Christopher J Osborne

Contents & specification summary

Introduction

If you were to look at the current range of Pentax cameras you might think mirrorless cameras bring Pentax out in hives! Ricoh Imaging website (because the Pentax brand is now part of the Ricoh empire) talk at some length about how it belive in believes in the future of SLR photography while mirrorless cameras don't merit a single mention… unless less that is, you delve into the discontinued product pages which are, it has to be said, surprisingly extensive, going right back to Pentax's 35mm autofocus cameras of the 1990s and 2000s. Here you'll find information about Pentax's two attempts at cracking the mirrorless camera nut: the K-01 of 2012 (you can also read about the K-o1 on this website) and the Pentax Q cameras, including the Q, Q10, Q7 and Q-S1, produced between 2011 and 2020 (although no new Pentax Q cameras were launched after the Q-S1 in 2014).

Given Pentax's dogged determination to carry on as the world's last camera company to provide DSLR fans with new cameras, it should come as no surprise to find out that Pentax's mirrorless cameras were seemingly deliberately peculiar. It was like Pentax was saying OK, if you really, really insist we'll have a go at mirrorless cameras, but we'll be damned if we're going make a boring me-too camera and compete directly with the mirrorless big-boys!

The K-01 used the 16mp ASP-C sensor that was widely lauded by the critics when it appeared in the Pentax K-5 DSLR, but this was combined with divisive "marmite" toy-like styling and the use of the same Pentax K lens mount that Pentax have been using in their SLRs, both film and digital, since 1975. This made the K-01 very bulky next to its competitors. But the Pentax Q was even stranger! It introduced a brand new lens mount like most new mirrorless camera systems did, but this was uniquely combined with a tiny sensor that was typically used in compact point-and-shoot fixed-lens cameras.

The end result was a adorably tiny interchange lens camera, but it was hardly mainstream! But I really don't think that Pentax ever seriously intended the Pentax Q to take over the mirrorless camera world. Instead it wanted to create a deliberately quirky camera that would be adored by a small but loyal band of tiny camera enthusiasts, mainly in Japan. Japan has had a decades long love affair with tiny cameras. For example, 35mm half-frame cameras reamin popular in Japan long into the 1980s, despite having fallen out of favour in much of the rest of the world by the middle of the 1970s.

It has to be said that Pentax has form with this sort of camera. In 1978 they launches the impossible tiny Pentax Auto 110, the world's only full system SLR camera designed for 110 drop in film cartridges that produced 17 x 13mm negatives on 16mm film. Just like the P~entax Q series, it was difficult to really see who would really benefit from using it. 110 film was best suited to ultra-simple point-and-shoot cameras and it simply couldn't produce the sort of result that really justified putting it in a high-quality, technologically advances (and of course expensive!) camera. But people loved it anyway and it sold surprisingly well, especially in (you guessed it) Japan.

The Pentax Q system

The Pentax Q series of cameras was launched in 2011 and was only officially in production for just 9 years, and with the last new camera launched 2014 it was really on in active development for 4 or 5 years. But in that short time Pentax put together a surpassingly comprehensive system! 4 cameras, 8 lenses and numerous accessories:

Pentax Q series cameras

Year	Model	Sensor size	Crop factor	Standard colours	Custom colours	Comments
2011	Pentax Q	1/2.3" (6.17x4.55mm)	5.6x	White Black	n/a	First model in the Pentax Q series with magnesium alloy body
2012	Pentax Q10	1/2.3" (6.17x4.55mm)	5.6x	Silver Black Red	100 custom colour combinations	Updated styling and cheaper plastic build quality.
2013	Pentax Q7	1/1.7" (7.44x5.58mm)	4.65x	Silver Black (with matching black 02 standard zoom) Yellow (with matching yellow 02 standard zoom)	120 custom colour combinations	Slightly larger sensor
2014	Pentax Q-S1	1/1.7" (7.44x5.58mm)	4.65x	Champagne gold/white Gunmetal grey/red Black/black White/white	40 custom colour combinations	New retro-inspired styling

Pentax Q mount "High Performance" lenses

Pentax Q mount "High Performance" lenses are designed for normal high quality photography. They all feature auto-focus, variable aperture and mechanical shutter mechanisms and built-in ND filters.

Model	Focal length	35mm equiv. on Q/Q10	35mm equiv. on Q7/Q-S1	Max. aperture	Filter thread	Size	Weight
01 STANDARD PRIME	8.5mm	47.5mm	39.5mm	f/1.9	40.5mm	45.5 x 23 mm	37 g
02 STANDARD ZOOM	5-15mm	28-84mm	23-70mm	f/2.8-4.5	40.5mm	48.5 x 48 mm	96 g
06 TELEPHOTO ZOOM	15-45mm	84-252mm	70-210mm	f/2.8	40.5mm	50 x 56 mm	90 g
08 WIDE ZOOM	3.8-5.9mm	21-33mm	17.5-27.5mm	f/3.7-4	49mm	54 x 38 mm	75 g

Pentax Q mount "Unique" lenses

Pentax Q mount "Unique" lenses are design for fun special effects and toy camera style photography. They all feature manual or fixed focus, fixed apertures and no mechanical shutter mechanism (the camer will go into electronica shutter mode). None of the "Unique" lenses have filter threads.

Model	Focal length	35mm equiv. on Q/Q10	35mm equiv. on Q7/Q-S1	Aperture	Focus	Size	Weight
03 FISH-EYE	3.2mm	18mm	16.5mm	f/3.2	Fixed	40.6 x 30.5 mm	29 g
04 TOY LENS WIDE	6.3mm	35mm	29mm	f/7.1	Manual	40.6 x 25.0 mm	21 g
05 TOY LENS TELEPHOTO	18mm	101mm	84mm	f/8	Manual	40.6 x 19.5 mm	18 g
07 MOUNT SHIELD LENS	11.5mm	64mm	53.5mm	f/9	Fixed	40.8 x 6.9 mm	8 g

Pentax Q accessories

Some accessories from Pentaxs normal DSLRs work with the Pentax Q cameras, for example flash units and remote shutter releases. And Pentax also made a wide range of accessories made specially for the Pentax Q system, including an optical viewfinder for the 01 STANDARD PRIME, and special adapter for Pentax K mount lenses, and a variety of lens hoods, filters and cases/bags. See the Ricoh website for more information on Pentax Q accessories.

+ Pentax Q specification

Buying a Pentax Q in 2025

OK, so this is where I have some bad news! The whole Pentax Q series of cameras, lenses and accessories has quite become quite a cult classic. You're competing not just with other photographers, but with dedicated and determined collectors who want the full set of 4 cameras (probably with each in several colours too!), 8 lenses and as many accessories as possible. So if you want to join the Pentax Q club, be prepared to pay handsomely for the privilege!

Roughly speaking expect to pay some where between £100 and £250 for a camera (with the early Pentax Q and Q10 models being less desirable than the later Pentax Q7 and Q-S1 models with their slightly larger sensors). The 01 STANDARD PRIME, 02 STANDARD ZOOM and 06 Telephoto zoom will generally set you back somewhere between £100 and £150. The 08 WIDE ZOOM was introduced late to the Pentax Q system and was always very expensive when new, with the result that it will set you back the proverbial arm & leg today! You will often see it being sold for £500 or more! And some of the accessories can also be very expensive: in particular the O-VF1 optical viewfinder for the 01 STANDARD PRIME is likely to cost £200-250 (yes, that's as much as twice what you'll pay for the lens itself!) and the official K mount adapter, with it's electronic contacts and built-in aperture and mechanical shutter mechanism will likewise set you back around £250.

The Pentax Q system was always far more popular in Japan that anywhere else in the world, so if you want a rare item like the 08 WIDE ZOOM or a Pentax Q10 or Q7 in some whacky custom colour combination you may well have to personally import from Japan. Just bear in mind when you browsing eBay for VAT when you personally import into the UK, even if you're buying from a private seller. (Fortunately, my understanding is that no further import duties are payable when personally importing camera equipment into the UK.)

But, with patience (and a great deal of persistent Googling!), you can find Pentax Q gear at least at semi-reasonable prices. I found a Pentax Q twin lens kit (i.e. with the 01 STANDARD PRIME and 02 STANDARD ZOOM) in white (IMHO a particularly stylish colour!), boxed and in near mint condition on the Cash Converters website for £200. I subsequently bought the 06 TELEPHOTO ZOOM for a little under £100 on eBay.

Using a Pentax Q in 2025

The original Pentax Q model immediately impresses with it's high quality magnesium alloy body. The second thing that hits you is the size. This thing really is tiny… it's difficult to convey in a photograph just how small it is! But despite it's tiny size, it doesn't really qualify as pocketable. Even with the smallest 01 STANDARD PRIME lens attached, the lens sticks out too far to comfortably put it in a jeans pocket, though it goes into a larger jacket pocket well enough.

The small size of the Pentax Q perhaps really comes into its own with a small camera bag. This really is the only camera that allows me to fit a complete outfit in my smallest 5 litre Peak Design sling bag, with plenty of space left over for a packed lunch! The Peak Design FlexFold divider, which allows items to be carried on two levels, is key here. On the bottom level I have the 2 zoom lenses (separated by a divider from another bag), while the camera is on the top level.

Of course the small size also means the controls are tiny too, though even with my chubby fingers I found the camera surprisingly easy and pleasant to operate. The left of the top plate features you find a lever to raise the built-in flash to an impressive height (though the flash will happily fire in the closed as well as raised positions) and a playback mode button. In the middle you'll find a standard hotshoe that works well with any standard Pentax flash unit. On the right side of the top plate you find the shutter button, on/off button, a familiar 'PASM' mode dial and a particularly well designed command dial right on the corner and perfectly position for the right thumb to operate.

One unusal, but very welcome, design choice for this class of camera is separate compartments for the battery on the left side, and the memory card on the right side. Because these doors are on the sides of the camera there is no chance of a tripod getting in the way of opening them. The style of photography this camera really suits (casual snap-shot photography) means I rarely feel the need to use a tripod. But if you want to use a tripod, the tripod bush is perfectly aligned with the lens.

So overall, the Pentax Q makes for a very agreeable companion when you want to carry your smallest possible camera bag! But that doesn't mean there aren't any problems with the Pentax Q… The main one being the lack of an eye-level electronic viewfinder. The rear monitor is fairly large and sharp, and like I've said before on these pages, I actually quite like composing a photograph on a flat screen that come close to viewing a real (if small) photographic print. But even a modest amount of sunlight renders its use with autofocus a matter of partial guess work, and makes confident manual focussing completely out of the question. Also, the tiny postage-stamp sized battery doesn't last very long. You'll want one spare at the very least for all day photography.

Pentax Q results

What you think of the results from the Pentax Q will depend a lot on what you think are its natural competitors. A lot of the contemporary reviews of this camera took the approach that because it has interchangeable lenses, it should be compared to other cameras with interchangeable lenses (which generally use four thirds or APS-C sensors). In such comparisons the Pentax Q does not do well! You will see all the problems that other small sensor cameras tend to exhibit: relatively low resolution, poor high ISO performance, chromatic aberrations and poor dynamic range. Such comparisons can make it really difficult to understand the point of such a camera! It just comes across as a small but decidedly inferior mirrorless camera.

But treat the Pentax Q as a compact digicam that just happens to have the considerable creative boost of interchangeable lenses, and things start to make more sense! Suddenly you have a camera that does rather well in terms of image quality even compared to it's natural competitors. Of course typical compact digicams with their collapsable zoom lenses will be much more pocketable than the Pentax Q. But the Pentax Q counters with the creativity that comes with interchangeable lenses. Plus, if you just happen to like the creative discipline that comes from shooting with a single, fixed-focal length lens, then the Pentax Q is pretty much you're only genuinely compact option that give that option with a 50mm equiv. lens. Other compact cameras with prime lenses tend to have a focal length around 28mm. So with all that said, let's have a look at some results:

Pentax 01 STANDARD PRIME

Let's start off with my (and, it seems, everyone else's!) favourite Pentax Q lens. On the Pentax Q it give a field of view similar to a 50mm standard lens on a 35mm full-frame camera. And at just 37 grams if keeps the Pentax Q at it's smallest.

f/1.9 - 1/800 - ISO250

f/3.2 - 1/800 - ISO125
With a 35mm equiv. maximum reproduction ratio of a little over quarter life-size you can get surprisingly effective close-up shots with the 01 STANDARD PRIME (and the other lenses give similar reproduction ratios).

f/3.2 - 1/250 - ISO125

f/3.2 - 1/250 - ISO125

f/8.0 - 1/15 - ISO125
Getting a little bit creative with a long shutter speed and some intentional camera movement. I used the 01 STANDARD PRIME's built-in ND filter to get a long shutter speed.

f/3.2 - 1/500 - ISO200
The Pentax Q files responded quite well to b&w conversion in Silver Efex Pro.

f/3.2 - 1/400 - ISO125

f/1.9 - 1/320 - ISO125

f/1.9 - 1/800 - ISO125

f/1.9 - 1/800 - ISO125

Pentax 02 STANDARD ZOOM

Next comes what is probably the most common Pentax Q lens. On the Pentax Q it give a field of view similar to a 28-85mm standard zoom lens on a 35mm full-frame camera.

14.5mm - f/5.0 - 1/250 - ISO125
This shot illustrates the rather weird nature of the dynamic range problems the Pentax Q sometimes exhibits. Note the strange blown highlights on the leaf stems (circled in green). I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like this before!

14.5mm - f/5.0 - 1/250 - ISO125
On this version of the same shot I've cloned out the blown highlights in Lightroom. Fortunately this was pretty quick to do.

5mm - f/2.8 - 1/60 - ISO250

5mm - f/4.0 - 1/200 - ISO125

Pentax 06 TELEPHOTO ZOOM

Finally, here are some shots from the 06 TELEPHOTO ZOOM. Uniquely among the Pentax Q lenses, this one is collapsable for transportation. Here you can see the lens both collapsed and extended. This lens does not change size when zoomed or focussed.

15mm - f/2.8 - 1/200 - ISO125

20.2mm - f/2.8 - 1/125 - ISO400

27mm - f/2.8 - 1/160 - ISO400

31.5mm - f/3.2 - 1/400 - ISO125

20.2mm - f/2.8 - 1/125 - ISO200

44.7mm - f/3.5 - 1/500 - ISO125

Adapted 8mm cine camera lenses

Like any other mirrorless camera, you can adapt vintage lenses to your Pentax Q camera. Because the sensor in the Pentax Q is so much smaller than a 35mm camera, adapting 35mm lenses is going to turn any lens you try into a super telephoto lens! But that small sensor also opens up the possibility of adapting lenses that have imaging circles far to small to adapt to any other mirrorless camera, for example, lenses from 8mm cine cameras. Just bear in mind that the frame size for the Standard 8 cine format is 4.8×3.5mm, and that for the Super 8 format is 5.8x4mm, both of which are smaller than the 6.17x4.55mm sensor in the Pentax Q, so don't necessarily expect 8mm cine lenses to fully cover the Pentax Q sensor. I got by far the best result from a Cine Yashinon 38mm f/1.4 lens (the lens to the right of those pictured here). All these shots are from this lens wide open at f/1.4. As you can see this lens provides an opportunity to get genuinely shallow depth-of-field even with the tiny sensor in the Pentax Q! There is a full report on my experiences using these D mount cine lenses on Pentax Q in the Outlandish lenses section of this website.

Links

• Pentax Q Instructions (PDF)