Pentax K10D 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens by Pentax
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Digital camera reviews of Pentax K10D 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens
Digital camera Review: No cheap plastic here
Summary: 5 Stars
I spent a long time web surfing reviews on all sub-$1,000 DSLR's before buying the K10D. I tried out the Canon Rebel, Nikon D40 and Olympus E510 at a local store but they all felt "cheap" and "plasticky" especially compared to the point and click digitals I'd previously used. So it was with some trepidation that I ordered a K10D, sight-unseen.
I need not have worried, the camera is all that users claim it to be. It is solid, extremely well engineered, all flaps, switches, dials etc move easily and securely. The first thing you notice is the weight, this is no feather-weight, slip-it-in-your-pocket camera. But the weight is reassuring, gives the camera great balance and feel.
What about specifics? All the switches and dials are where you'd want them to be. The absence of a scene-dial gave Pentax room for more useful switches/dials. The priority switch lets you move effortlessly between shutter/aperature/ISO priorities and all their combinations. There's a switch to save images as RAW instead of JPEG. Easy access switch to flip between auto and manual focus. Info LCD panel on top lets you see aperture, speed, shot quality etc without resorting to the main LCD screen. Bright easy-to-use viewfinder. Software menu settings are predictable, you don't need to spend hours with this camera's manual - which is just as well because one of few issues you might have with the K10D is the manual. It's essentially a technical directory of the K10D's capabilities, in the Sony style. Anyone who's had to fight their way through a Sony manual knows what I'm talking about. But as I said, the manual is not something you need to constantly refer to.
Using the K10D is a breeze, but it's a long way from point-and-click, I had to re-learn a lot of old optical SLR habits. The delay on automatic focus is minimal but soon seems like an eternity when you have an alternative - switch auto focus off, focus manually and wait for your Kodak moment. Perfect. The continuous shooting mode is a wonder, hit the shutter button and it keeps on taking shots until your SD card gets filled up. And they all look good. As other reviewers have pointed out, the out-of-the-box images are a little soft and color is a little "flat' but it only takes a couple of menu clicks to change those factory settings - sharpen up a notch and up the saturation level and you'll have whatever keeps you happy.
The K10D is clearly head and shoulders above the competitors in build quality, And I'm already taking photos every bit as good as friends with Nikon's and Canon's. And one of the most important features is something I hope I never have to be concerned about - dust-reduction. No artifacts on my images, it works.
I've got nothing but good things to say about this camera. I recommend it highly.
Digital camera Review: Outstanding
Summary: 5 Stars
The K10D is my first SLR so I took the time to really research various cameras and to get my hands on them. Before buying the camera I read several books on digital photography, read a number of blogs, read [...] and listened to podcasts etc.
The reason I chose the K10D was mainly the weather resistance since I live in Washington state. Another reason is that the shake reduction is built into the camera. You'll hear a lot about having image stabilization built into the lens but independent sources are not convinced that one is better than another and there are a LOT of disadvantages to in lens IS. For instance you can't get IS with an old lens. You pay for IS over and over for each lens you buy. I bought a few lens' off ebay. Some are old manual focus and I still get IS with them. You can't get that with Canon or Nikon.
You'll see a number of reviews on Amazon complaining about soft images in jpeg. If you take the time to go through the menus you can fix those right up. It's simply the default settings that are the problem and you should be shooting raw anyway. Shooting raw is such an improvement over in camera jpeg. You can easily fix color balance problems and recover shadows or blown highlights. There's no comparison.
You'll see some reviews that mention or complain about a loud shutter. Yes the shutter is louder than a point and shoot. That is the nature of SLR's. That mirror coming up and the motor driving the shutter is louder than a point and shoots fake camera sound. I haven't had any problems and I am taking close ups of horses. Horses are skiddish when it comes to strange sounds.
Frames per second is also a common complaint. I'm not taking sports photos so I haven't had any issues being limited to three frames/sec. Also with a fast SDHC card the buffer flushes in less than a second even shooting large numbers of raws. So no problems with that. I'm going to test it at a paintball course to see if I have a problem there. I don't expect a problem.
I love this camera. I've shot in the rain with running horses. Great camera. As with any DSLR are you need to read the manual and set it up the way that works best for you.
Digital camera Review: Pentax K10.2MP Digital
Summary: 5 Stars
So far, so good with this product. I was looking for a good, quality, relatively inexpensive, digital SLR to replace my Nikon F3 film camera for business & personal use. It has been fairly easy to learn to use (for someone not real computer savvy), as well as to operate & process photographs. I have also recently purchased another zoom lens (70-300mm) and a/c adapter to complement the abilities and range of my purchase.Digital camera Review: Terrific DSLR, for real photography head and shoulders above anything else
Summary: 5 Stars
I own this camera for about 1 year. Friend of mine got another. Camera is rock solid but very balanced FEELS as photography tool should. There is nothing cheap or fake about the feel, the box feels all business. This camera never failed, would it be Caribbean dusty beach or freezing chill of Wisconsin. The viewfinder is nice and bright, all controls are so logically placed, all controls are tunable in menu.
The image quality is plain terrific! I simply can't describe as it records all this half-toning, endless beautiful variations of the colors...
The idea the ISO today is virtual variable and can dance along with aperture and shutter is of genius! I took so many natural light photos with this camera as with no other camera ever.
I really appreciate Pentax did not go Canon's way of creating over-saturated and over-sharpened images. The tonal variation are very rich and smooth. This camera is everything most of photographers would need. I printed many 13x19 and they are stunning!
It is rare these days to find a camera you can enjoy photography with (not fire gun 'style' shooting in all directions). This camera is an awesome tool that will contribute to LooOOoong hours of enjoying photography.
Digital camera Review: Very nice camera.......White balance still not accurate
Summary: 4 Stars
Very nice camera, especially for just that price.
With many convenient buttons that you can directly switch to the funtion you want, saved a lot from browsing and choosing from menu items.
Just like *istDL, K110D and K100D, the white balance still not accurate. Mostly too yellowish, especially under tungsten lights. Sometimes even with customized WB still too much yellow that I have to remove it using software after shooting.