ remaining dSLRs.

The KP was designed as a sort of mini K-1, with the aim of looking physically smaller than the K-3, but be more configurable and more solidly built than the entry level K-70. Its styling was reminiscent of the manual focus, non motorized cameras of the nineteen seventies, with a slim body and a shutter release button placed in the middle of the top plate.

Equipped with a newer generation 24 Mpix sensor, the KP retained the autofocus module of the “pro” K-3 Mk II. Like it, it could be fitted with an optional battery grip. It inherited the image processing engine of the K-1, and improved on its full frame brother with a more flexible configuration for its third control wheel.

Beyond the style, the KP’s main differentiation point with the K-70 and the K-3 Mk II was the ability for the photographer to choose between 3 sizes of hand grips.

The design of those interchangeable hand grips is somehow controversial. Professional reviewers like Chris Nichols of DPReview and Petapixel fame positively hated it. Among the Pentax photographers, some like it, some shoot with a KP in spite of it, and some remained true to the K-3 Mk II because of it.

*Trying to hold the KP firmly with one hand – a rather uncomfortable way to use this camera*

The small grip was supposed to be mounted on the KP when the photographer was shooting with small (and light) primes, the large grip (and the battery grip) when shooting with a long and heavy tele-lens or tele-zoom, and the medium one the rest of time.

In the American market, the camera was packaged with the three hand grips initially, but after a while Pentax only included the small grip in the base configuration, the large one being part of an extra cost bundle also including a battery grip, and the medium sized one being sold separately for $49.99. None of those grips is available now, and my KP will be stuck with its small grip for the time being.

*Pentax KP next to a Fujifilm X-T4 – counter-intuitively, the mirrorless camera is larger than the dSLR, and offers a significantly longer battery life.*

The Pentax KP is not the only camera with a retro-inspired, small grip design – look no further than the very successful Fujifilm X series, but what works very well on a X-100 or a X-T4 does not click on the KP.

First impressions – is the grip worth the buzz?

Pentax APS-C cameras tend to be small, and the KP looks even smaller than its siblings. But it’s not its compact size that strikes you the most when you bring the viewfinder of the camera to your eye for the first time, it’s its weight. It’s not really heavier than a Pentax K-5 or K-3 (all tip the scales at approximately 700 g), but its compact design and its small grip make its weight much more noticeable.

*Pentax K-5 – you can hold it with one hand with confidence*, *and even adjust some settings with the rear control wheel.*

On a K-5 or a K-3 (and on other dSLRs of more conventional design), the camera can be held firmly with the palm of the right hand and the three lower fingers, leaving the thumb and the index free to move and reach the different control wheels and commands. You can be confident that you won’t drop the camera while you’re moving around your subject, looking for the right angle.

If you try and hold the KP with one hand, you have to pinch the right side of the camera between your thumb and three of your remaining fingers (no room for the pinky). Even with a prime lens or a light zoom, we’re talking about two pounds of glass and metal here, that you will be afraid to drop if your fingers start releasing their grip (it’s not a coincidence that the previous owner of this camera had included a wrist strap in the package I received).

*How the KP has to be operated if equipped with the small grip – held firmly in the palm in the left hand, right hand thumb and index on the controls.*

With the small grip in place, the KP definitely requires a two-hand operation.

Solutions to the hand grip challenge

The design, the ergonomics and the small grip of the KP may work for you. Personally I would have liked the camera to be more conducive to one hand operations, and I believe that the slim design of the KP would have worked better if the camera had been one or two hundred grams lighter and its body just a bit taller.

The simplest way for me to address my “grip problem” would be to buy the OEM large grip (Pentax reference O-GP1672). Based on the input of other KP users, it should make “one hand operations” easier. If only I could locate one.

Pentax KP with the Battery Grip – the battery grip is designed to be paired with the large hand grip – but even with the small hand grip still in place, it makes the camera much more comfortable to hold.

The camera I bought came with the optional Pentax D-BG7 battery grip (but without the large hand grip, unfortunately). I’m not a fan of battery grips in general because they make the camera bulkier and often require to remove the battery door, but in the case of the KP, the battery door (and the OEM battery) remain in place, and the grip addresses two of the KP’s glaring issues – the battery life and the ergonomics, without much of a weight penalty (300g approx).

With the battery grip in place, the battery capacity of the camera almost triples: the 1050 mAh battery remains in the body of the camera, and only starts being drained when the battery located in the grip is depleted (the grip accepts the same 1050 mAh battery as the camera does, or the larger 1860 mAh battery of the Pentax K-5/K-3 series).

As for the ergonomics, the battery grip is a huge improvement. It’s supposed to help with vertical composition, but even when composing an horizontal image it makes the camera much easier to hold and control : I’m not afraid to grab it with one hand anymore, and although the front control wheel remains difficult to access, the one at the back of the body is easily reached.

A last option is to do for the KP what I did for my other “slim bodied” cameras (the Fujifilm X series and Sony HX-60): I ordered a Leather Half Case from a non specified Chinese vendor on AliExpress. Those half cases add almost a centimeter of leather under the bottom plate, they also make the front of the camera’s body a bit thicker and increase the surface presented to the fingers, making the camera much easier to hold.

*One of the many online stores selling KP half cases.*

I picked the black one (it’s also available in fancier colors). This half case is well finished, and makes the KP much more comfortable to hold. A few millimeters here and there can do a lot. I can even reach the rear control wheel while holding the camera firmly in the palm of my right hand. A definitive improvement, and a permanent fixture on my camera now.

*The leather half case makes the KP much easier to work with.*

Shooting with the Pentax KP

Now that I’ve described in length my two major gripes with the KP, it’s time to discuss the positives. Optical viewfinder, abundance of physical controls, configurability, and of course, image quality. It’s a very pleasant camera to use, that begs to be taken to a photo stroll, and will reward you with great pictures. More about the Pentax KP in the next blog post, in two weeks.

More recent content in CamerAgX

Georgia pictures from my Flickr Album

*Cartersville, GA – home of the first Coca-Cola wall advertisement (1894). Restored in 1989. Pentax KP – Pentax DA Limited 35mm f/2.8 macro*

*Cartersville, GA – Pentax KP – Pentax DA Limited 35mm f/2.8 macro*

*Cartersville, GA – one of the many restaurants painted in Coca-Cola colors. Pentax KP. Pentax DA Limited 35mm F/2.8*

*Cartersville, GA – another Coca-Cola Red restaurant. Still standing. Pentax KP. Pentax DA Limited 35mm F/2.8* macro.

*Cartersville, GA – the 4 Way Lunch restaurant – Detail – Pentax KP – Pentax DA Limited 35mm F/2.8*

The Blue Ocean, or how Pentax’s positioning of the K-3 III affects second hand camera prices

If you’ve spent time on Pentax dedicated forums, you may have read that Pentax and Ricoh (the owner of the Pentax brand) follow a “blue ocean strategy” and want Pentax dSLRs to become “the Leica M of the dSLRs”.

I don’t know if those statements are coming directly from Ricoh or are just an invention of creative bloggers. But it aligns very well with what Ricoh have been doing with the GR series, and Pentax with the K-3 Mk III.

“Blue Ocean” means that instead of competing with sharks in an area rich in preys – so rich it’s tainted red by the blood of the victims, you retreat to a zone with fewer fish, but also fewer competing predators, and no blood. The Blue Ocean. As for becoming a Leica M equivalent, it obviously relates to a strategy where – by sticking to a technology that everybody else has abandoned, you build a niche for yourself and serve a small group of highly motivated (and wealthy) users with products which are without an equivalent anywhere else.

*Pentax K-5 II – Sigma 8-16mm lens – bench in Atlanta, GA*

You can see the Blue Ocean strategy at play in the way Ricoh declines its ultra compact GR camera into a series of extremely specialized products (GR IIIX with 40mm lens, GR IV monochrome, GR IV High Diffusion Filter, …). As for being the Leica M of dSLRs, consider the case of the Pentax K-3 Mk III: the last and arguably most elaborate APS-C dSLR launched by any camera manufacturer, it was proposed at a comparatively very high price, and was followed by an even more expensive variant equipped with a monochrome sensor – that’s taken directly from the Leica marketing playbook.

You can argue that Pentax did not have much success as an innovator in the recent years (the Q series and the K-01 did not meet their public), and that until recently they were selling cameras primarily on value.

*Pentax K-5 II – Pentax DA 18-55 lens – porch in Marietta, GA*

The K-7, K-5 and the K-3 Mk I and Mk II are a good example: not rated as highly as Canon or Nikon’s best cameras when it came to autofocus or video performance (for instance), they produced images of high quality, and offered advantages unique in their category (in body image stabilization, full weather sealing) at a price point lower than their competition.

The pricing strategy started changing with the launch of the Pentax KP in 2017 and became obvious with the release of the K-3 Mk III – which clearly tried to be the best dSLR with an APS-C sensor – ever – but was at the same time more expensive than Canon and Nikon’s offerings.

As of today, you still have to spend almost $1800 for a new K-3 Mk III (that’s the 2025 Holiday promotion, it still lists officially at $2000) and up to $2200 for a K-3 Mk III Monochrome, which is much higher than Canon’s 90D at $1200, and Nikon’s only remaining new APS-C dSLR, the d7500 currently selling for $700.

It percolates on the cost of older Pentax dSLRs on the second hand market – the K-5 and the first two K-3 models could still be considered bargain buys not so long ago, but the K-3 Mk III has pulled the prices upwards. Being the most recent predecessors of the K-3 Mk III, the K-3 Mk II and the KP are logically the most impacted.

The introduction of tariffs on second hand cameras coming from Japan has made the matter worse by cutting the main source for cheap Pentax cameras: imported second hand Pentax dSLRs are subject to tariffs, factor that if you buy from a Japanese retailer.

*Pentax K-5 II – Pentax DA 18-55 lens – Hood decoration (Chevrolet)*

More about Pentax cameras in CamerAgX

The recent Pentax cropped sensor dSLRs line up today: from the K-5 to the KP in a few words

The Pentax K-5, K-5 II and K-5 IIs: Available new between 2010 and 2013, the K-5 remains a very good value proposition – with a solid build, a long battery life, great ergonomics and a very good 16 MPIX sensor delivering very good images. Some details are dated: there is no WiFi, and live view and video capabilities are very limited, but it’s still a very good camera if you’re shooting exclusively still images. Nice copies of the K-5 can still be found between $200.00 and $250.00. The K-5 IIs is approx. $100 more expensive.

The Pentax K-3 and K-3 II: – Sold between 2013 and 2017, the K-3 and the K-3 II are essentially a K-5 IIs with a 24 Mpix sensor. The K3 II gets a better autofocus system and an integrated GPS but the K-3 and the K-3 II keep the same fundamental qualities and limitations as the K-5. And they make you pay dearly for their 24 Mpix sensor (up to $650 for a K-3 Mk II).

The Pentax K-70 and KF – launched respectively in 2017 and 2022 – are more or less the same camera under a different name – they are the remote successors of cameras like the K-r tested last year in those pages, the last two representents of a long line of the mid-level Pentax dSLRs. They benefit from some “pro” features like weather sealing and in body image stabilization, they have the same 100% viewfinder and the same 24 Mpix sensor as the K-3 or the KP and offer WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. The LCD display at the back is fully articulated. But their autofocus module is dated and limited, they’re not as solidly built as a K-3 or the KP (polycarbonate instead of a magnesium alloy), they are deprived of the K-5 and K-3’s top plate display and only have one SD card slot and a smaller battery.

Note that the entry-level or mid level Pentax dSLRs (starting with the K-30 up to the K-70s built before 2021) may all suffer from issues with the solenoid controlling the aperture – the most recent K-70s and the KF are using a different component and will be OK. The KF is still available new for approximately $650.00 in the US, and a nice second hand K-70 can be had for $400.

*Pentax K-r – “SR” is for “Shake Reduction”. It’s a important differentiator – no other brand offers in body image stabilization (IBIS) on digital reflex cameras*.

The Pentax KP was launched in 2017 as a replacement of the K-3 II, and discontinued in 2021. It introduced a new slim, retro-inspired body design with user replaceable hand grips – esthetically pleasant but with controversial ergonomics. It benefited from a new and improved image processing engine and from a tiltable rear display. It combined characteristics inherited from the K-3 II (24 mpix sensor, all metal construction, 27 point autofocus system) with characteristics typically seen on entry level cameras (only one SD card slot, small battery, no top plate LCD display). If you can live with those limitations and its ergonomics, it’s the closest you’ll get to the image quality of the K-3 Mk III, at a fraction of the price.

Like the K-3 Mk II, the KP has become expensive – the typical second hand price being in the $600 to $750 range.

*The KP’s differentiator – a tillable rear display*

I only know the Pentax K-3 Mk III from its specs sheet, and reviews I’ve read or watched here and there. Under a body that looks similar to the previous K-3s, it’s a very different camera, and now that the Nikon D500 has been discontinued, a credible candidate to the title of most elaborate APS-C dSLR.

With a new 26 MPIX BSI sensor, a new autofocus system, a top plate LCD display, a third control wheel, a touch screen and a joystick to select from 41 autofocus points – it’s a very significant step above the K-3 II and the KP. It has almost everything expected from a top of the line dSLR, and its specs sheet compares favorably with the best APS-C mirrorless cameras. The only glaring omission is the lack of an articulated or tiltable rear screen, which can be an issue when shooting with wide angle lenses or for macro-photography. Still available new from retailers, it can not be found second hand for less than $1300, more than twice as much as a more abundant Nikon D500.