Value & Verdict

Pentax K-r review – Value

Released in the autumn of 2010 with a recommended retail price of £530, the K-r has not really fallen in price all that much, with current street prices from reputable photographic dealers falling between the £450-£490 mark.

Compared to the similarly-priced, albeit older, Canon 500D the K-r does hold up relatively well though. While the K-r lacks the 1080p video capabilities of its rivals – an area where other DSLR manufacturers are placing a lot of focus.

Since Sony discontinued the Alpha A450, the nearest rival it has to the K-r is the cheaper Alpha A390, which when compared side-by-side against the better-featured K-r, comes off a distant second best. The Sony A560 might well be better placed to challenge the K-r more directly.

Pentax K-r review – Verdict

It’s hard not to like the K-r. Reassuringly solid build and yet surprisingly compact, it sits nicely in the hand and is easy to operate. The menu layout actively encourages you to experiment with the built-in custom image presets and digital filters, combining one or more for fun effects, or even creating your own unique look with. Purists might argue that this is something best left to dedicated image-editing software at the post-production stage, however as the K-r is able to shoot perfectly neutral Raw images as well.

Video recording is more of an added extra than a standout feature, and we were disappointed that the K-r isn’t able to autofocus while recording. But aside from this there is little else to fault about the K-r and plenty to praise. In the end, most users are going to judge their camera on its image quality and in this respect we’re happy to report that the K-r is capable of delivering consistently good results, with high ISO performance especially noteworthy.