Performance

Pentax K-x review – Performance

If you’ve no previous experience of using a Pentax DSLR, it’s unlikely that you’d find the K-x‘s controls and functions difficult to navigate. The only issue which may disappoint some is the lack of illumination over the camera’s 11 focusing points. Although you have a number of options for setting the focusing pattern, the camera will only beep at you when it considers focus has been achieved, with no visual indication of exactly where it has found it.

Of course, as long as your dipotre correction is set to the appropriate level and you can see through the viewfinder clearly this isn’t necessarily insurmountable, but it’s something many will nevertheless find inconvenient. Otherwise, focusing itself is impressively quick. The camera didn’t seem to struggle in any particular area, although some of the lenses I used during this test, such as the smc 18-55mm DA-L kit lens and smc 100mm f/2.8 D FA macro lens, are a little on the noisy side when attempting to find focus.

I enjoyed using the range of digital filters, particularly the Toy Camera and Soft Focus effects. As with a few of Olympus’s Art Filters, some can take a few seconds to apply, meaning continuous shooting is out of the question. What’s particularly helpful, however, is the ability to view an effect over an existing picture, meaning you can quickly zoom through the options to find the most appropriate before taking the shot. Equally as convenient is the memory function that can be used to ensure certain functions remain on a particular setting every time the camera is turned off and on again. So, if you want the camera to make sure it always uses the same drive mode and white balance, but not sensitivity, you can customise it this way.

The LCD screen is perhaps a little underwhelming, being 2.7in in size with a resolution of 230,000 dots, though I wouldn’t necessarily expect a high-resolution screen on this sort of camera. Even so, Canon’s 500D has already delivered it at this price point and hopefully Pentax (and everyone else) will shortly follow suit. The viewfinder, meanwhile, is clear and ample in size, with key exposure information lining its base.

Images take a little while to display on the LCD screen after they have been shot, which can be a little inconvenient if shooting a number of images in a row that require you to check and adjust any settings in between. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the case regardless of the memory card‘s speed.

 

The K-x offers a range of Digital Filters, such as the Soft filter which gives images a hazy glow. 1/200sec @ f/8, Pentax smc 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II, ISO 200, Evaluative metering, AWB, Soft Filter