subject: Review Pentax K x 18 55mm White Kit [print this page] K-x is a good solid reliable cameraK-x is a good solid reliable camera. It is an entry level DSLR. I've compared my image quality to the more expensive Canon DSLRs. The K-x produces fuzzier images with a bit more noticeable chromatic aberration. That being said, you do have to look pretty closely to see the difference between the K-x to the results from a Canon's almost 3 times the price of the K-x. But if you do care about such things - yes, there is a difference and it is visible to the naked eye.
The K-x can work as a point and shoot which is great because the whole family can use it - Set it to "auto", turn on Live View,
and push the button to snap a picture. But the manual controls are easy to control and once you understand the way aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and exposure work together, taking photos with this camera becomes a rewarding and stimulating process.
The weak points of the K-x: The optical image stabilization feature in Video mode makes a loud noise like metal on metal clanking continuously. This is a noise that gets picked up by the microphone so you have to choose between shaky video (with image stabilization off) or loud audio in stable video... It's a known issue to this model. Unfortunately there is no way to use an external microphone to get around that.
The first generation of the onboard software misread the battery level when using rechargeable Lithium AA batteries. I use Eneloop rechargeable AAs. The 1.1v software patch helps but it's still very conservative - I get a handful of shots with the battery indicator in the green before it goes into "orange". It does stay orange for a long time so battery life is pretty decent.
I find the Noise Reduction in the camera produces blurry feathered edges. It's better to turn off all NR settings (it's in a couple of places and it's defaulted to "on") and reduce noise after the fact using photo editing software.
Small details - I wish the stock lens cap had a loop to attach a leash to it. I bought an aftermarket 52mm lens cap that can be leashed so I can drop the cap and take a shot quickly without having to fuss with storing the cap or worrying about losing the cap.
The overall design is user-friendly and comfortable to hold for a long time.
I found the digital filters to be pretty toy-like and mucked up the menu system.
Video mode is 720 HD maximum. No 1080 res. frame rate is locked at 24fps - which I actually like (it gives it a film-like feel) but would have been nice to have an option to set it to 30 fps too.
I've enjoyed learning on this camera and I may try another lens to see if I can get a better image quality but if it doesn't help, I'll eventually be trading up to a better DSLR.
