Pentax announces Q-S1 system camera – update

Pentax has announced a new mini system camera: the Q-S1. The specifications of the new Q-series camera largely correspond to those of the Q7 that Pentax presented in June 2013 last year, but the body has been slightly modified and Pentax promises improvements in the field of autofocus.

Pentax, now part of Ricoh, seems to be targeting a slightly different target group with its different body design compared to the Q7. The Q-S1 has a somewhat more classic design and is available in various color combinations: four standard colors and 36 additional body and grip colors such as champagne, khaki green and black.

In addition, there are some subtle improvements. According to Pentax, the autofocus of the Q-S1 would be better than its predecessors, especially for tracking and face detection. There is now also support for continuous autofocus in movie mode, but only in combination with a Performance series lens, except in combination with the ’06’ telephoto zoom. There are also two new Smart Effect modes: Antique and Fade Color (original, warm, cool).

Like the Q7, the new Pentax Q-S1 is equipped with a 1/1.7-inch BSI sensor of twelve megapixels, it supports an ISO range of 100 to 12,800 and has image stabilization by means of sensor shift. Other specifications also seem identical at first glance, such as a burst rate of 5 fps, a start-up time of one second and a 3″ screen with a resolution of 480×320 pixels, around 460,000 dots. The sensor is small compared to other system cameras. side, but a lot bigger than the first two Q cameras that had a standard 1/2.3″ compact camera sensor on board. The Q-S1 measures 105 x 58 x 34 mm and weighs 203 grams.

Update 15:00: Pentax expects the Q-S1 in the shops at the end of August for a suggested retail price of 449 euros including kit lens.