gdgt

Larger than its peers, but interestingly designed, the Pentax K-01 can capture sharp photos in all types of light and delivers full compatibility with every Pentax K-mount lens ever produced.

If you've got a stable of Pentax lenses...and feel like doing some creative shooting, especially with manual focus, then the K-01 is a great choice. For that, the benefits of lovely photo quality definitely outweigh the other drawbacks.

Pentax goes its own way with a mirrorless camera that accepts standard K-mount lenses. That means access to a huge back catalog of quality optics without an adapter. Unfortunately, it also necessitates a body that's barely any smaller than a standard SLR.

If you like the body style and can live without a VF or EVF AND you have Pentax glass, then it is a no brainer. You will love the K-01. If you do NOT own Pentax glass and prefer a VF/EVF, then you may not be a big fan of this camera. Either way, it has a huge lens selection to choose from and has...

..the K-01 performs well, with a fast and reliable autofocus system, a good range of features and accurate metering. The overall image quality is also excellent, with particularly good high-ISO noise reduction. It is also competitively priced, and with the huge range of Pentax-compatible lenses and...

While it may look refreshingly different, the Pentax K-01 falls unsuccessfully between two stools - ultimately we'd either buy a similarly sized DSLR or a much smaller compact system camera in preference to the K-01.