Photography News | Issue 33 | absolutephoto.com
Camera test 32
Original image
-4EV
-3EV
-2EV
-1EV
Correct
+1EV
+2EV
Performance: exposure latitude
A +/-4EV stop bracket was shot on the K-1. The correct exposure, obtained with a manual meter reading, was 1/60sec at f/11, ISO 100. The Raws were processed through Lightroom with the exposure corrected in software and the images exported as TIFs. Overexposure to +2EV is perfectly recoverable to a level of a correctly exposed Raw with accurate highlights without any greyness, but that is about the limit – even here the sky colouring went awry and needed correcting in processing. Tolerance to underexposure was more impressive. The -1EV and -2EV shots can be recovered with no obvious quality loss at all, while the -3EV exposure is not far off and there is noise in the shadows that can be tackled in processing. Pushing the -4EV shot to correct exposure gives more noise, but again, with sympathetic processing, it’s more than acceptable even for critical use.
+3EV
+4EV
Images For this latitude test the K-1 was fixed to a tripod and set to manual exposure mode. Ameter reading was taken and then a test exposure made. A look at the histogram confirmed the exposure was correct – the settings used were 1/60sec at f/11, ISO 100. Then an exposure bracket was done to +/-4EV in one EV steps.
Performance: HDRmode
NO HDR
HDR AUTO
This set of pictures was taken in aperture-priority AE mode, using centre-weighted average metering. The exposure was 1/250sec at f/11, ISO 200. They’re straight out of the camera JPEGs. The HDR Auto setting is a great option if you want to achieve what HDR is perfect for, ie. to get a good balance of highlight and shadows. In the HDR Auto shot you get that balance and while the non-HDR shot isn’t that much different, the benefit of better shadows is clear. Use a stronger setting and the HDR effect is more pronounced, as you would expect. The HDR 1 setting is probably the point where most people would stop and while the shadows are good, the highlights look slightly flat. By the time you get to the HDR Advanced setting you get the sort of result that you either love or hate. If this is the look you want at least the K-1 can do it for you without recourse to the computer.
HDR 1
HDR 2
Verdict
Features There is plenty on offer and lots to enjoy too Performance Exposure, AF and white-balance systems work well and the K-1 turns in fine quality images capable of big enlargements Handling Generally good, couple of handling niggles, the flexible monitor is very good Value formoney £1599 for a high-spec full-frame body is excellent Overall Certainly a credible option in the full-frame stakes and a powerful option Pros Price, flexible monitor, feature set, screen Cons More customising options would be good, long-termdurability of the flexible monitor mechanismquestionable, eye-activated LCD monitor would be nice 23/25 24/25 25/25 25/25 97/100
There is much to like about the Pentax K-1 and I enjoyed spending time with it. It’s quiet, effective and good to use. I really liked the Smart Function dial, which gave quick access to key features, but I’d question the choice of features. Why have Crop mode or Grid where perhaps white-balance would be more useful, as the latter goes when using select AF and the four-way control takes over moving the AF point around. Having one or two custom options, or the ability to reassign the default options, would be handy. In the grand scheme of things, this is small beer, but it would make this excellent control even more useful. In terms of what the K-1 produced, I thought it did really well in a wide variety of situations and continued working away despite getting thoroughly soaked in two heavy downpours. Exposure consistency was impressive, AF reliably accurate and white-balance was spot on. For current Pentax users and aspiring full- framers, the Pentax K-1 is certainly an option to consider and it’s nicely priced too.
HDR 3
HDR ADVANCED
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