Pentax MX-1: This Camera's "Retro" Style Might Be Past Its Prime

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5974026/pentax-mx+1--this-cameras-retro-style-might-be-past-its-prime

Pentax is a classic imaging company and so you've got to let them have their own crack at building a camera that looks old school, right? In theory! But MX-1 feel just a smidgen late to the party.

Now we've got nothing against the brass-body design necessarily, and this $500 point-and-shoot has some undeniably slick features. We love that it's got a super fast f/1.8 lens and some manual controls familiar to the mode dials of DSLRs:like program and aperture or shutter priority modes.

And the classic top-panel design with the exposure compensation dial—nice touch! But the closer you look at the camera's specs, like 12.1-megapixel BSI CMOS, you start to realize, that's a lot less than other companies have been offering manually-controllable point-and-shoots for years and years at this price point.

You see with the retro-styled cameras from Fujifilm, something still feels fresh. In fact, just today, Fujifilm pumped out a refresh of two black and silver X-series cameras in the same exact camera bodies as the previous models. And it didn't feel like it was played out because they were packed with some awesome new imaging technology.

What's so new about the MX-1 that we should pick it up? If the answer to that question is its the design Pentax is selling use—we're not buying. We'll be sure to check out the camer this week and update when we know more.

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