Pentax K-x, Tamron AF SP 17-50mm f2.8 DiII, ISO 400, 1/500, f5.6@17mm
I’ve now owned my Pentax K-x for just over 6 months. It’s seen just about the lightest use of any of the digitals I’ve owned with a mere 2001 frames on the counter as of today. Only the D40 saw less use (at 250 frames/month) and it was a secondary body for most of that period. That said, the light use of the K-x is more due to my preference for shooting film more than any issues with the camera. Overall I remain quite fond of the K-x.
In 6 months of shooting I’ve really only found two real weaknesses with the K-x. The viewfinder is mediocre and the metering tends to underexpose. Otherwise I’m quite happy with it. The high ISO performance is spectacular, delivering results I’d be happy to get from a FF camera, at low ISO’s the IQ remains excellent and delivers superb dynamic range. In fact DXO Labs rates the K-x ahead of every DSLR except the Nikon D3x in base ISO DR. Ergonomically the K-x is quite good, what minor problems it has are due mostly to the small size. The control layout is entirely usable, as is the software UI.
While there are camera’s I’d be interested in, I’m going to keep the K-x for the foreseeable future.
