I posted some time ago that I thought it unlikely that I'd buy one. Two
just arrived in our office, though, so I took one home over the weekend.
My impression of its usability is not positive. I'm not trying to start
a flame war, or question anyone else's impression of the camera. My
impression is conditioned by having been using the 1p, and by the size
of my hands.
Specifically, the individual controls are just too small and/or too
stiff for hands the size of mine. I noticed this first on the metering
mode and drive switches. Then I found that the selector dial could be
turned with one finger only with substantial pressure. For ease of use
it takes two fingers. It is easy, I discovered, to turn the camera off
by accident if you use the selector dial with the camera at your eye.
For much the same reason (as others have posted) the autofocus selector
is essentially unusable. The left-side dial also takes two hands.
Smaller hands might make some features easier to use, but the stiffness
problem is intrinsic regardless of hand size.
Coming to this camera from the 1p I find it awkward. It seems that one
pays a high price in usability for cramming so many features into a
small body. Perhaps such small bodies aren't the way to go if you want
features. If you come to this camera from the 5n, you'll probably be
impressed by the features. If you come to it from the 1p, you may be
disappointed.
That said, the one feature I truly liked is the easy DOF preview. This
is a big improvement. Perhaps in time I can get used to the rest of it.
It has been noted on this list that Pentax cares mainly about their home
market. I don't know if they tested this camera anywhere outside Japan,
but they certainly didn't design it for people with hands the size of
mine.
Joe
P.S. Waiting for the MZ-Sp.
P.P.S. On the other hand, the individualized third paint layer truly
overcomes all of the above deficiencies. I gaze at it with awe.
-
This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe,
go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to
visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
