Pentax Q7 Premium Kit

A limited edition of the world’s smallest interchangeable lens camera system

Pentax, on 18 April, will start selling its Q7 Premium Kits—only 1,000 units of which will be available. Each kit will include a Pentax Q7 Body, Pentax 01 Standard Prime lens, Pentax 02 Standard Zoom, Pentax 06 Telephoto Zoom and a Pentax 08 Wide Zoom. The kit also has a black metal hood for the 01 Prime, which has been designed exclusively for this kit, apart from plastic hoods for the 02, 06 and 08 lenses. In addition, the package has a Pentax-100 polarising filter and a O-CB133 camera.

So, is there any reason—other than its scarcity value—to buy this kit? Well, first of all, bear in mind that Ricoh Imaging’s Q7 is a truly compact interchangeable lens system camera. Weighing a cool 198 gm, it is easy to carry around too.

The Q7 allows you to shoot images in both RAW, which can be processed in-camera, and high-quality JPEG formats. Its rendition of colours and the exposure on JPEGs are on par with more expensive cameras. Its ‘quick dial’ mode may be customised, and together with its ‘manual exposure’ mode, you will be able to use it the way you like with ease.

For people who love Instagram, the Q7 offers in-camera art filters as well as an HDR mode. There is even an in- body sensor shift image stabilisation option that lets you capture some sharp results even if you—or your subject—are not on stable ground.

The 01 Prime lens is superfast at F/1.9 and is a great add-on with normal focal length. However, not everything is great about this camera, as it is a compact unit and often acts like one (leaving a purple fringe on your photos, for example). Also, its video quality is amateurish, and since this is an entry-level camera, you will only be using it under good lighting conditions; the moment you go beyond an ISO 800 setting, the images start getting grainy. It has no viewfinder and this can limit your ability to compose a picture.

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