The Pentax K10D in my hands

[14mm 2.8l]

Wow what a nice body! I went to two local camera shops today and I got to

consider purchasing the K10D in my hands. Body only priced at $919.95.

 

I am very impressed with the bigger grip and taller stance compared to my

Samsung GX-1S aka Pentax DS2. Its the second body they've had in stock since

November 21st. I really didn't expect to see it there or anywhere till next

year.

 

I remain torn between dslr systems, Pentax and full frame Canon and I did say

I'd wait 5 months so I left empty handed. It'll make somebody's Christmas

extra special. I primarily walked away because our next big photo oriented

vacation will be in June or July and I am still using film cameras.

 

If you are not torn between 2 manufactures I think everyone here should get

one. It'll be Camera of the year 2007, no doubt. I handled this years "Camera

of the year" last month, the Sony alpha. It was disappointing to me in that

its not ergonomic for my hands. And it's $300 price drop in 2 months has been

quite interesting to witness along with the insane money Sony needs for

rebranded minolta glass.

 

The second shop I visited has seen none and has 21 paid for backorders. That

alone makes me smile, as I did that too, for several months, sitting in line

for a Pentax DS2 in 2005, Which never appeared.

 

If pentax had their 2004 film lens selections available for sale now I would

have bought it, no hesitations, no doubt.

 

Bottom line, buy it sight unseen if you have to, it is a winner.

 

Lindy

[mountainvisions]

To everyone: Please stop writing these post. I do not want to buy this camera for a few months, or until i can get the USM lenses.

 

The only complaints i've seen thus far on this camera have been from people that aren't really photographers, or trolls.

 

Not saying it's the best camera ever but it seems to have met all the pre production expectations and thats pretty rare for any brand.

 

I love shooting my D but that 4 stop antishake would be so nice at times, even right now.

 

Also, one other thing to note. THe battery is the same as the NP400 for minolta. What that means? $15 batteries for the camera. And while I wasn't happy about paying $50+ for extra Li-Ions I have no issues with being able to toss 2 spare $15 batteries in the camera bag plus have 2 in the body/grip for a total of 3000 shots per charge (4 batteries).

 

My only complaint right now with the design, is the lack of AA battery support for the grip. 4 NP400's should last weeks of shooting but I still like to be able to put a set of AA lithiums in the bag to use on both the flash and camera body when the need arrises. Also, for backcountry shooting where my headlamp and any other electronics (flash and GPS) take AA it's nice to just have to carry one type of battery.

[14mm 2.8l]

I just called the shop it it remains unsold. I am going to ponder purchasing this item tonight. Maybe I'll pull the trigger on it tomorrow morning.

 

Oh yeah, I didn't mention how nice the rubbery textured grip is.

 

Justin, I bet you'll see many gleeful K10D buyers posting how cool the K10D is here before Santa's sleigh flies in 3&1/2 weeks.

 

Buying used SMC K Mount pro quality glass is gonna cost even more.

 

Lindy

[sfcole]

Although I just bought a K100D and am happy with it so far, I really don't see how you can

chose a Pentax over a Canon full-frame if you can afford it. I would have in a minute. The

options available for Canon are exponentially higher. Just try to get a basic 50 1.4 for that

Pentax. Anywhere. They're sold out across the country. And used? There's nothing decent

on the market. Canon has many more options in primes--I'd love to have the 100 or 135

Ls. And the options for wide-angle are much better in FF: 20, 24, 28.

The same is true for other aftermarket accessories, from flash to extension tubes to

underwater housings. Just take a look at the KEH catalog--there are used lenses and

accessories of every type immediately available.

Just my humble opinion.

Scott

[14mm 2.8l]

Indeed Scott all your points are valid. And I can afford to commit deeply into one system or the other not both. Canon's rebate makes a $2800 body drop to $2,200 except I dislike waiting for rebates that do not always arrive as promised. Pentax newly issued 10mp pentaprism K10D is very appealing but smc glass has gotten very expensive on the used market. Having a 6mp K Mount inhand with a few pentax lenses helps, but where to buy a 200 2.8? The last one sold on ebay for $1,440. Canon will sell you their L series new for under $700. Just 3 or 4 key eos prime lens purchases will offset the $1,300 difference in cost of 5D vs K10D. Had pentax decided to continue to make full frame glass the aftermarket smc prices would be less than original retail.

 

The K10D 5 miles from my house did not sell today, its mine in 14 hours if I decide to buy it plus tax but no shipping fees.

 

Lindy

[chepas_nigs]

you are very lucky! I also held it today in Tokyo Shinjuku big camera shops then I asked if I can pay for one immediately. Nope! Have to wait at list 3 weeks to 3 months and they require a 50% deposit. Same situation in all places in tokyo whatever size their shops are. Even offered to pay for the demo camera (jokingly though) but nope, it is sold out already...oh well...

[michael s.]

Lindy said:

 

<< ... I am going to ponder purchasing this item tonight. Maybe I'll pull the trigger ... >>

 

Be strong, Lindy ...

 

.... whatever that means in this context. :-)

[sfcole]

Lindy,

I'm hearing two things from you: on one hand, you can afford to "commit deeply to" one

system or the other. On the other hand, money still seems to be an issue, and you're

quibbling over rebates. It all comes down to what you are using the camera for. Are you

doing landscapes? Weddings? Snapshots of the kids and dog? Sports? Are you making a living

from it? The new Pentax fast zooms might be good lenses--who knows? We won't see them

till the spring. The Canon L zooms are proven to be great lenses (I've used the older 80-200

f4 L, and it was well worth the $$).

[14mm 2.8l]

I've lost about $300 in unfullfilled rebates over the years. Is it alot of money? No. Does it irk me. Absolutely. Do I hessitate when rebates are figured in? Yes. Do I buy signature confirmation and send the paperwork in certified mail also? Always.

 

I decided against the K10D this AM. I really don't need it till next summer so I'll see how things shake out in the meantime. I really did not expect to handle one that I could buy yesterday.

 

If I were a professional all this equiptment would be a write off and it wouldn't matter what it cost to me or any professional. It just a hobby for me, albeit a serious one.

 

I still am in possession of most of my rather complete telephoto and supertelephoto prime glass laiden Canon FD system from the 80's and early 90's so shooting film in 2007 and watching dslr technology improve and continue to drop price remains my least expensive option. My first eos mount Eos3 film body I picked up for vacation 6 months ago paired with the 14mm 2.8, my only eos lens, pretty much has me covered via film.

 

Maybe my 5 month wait is really going to be a 17 month wait.

 

The shop that has the one K10D available just took in a Nikon D1-something. I am told it ran the owner $4500 in 2001. Now on consignment its $400. 5 years and 95% drop in value after consignment fees. Its a pretty stunning reality that dslr equiptment buyers shouldn't be surprised by thesedays. Use it or don't use it, doesn't matter as dslr bodies are worthless in a half decade irregardless of initial outlay. Its the glass where the investment is retained and its the lack of affordable full frame K-A and K-AF smc prime glass that has sidelined today's K10D purchase.

 

Lindy

[mountainvisions]

Um, swear to god. I ordered my 1.4 50 on a Tue from BH in Sept, my sister had it in VA by Thurs and it was in my hands Sat night.

 

I was using it all day at Camden yards Sunday.

 

I guess if I wait long enough the 77 1.8 is going to be something I'm crying about not being able to find, but if your patient all these lenses seem to turn up new or used somewhere.

 

Oh and my rebate on the 50mm 1.4 was back in 5 weeks. Not to shabby.

 

I know the roadmap scares people (because they could alter it) but look at it and compare it to canons offerings. By 2008 I think they will be more then on part with Canon.

[14mm 2.8l]

One other feature I noticed on K10D that did surprise me:

 

No built in flash.

 

Typically there is no flash on pro bodies so I'd say Pentax sees this K10D as a pro level body.

 

As to Justin's 50mm 1.4 film lens purchase in September 2006. I believe you. But, you'll be hard pressed to repeat that now any day of the week in December 2006.

 

This morning at B&H I searched for only pentax film lenses for usa market. The are 15 choices is stock. 8 zooms with great overlap and 7 primes. No primes available above 100mm macro. No wide angle wider than 35mm.

 

I still really like the K10D that I got to handle and consider owning. But instead of dropping $1000 with tax for it I instead am back from buying 100 rolls of 100 speed fuji color print film. Twenty five 4 packs set to expire in Oct 2008 for $114, thats $4.22 per 4 pack plus tax.

 

Lindy

[mountainvisions]

No pop up flash?

 

I think you are wrong!

 

The K10D list a pop up flash in the specs. Pop Photo list it in the review (even controls the wireless).

 

From Pop Photo:

 

The built-in pop-up flash can be used as a trigger for wireless TTL flash with one or more Pentax AF360FGZ or AF540FGZ accessory flash units, with the choice of the pop-up unit firing or not.

 

And the phot from PopPhoto which clearly shows a flash popup button just like the ist D.

 

http://www.popphoto.com/assets/image/2006/Q3/9102006185257.jpg

[mountainvisions]

Also, I wouldn't say it's a misconception but it's not for any reason pro cameras don't have a built in flash other then manufacturers choose not to put it in. They feel if it's something in a consumer camera it shouldn't be in a pro camera. But history has proven that eventually pro's do want these little "make my life easier" "gimicks" built into there pro rigs and the tide tends to change.

 

I seem to remember reading about when pro cameras didn't have built in TTL meters because it was thought to be an amateur gimick. Now, I'd be hard pressed to find a small format camera without built in metering.

 

I'm the first one to say I hardly ever use my built in flash for actual flash but sometimes I don't have a speedlight with me or by the time i got it out the image would be gone, even a pro could use a built in flash every now and then for fill, or an emergency.

 

IMO, it's better to get a fleeting image with less then ideal equipment then to not get one at all. For journalism the paper is such bad quality that images don't have to be perfect to look just as bad as the good images on paper for the 2 seconds people look at a photo.

[michael s.]

It definitely has the pop-up. <p>

 

Scroll down for <a href=http://www.dpreview.com/articles/pentaxk10d/page4.asp>photo</a> approx half way down the page.

[14mm 2.8l]

Wild, that sure shows a pop up flash in preview article.

 

The owner of the shop and I spent a couple minutes discussing why pentax chose to put no pop up flash on it, instead just a hotshoe. I guess the seamless top panel must have a flash hidding in there then. There must be a seam hidding the flash, sure looked solid and seamless to me.

 

I'll call in the morning and if it's still in inventory I'll go look for its built in flash.

 

Interesting indeed. Its only the second he's had in stock so I guess it would be an easy mistake for him to make. I brought it up the lack of flash as I saw no seam for it.

 

Lindy

[mawz]

There's definitely a popup on the K10D.

 

The reason for the lack on Pro Bodies is that it's a point of weakness. A lot of pro's, especially PJ's, will be sporting popup-less bodies quite quickly if it was included, as its simply going to break with the abuse they dish out to their bodies.

 

That said, Nikon did include one on the D200, and the feature is popular if only for its ability to command wireless TTL flashes (which requires a $200 widget with Canon and a hotshoe flash with Pentax).

[14mm 2.8l]

Thanks (ALL) for clue'n me in on the pop up flash. The local one sold so there are no more in my neighborhood to consider or handle.

 

I'm still glad I passed on the local one as I've already found another one from a very reputable internet dealer for $20 less than "list" minus state tax plus shipping, so $70 less than it would have cost me last Friday. I'm really glad I bought 100 rolls of film instead seeing the my impulse buy outlay costs on this dslr down $70 in 3 days.

 

Lindy

[mountainvisions]

Nice point about it being a point of weakness. definitely true.

 

on the flip side so a shoe mounted flashes (the feet tend to break).

 

but i never really thought about it being a point of weakness for pros, i does make a lot of sense (and another reason I rarely use mine, since i do realize how flimsy they are).

[mawz]

The shoes on hotshoe flashes are an intentional point of weakness. They're a cheap fix and it's better to break a $3-400 flash than rip the prism off a $3000 body. I've seen the results of a flash shoe not failing and it was both brutal and rather expensive to repair (Complete replacement of the prism, top cover and metering system on an F100).

[14mm 2.8l]

The local shop has a another K10D and a second K10D with kit lens this morning. I checked and it does have a pop up flash and I noticed today it has an additional grip on the cameras left side too. This is a very nice feature. D200 has a tiny version of this second grip. A nice design for people with autofocus glass. No other manufacturer has full grips on both sides of the lens including pentax other dslr bodies or samsung dslr bodies.

 

Lindy

[lauren_macintosh]

Scott: the one thing canon 5D can not do for you is Be weather resistant like the K10D is and for what you pay for the 30D and up you do not get that feature you have to Buy in to the eos 1d s or higher to get weather risistance for your camera:: Oh I own Canon eos 20D