PENTAX KF

A new camera, or an old friend in disguise?

- Rod Lawton

https://ricoh-imaging.eu £849/$847 (body only)

Canon and Nikon may dominate the DSLR market, but we mustn't forget that there is a third contender: Pentax. The company has been making DSLRs for the same time as the other two and, after an early dalliance with mirrorless, has fully committed to the digital SLR design, aiming chiefly for a small but passionate band of enthusiasts who appreciate the brand's traditional values, heritage, and rugged design.

The Pentax KF is the latest of Pentax's many, and sometimes almost indistinguishable. APS-C format DSLRs, all of which seem to share the same 24MP CMOS sensor, but have varying combinations of body design, burst speeds and other features.

Pentax also makes a full-frame DSLR, the hefty but rather good Pentax K-1 Mark II, and it also makes the medium-format Pentax 645Z, a camera that brought medium format to the masses long before Fujifilm. It may not lead the field, but Pentax cameras certainly deserve to be considered alongside the best DSLRs and medium-format cameras.

Pentax might be a brand with real depth and history, but it isn't known for pushing the frontiers of imaging technology. We should also explain that we did not have access to the regular 18-55mm kit lens for this review, and only had one lens (55mm f/1.4 SDM) with its own AF motor.

Key features

The Pentax KF's digital SLR design means it has an optical viewfinder with one focusing system (an 11-point SAFOX AF system) and a rear screen with a different one. In live view, you get hybrid phase/contrast AF, which should give much faster and more effective autofocus than the contrast-only AF on other Pentax DSLR bodies, though this will depend on the lens.