PentaxkeFirst post here. Shout out for a <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/camera?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#camera</a> that for a while now, is the only one I use.
For everyone who knows me it will come as no surprise when I tell that I change cameras more often than I change clothes, but with a <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/Pentax?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Pentax</a> <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/K1?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#K1</a> and <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/K3?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#K3</a> for a long while now I am a <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/Pentaxian?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Pentaxian</a> (again.) Hence my nickname.
Some time ago, I saw at a pawn shop an original <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/Q?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Q</a> with 01 and 02 lenses for sale. All like new and in the original box and all at a price which was hard to resist, so I bought it. Played with it for a while, put it in the box again and largely forgot about it.
When I go biking I always take at least the K1 with me, but I was fed up with the hassle: stop for something, getting the photo bag out of the rear pannier, retrieving the camera out of the bag and by the time you could finally start <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/shooting?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#shooting</a> I had missed the opportunity. And then I had to reverse the procedure before being able to get on my bike again.
Then I remembered the Q. It is so small I can put it virtually everywhere. The more I used it, the more I was charmed by its <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/compactness?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#compactness</a>, but also by its smart engineering. Sure, Your <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/Nikon?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Nikon</a> Z-something or <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/Canon?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Canon</a> R-something-else will make better photos, but for the weight and the volume of it, I carry the <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/Q?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Q</a>-S1 and several lenses with me. And I will never miss an opportunity.
That said, the Q-S1/Q7 punches well above its weight IQ-wise. Up to ISO 1600 I can't fault it for anything (something I can't say about my iphone.)
So, I traded a little IQ for versatility, portability and availability. Last week I went for the weekend to the city of Liège. Of course, both the Q-S1 and <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/Q7?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Q7</a> and selected lenses went with me. In former times I would have taken the K-1 with me, probably with 2 or 3 lenses. Can't say how happy I am that I didn't have to carry all that stuff anymore.
As a wise man once said: the best camera is the one you have with you. I am not sure if he thought about the <a href="https://pixelfed.social/discover/tags/Q?src=hash" class="u-url hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Q</a>-series when he said that, but it sure fits the bill!