Pentax Q-S1

Pentax Q-S1 was announced in 2014 and is a 1/1.7-inch (7.44 x 5.58 mm) Mirrorless camera with 12.4 Megapixel BSI-CMOS sensor. Its native ISO ranges from 100 to 12,800. The camera has a Fixed 3.0" screen with 460k dot resolution. It has a built-in Sensor Shift in body image stabilization.

Pentax Q-S1 can capture video up to 1920 x 1080 resolution.

In this section we present pros and cons of Pentax Q-S1.

Fixed screen

Pentax Q-S1 has a 3.0" Fixed screen with 460k dot resolution which is quite low by today's standards.

BSI-CMOS Sensor

Pentax Q-S1 features a 12.4 megapixel 1/1.7-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 7.44 x 5.58 mm and a total area of 41.5 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 12,800.

The camera has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how Pentax Q-S1's 1/1.7-inch sensor compares with other types of sensors:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Camera is equipped with Q Engine processor and can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolutions like 4000 x 2664, 4000 x 2248, 2992 x 2992, 3072 x 2034, 3072 x 2048, 3072 x 1728, 2304 x 2304, 1920 x 1400, 1920 x 1280, 1920 x 1080, 1440 x 1440 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Pentax Q-S1 has Pentax Q lens mount. Due to 1/1.7-inch sensor its crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is 4.7x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 4.7.

In-Body Image Stabilization

The camera has a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

USB Input and HDMI Output

Pentax Q-S1 has a USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) input for data transfer. There is a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Pentax Q-S1 comes with D-LI68 battery pack with battery life of 250 shots.

External Storage Slots

The camera has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Pentax Q-S1's shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec. Camera can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps.

Flash

Pentax Q-S1 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 4.90 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe.

Pentax Q-S1 has dimensions of 105 x 58 x 34 mm (4.13 x 2.28 x 1.34"). It weighs 203 g (0.45 lb / 7.16 oz), so it is a lightweight camera.

105 mm (4.13")

58 mm (2.28")

58 mm (2.28")

34 mm (1.34")