The camera was listed as discontinued in February 2013,[3][4][5][6] but the following July was reintroduced to the Japanese market in a new white and blue colour variant.[7]
The Pentax K-01 is the first interchangeable single-lens mirrorless camera which is compatible with lenses from a typical SLR camera without the use of an adapter. This differs from cameras from other manufacturers such as Nikon's Nikon 1 or Pentax's own Pentax Q, where the manufacturers designed a new lens mount specifically for the new camera system.
The camera is compatible with all K mount lenses; K mount lenses started being made in 1975.[8] Lenses without the "A" aperture setting will only meter properly using stop-down metering. Manual focus lenses will continue to function as manual-focus only.
The K-01 features the same sensor as the Pentax K-5 and Nikon D7000 DSLRs, a Sony 16 MP sensor. DxOMark has rated the potential image quality of the K-01 as slightly lower than the K-5 and D7000. However, compared to other MILCs, the Pentax K-01 is rated slightly better than the Sony NEX-5N, and slightly below the Sony NEX-7. DxOMark's Sport (low light ISO) rating placed the K-01 first among all MILCs at the time it was tested.[9]
The Pentax K-01 was released in four body colour combinations: black body with silver top and black grips, black body with silver top and yellow grips, silver body with black top (Europe only) and white body with black top and black grips. A blue and white version was released in July 2013.[13]
Almost immediately upon its release, the K-01 became one of the most controversial Pentax offerings,[14] with criticism focusing on the Marc Newson design, which many considered made the camera too heavy and uncomfortable to hold, with poorly-placed controls, while acknowledging its strong image quality and low-light / high ISO performance.[15][16] Other reviewers complained about slow autofocusing.[17][18][19] Positive aspects of the K-01 included its image and build quality and its compatibility with all existing Pentax K-mount lenses.[20]
