Kudos to Pentax and the K10D

Johnboy2978 · Apr 20, 2007

I received the K10D from B&H and right out of the box I'm well pleased with this camera. I still have the ist DS and will continue to keep it as a backup for weddings and other events. So far, I can't say enough good things about this. I bought it w/ the optional battery grip, extra battery and right now B&H has the camera body and 2gb card for $859...can't go wrong there. The features are outstanding. I was a little nervous about it being larger, b/c the DS just feels right in my hand, but with very little effort, the k10D easily becomes an extension of your hand. The weather sealing and the metal frame give it a very substantial feel and makes you feel you got your money's worth. I was pleased that they added another wheel so that you can control aperture and shutter speed independently since the DS. I did notice that the thumb wheel on the battery grip is just a bit too much recessed for my liking though.
I was holding my breath regarding the anti-shake, but it doesn't disappoint. It definately makes a large improvement in the ability to hand hold a shot and retain sharpness and clarity. I was also a little nervous that there would be enough difference between the ds and k10d that there would be a bit of a learning curve in adjusting settings, but it seems that many things are right where you expect them. I was also pleased that it's features more closely resemble the ist 35mm.
One thing I did notice is that there is VERY little play in the shutter release button and it is very sensitive. I was used to the DS which has a very distinct 1/2 position to activate the auto-focus, not so with the k10d which I kind of like with the DS.
Nice to have both RAW and DNG format as well as RAW+JPEG features. Image quality is excellent, though I don't have a good comparison to post as much of tonight was spent with charging batteries and finding my way around. I will be attempting some senior portraits this weekend and should have some comparison then regarding image quality.

Summary, if you are already invested in the Pentax line, go out and get this camera when you decide to upgrade...it's a no brainer. I would recommend the battery grip as well as it makes portraits much more friendly and comfortable. If you aren't vested in any particular brand yet, give the k10d serious consideration. I think it will really give canon and nikon a run for their money.

Don Simon · Apr 21, 2007

Thanks for the review! I'm planning to put off the "upgrade" until I can at least afford one of the fast zooms as well. One thing I'm still not sure about though; how do you feel it performs at high ISO? One thing I like about the K100d is that 1600 ISO can be useable without noise reduction, and in-camera 3200 ISO is noisy but retains a lot of detail. It seems stuffing more megapixels into the same size sensor can noticeably increase noise; would you say that is the case with the K10d compared to the 6mp models?

Johnboy2978 · Apr 21, 2007

I'll have to get back to you on that one after I've played some more with it. The k10D goes from ISO 100-1600 where as my DS goes 200-3200.

xfloggingkylex · Apr 21, 2007

ZaphodB said:
Thanks for the review! I'm planning to put off the "upgrade" until I can at least afford one of the fast zooms as well. One thing I'm still not sure about though; how do you feel it performs at high ISO? One thing I like about the K100d is that 1600 ISO can be useable without noise reduction, and in-camera 3200 ISO is noisy but retains a lot of detail. It seems stuffing more megapixels into the same size sensor can noticeably increase noise; would you say that is the case with the K10d compared to the 6mp models?

Poor, if the K10D has one short coming it is noise. I'll have to snap some comparison shots with the K10D compared to the *ist DL at given ISO's to see how they compare side by side. Or I'll snap some shots at different ISO's and post them to show how it looks.

EDIT: found a picture with ISO 1600. 1/13th sec at f/3.5 at 18mm on the kit lens.

and a 100% crop to show the detail

Noisy