Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
It's difficult to know who to recommend a camera like the Pentax Q7 to. One of its most appealing things – unfortunately – is the fact that it's available in a wide variety of different colours, so if that's your thing, then it's worth looking into.
Although it is very small, with the addition of the kit lens, you're still not going to be able to fit this into a jeans pocket, so it's almost redundant how small it is. It's also worth noting that other cameras with larger sensors are similarly sized, or not much larger, most notably the Samsung NX Mini and Nikon J4, both of which feature a one-inch sensor. The Panasonic GM1, which features an even larger, Four Thirds, sensor, is also not much larger.
If you are looking for a compact camera, then it's probably best that you stick with one, rather than shelling out for a compact camera which can change lenses – and which you may not end up doing anyway.
If you are convinced by the cuteness and colour ways offered by Pentax, the good news is that the camera is pretty easy to use – and although there's not a touchscreen, there's a decent number of buttons, including direct access controls. Sadly, the bad news is that image quality leaves something to be desired, but if you're mainly shooting in good light, and don't want to take many close-ups, colours are bright and punchy, while the metering and white balance systems do well.
There's a somewhat varied selection of lenses available for the Q system at present, although it's not as wide as those available for the Micro Four Thirds or Sony E Mount. On the plus side, there's a greater variety of optics available than for the Samsung NX Mini mount, although there's nothing in the way of macro lenses, and prime lenses are limited, which is a shame.
We liked
With its miniature DSLR like styling and many, many, different colour ways, there's something to be said for the cute factor the of the Q7, which may be particularly appealing for you, especially if you don't need to shoot anything too demanding – such as low light.
We disliked
With a limited lens range, a very small sensor size and slightly disappointing image quality, unfortunately there's plenty to dislike about the Q7. It's serving a very niche audience, which may or may not exist. Lack of detail throughout the sensitivity range is to be expected from a compact camera, so if you're looking for something that performs better in that arena, take a look at the other small compact system cameras currently out there.
Final verdict
If you're after a cute compact system camera which takes reasonable pictures in good light, then the Q7 is a good choice. Unfortunately, for Pentax, there are plenty of better options currently on the market. The best, if you're in the market for a very small, but still well performing camera, is the Panasonic GM1 which manages to fit a very large (by comparison) sensor in a body which isn't too much bigger than even the Q7's diminutive stature.
