K10D - any opinions?

[BT*ist]

For a while there about a week ago, when my istDS was at the camera doctor, I was in the throes of trying to figure out what camera I would buy if worst came to worst.

Basically, other than my 10-20mm Sigma, all the lenses I have for my Pentax are/were kit lenses, and beyond this the only other dedicated instrument I have is a remote shutter control. So... I'm only partially committed to Pentax.

So I took a look at the dpreview write-up on the K10D, particularly the conclusions,
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxk10d/page25.asp
and overall I wasn't as blown away by the comments as I had been by the features. Sure, one salesperson I spoke to who called it a direct competitor of the Nikon 200D for half the price (!!?) might have been a little over-eager.. yet I'm intrigued by the K10D's features: weather sealing, shake reduction, shake cleaning, ISO priority...

Does anybody have any first-hand experiences?

[Pa]

hi bi*st my wife has the k100,it has the shake reduction feature.she doesn't have any heavy lenses but does have a 100-300mm.she doesn't
seem to have trouble holding it steady.hope this helps.
cheers pa

[Heath Bennett]

We've been using one since before Xmas - fantastic cam, just make sure you shoot RAW as the JPGs aren't well processed. Dust protection, sealed body, big viewfinder, on 3fps, not overly heavy, first Pentax to use tech similar to Nikon and Canon's fast silent focusing motors... Also the lithium battery is so much better than NIMH only on previous models.

[BT*ist]

Thanks for that - may I ask what kind of computer speed you're working with when manipulating the raw files, which I understand are about 10Mb in size? My lappa has 512Mb ram and 2.4Ghz and with 3Mb files I take, I do find the odd bit of lag (or even freezing) when using photoshop.

Also, good to hear about the batteries. If I go the way of the K10D, it'll be a bit of a change for me, since I use 4 (rechargable) AA batteries in the istDS...

[Heath Bennett]

Thanks for that - may I ask what kind of computer speed you're working with when manipulating the raw files, which I understand are about 10Mb in size? My lappa has 512Mb ram and 2.4Ghz and with 3Mb files I take, I do find the odd bit of lag (or even freezing) when using photoshop.

Also, good to hear about the batteries. If I go the way of the K10D, it'll be a bit of a change for me, since I use 4 (rechargable) AA batteries in the istDS...

The battery grip will use 2 batteries, as well as holding a SD card and remote. Good thinking Pentax.

I'm currently using Macpro with a weedy 2GB Ram (need to get more to make the most of the speed) but a chunky 512MB graphics card.

[BT*ist]

Mine arrived yesterday, so I should be able to answer my own question soon.

Big brother, little brother.

and in full Batman gear (the Pentax strap isn't actually attached in this shot):


Based on about a dozen shots, I'm extremely happy about the speed and accuracy of the autofocus as compared to the istDS.

[Big Red]

the sealed DA* lenses should be out shortly which will make it great to give you something to do on a rainy day
can't wait

[BT*ist]

That will be good (are they actually being released, or are the rumours of it being soon just more loud than usual?). Anyway, next on my list the Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro.

[Big Red]

there been a few protos and prices have been set etc so they should be soon.

you will love the Tamron ... its a fantastic lens !!
so sharp you could carve with it