Comments on: Review – Pentax K-x Part 3: Conclusions

By: Henrique

Henrique — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 03:41:43 +0000

“I never really talked about video. It records at 1280×720 pixels at a cinematic 24 frames per second. Limited to a max of 4GB clips at 5.8 MB/sec (720p), 1.7 MB/sec (VGA). I assume they limited the length (approx 11 minutes) to avoid the sensor heating up too much.”

From what I understand, this is not related to sensor at all. The thing is, SD cards use the archaic Windows FAT filesystem, and this very filesystem is limited to files of 4GB in size each. So, if you want to shoot longer videos in the K-x (or any other that uses cards with FAT filesystem), you have to “cut” scenes, so it can dump many small files instead of being limited to a single 4GB one.

By: Peter Zack

Peter Zack — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:05:30 +0000

noou, Thanks for taking the time to read the review and leaving a comment. I hope you are enjoying your camera!

By: Peter Zack

Peter Zack — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:03:45 +0000

Elliot, Sorry, I really tested this camera on its own, not against any other particular model. In a review spanning 3 sections and thousands of words; there’s a 3 sentence reference to the D40, which is still currently in the Nikon line in several markets, including the USA. Please see my comments in the 2nd paragraph of section 1. It’s their price/entry level camera as is this Pentax. It was not intended to diss Nikon in any way but give me some small comparison at the same price level. I’ll grant you that the D5000 is newer and more advanced in several areas than the D40 which has had some upgrades itself since introduction. I was mainly concerned with what you can get at this price. Which many readers would put as a primary consideration when choosing their first DSLR.

B&H prices:
$549 (D40 + 18-50mm)
$749 (D5000 + 18-50mm)
$529 (K-x + 18-50mm)

This review was entirely meant as a “user” review and hands on experiences with the K-x. Any reviews we do here at EtL will be like this, as we are not primarily a review site. We’ll pick a camera periodically to test and give users a chance to see what a couple of active photographers might like or dislike about a particular model. The reviews will not be hyper technical, nor contain MTF data charts on a lens etc. Others are better suited in this role.

So many camera reviews we see are a day or 2 of use and then some comments and a bunch of technical data. My review of the K-x spanned a couple of months of regular use to give a potential buyer some idea of the real world abilities and limits for the model.

If Nikon wants to send me a D5000 kit to use for at least a month, I’d be more than happy to give it the same thorough user report.

Thank you for the comments and reply.

By: Elliot

Elliot — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:48:40 +0000

You compared a currently-selling 12MP Pentax to a 3-year old, 6MP Nikon that was discontinued more than a year ago and the Pentax came out ahead in the contest — shocker! If you’re going to do a review with comparisons you need to make more valid comparisons.

The K-x kit sells for the *same* price at the Nikon D5000 kit. The D5000 has a better-scoring (DXOmark) 12MP sensor, has a vari-angle LCD screen, better battery life (and a more modern battery design), optional GPS geotagging, a better flash system and better 3D-based focus-tracking.

By: (noou)

(noou) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:11:52 +0000

Great and thorough review! As a (very satisfied) K-x owner I totally agree with your conclusions.