Any love for the Pentax K10D ?

[foto4]

My k10D is the second Pentax digital SLR that I've owned. Bought the *ist when it first came out, so that I could use 20 years of Pentax glass from my pre-digital days. I loved the *ist, except for the stupid name -- which Pentax fixed when they upgraded to the k10D. I like the k10D even better.

The only problem with Pentax is that they tend to lag about six months or so behind Nikon and/or Canon when upgrading to the newest "gee-whiz" gizmos on the next camera.

Me -- I can wait six months for the next camera, if it means that I save $$thousands$$ by getting to keep using all my glass.

[spystyle]

Yeah what is up with the *ist name? What does it even mean? How is it pronounced?

Star first ? Astrix-ist ? Start-ist ? Astrix first ?

It's groove was obviously lost in translation from Japanese to "EngRish"

Anyway, I have decided to try a Pentax K100D I'll see if it handles the M42 glass better than the Canon does (for metering and focus confirmation) and I'll try this "in body stabilization"

This will give me a better range of stabilization than the competition has, for example - if I was to buy Nikon new $200 35/1.8 AF-S lens, it does not have stabilization even though my other AF-S lenses do... With the Pentax any lens you attach has stabilization How about an inexpensive 28/2.8 ? It's got stabilization How about an inexpensive 300/4.5 ? 50/1.4 or 50/1.8 ? 100/2.8 ? 200/3.5 ? They've all got stabilization And they are all fast and inexpensive.

We'll see how it works. "On paper" it's stunning, we'll see how it compares in my tests

Have fun!
Craig

[Ben_V]

Originally Posted by spystyle

We'll see how it works. "On paper" it's stunning, we'll see how it compares in my tests

In my practical experience the SR gives me on average 2 f-stops latitude - and if I am really careful even 3 f-stops. That's not quite what marketing claims, but good enough for me. I more often run now into subjects which show motion blurr...

Ben

[spystyle]

Motion blur?

I've found that with a 50mm lens 1/45 shutter speed is good for "say cheese" and 1/60 is good for "candid" (like walking and moving normal, not like running)

"Shake reduction" only helps with "say cheese" - it does not "freeze motion"

With my Nikon "vibration reduction" lens at 18/3.5 I can take a "say cheese" photo at 1/15 shutter speed, hand held.

If you want to trump motion blur - use "shutter priority mode" and "auto ISO" and "SR" and, if possible, a fast lens - like 3.5, 2.8,1.8,1.4 ...

Shutter speed is what freezes motion. I think 1/60 for candid and 1/100 for action. But there is a trick, when using a lens longer than 50mm you have to increase shutter speed to counter "hand shake" - so if you didn't have "SR" you'd probably want 1/180 when using a 200/3.5 lens - it's close to 1/1 (1 speed per 1 focal length) - I think that's equal to 1/60 with a 50/1.8 lens (in performance)

Oh all this math! I've confused myself.

Anyway, if it's 1/1 for minimum shutter speed with hand held telephoto (for example 1/100 for a 100mm lens) and that speed is beyond 1/60 (which is all we need to freeze "candid" movement) the addition of "SR" should allow slower shutter speeds since the increase was solely to counter "hand shake" but the "SR" will counter that for us, a couple stops. So I think you can now use 1/60 with a 100mm lens and a 135mm lens...

Yes, "vibration reduction (SR)" and "auto ISO" really can change the way we shoot. But shutter speed is the same today as it was in 1970 : 1/60 to freeze candid motion.

This is all my speculation though, I was not yet born in 1970 But I have old photography instruction books

Cheers,
Craig

[foto4]

As far as the stupid name - *ist - Pentax intended for it to be pronounced "Star-ist." Some genius decided that it was an "all things" camera and that the asterisk used as a wildcard in Boolean computer searches would make a great name for it.

I'm guessing that the guy was on the technical side, and they forgot to consult with marketing ...

[spystyle]

It's true, "Astrix" is a wild card to us tech guys ..

..what a miserable bunch we are, locked in our caves fixing computers all day..

Oh did I say that out loud?

Um, anyway, I did not think "wild card" when I saw that name even though I've been fixing these rebellious boxes for a decade.

*ist .. I tell ya it must sound better in Japaneses than it does in EngRish

But I'm buying a K100D so it's not my problem

[foto4]

I still carry the *ist as an extra body. I just try not to let anyone see the name stenciled on it ...

[spystyle]

Sharpie makes a nice black permanent marker that could possibly correct that

[Ben_V]

Originally Posted by spystyle

Motion blur?

I've found that with a 50mm lens 1/45 shutter speed is good for "say cheese" and 1/60 is good for "candid" (like walking and moving normal, not like running)

"Shake reduction" only helps with "say cheese" - it does not "freeze motion...

Craig, I know that ofcourse. What I wanted to imlpy is, that I can handhold (thanks to SR) now shutter speeds which are anyway too long to get a sharp picture, as now motion blur is the dominant factor and not camerra shake anymore. My post was just too short, I guess...

Ben

[spystyle]

Aha, I see, well it's good for me to practice my math in the forum anyway

[hitechrr]

I liked my K10D better than my K20D. I think the image was better with the K10D.

[Ben_V]

Originally Posted by hitechrr

I liked my K10D better than my K20D. I think the image was better with the K10D.

I would from experience say, that the K10 produces great images - but so does the K20, with less noise at higher ISO settings thrown in. I am using both cameras and I am hard pressed to see any difference at ISO 100, apart from a tiny bit more noise in the shadows from the K10.

BUT what I noticed is, that some lenses, which were useful on the K10 are complete rubbish on the K20. For example the Sigma 24-135/2.8-4.5 is a nice "walk-around" lens, which gives good results at f/8 and f/11- on the K10. But on the K20 the contrast is so low, that the images are unusable, even at the best apertures.

So may be, your experience reflects the limits of certain lenses?

Ben

[hitechrr]

my faverate is the FA35 f/2 and the da 18-250. I had pentax service the 18-250 and it is now very tight. The DA 50--200 iI have never used. I bought it for my daughter and she likes the F 35-70, so he never used it. I will be putting that on ebay. MY f 70-210 work very well.

K100D SUPER
k20D body
Da* 50-135MM f2.8
DA 18-250MM
DA 50-200
Fa 50 /F1.4
Fa 35 /F2.0
A 50mm f1.7 sold
A 50MM F2.0 sold
F 35-70
F 35-105mm sold
F 70-210
sigma 400 MF
TOKINA 2X Teleconverter
pro camron 1.4X Tele
Promaster 7 1.7X TELE
SIGMA 24-60 EX F2.8
AF400FTZ
AF360FGZ
(2) SF1n
PZ-70

[Ben_V]

hitechrr, you have some pretty good lenses in your list - so these should not be the quality limiting factor - but neither is a K20With digital there are so many factors, which influence image quality, that there are many possible routes to follow:
– are you shooting JPG or RAW?
– if JPG - what are the settings (colour, sharpness, contrast; Jpg quality etc.)
- if RAW, the quality is widely dependend on the post-processing settings
- do you use any filters on the lenses regularily?

I guess, you know all that yourself - sometimes it just helps, to have an outsider looking at a problem.

Ben

[spystyle]

Originally Posted by spystyle

Yeah what is up with the *ist name? What does it even mean? How is it pronounced?

Star first ? Astrix-ist ? Start-ist ? Astrix first ?

It's groove was obviously lost in translation from Japanese to "EngRish"

Anyway, I have decided to try a Pentax K100D I'll see if it handles the M42 glass better than the Canon does (for metering and focus confirmation) and I'll try this "in body stabilization"

This will give me a better range of stabilization than the competition has, for example - if I was to buy Nikon new $200 35/1.8 AF-S lens, it does not have stabilization even though my other AF-S lenses do... With the Pentax any lens you attach has stabilization How about an inexpensive 28/2.8 ? It's got stabilization How about an inexpensive 300/4.5 ? 50/1.4 or 50/1.8 ? 100/2.8 ? 200/3.5 ? They've all got stabilization And they are all fast and inexpensive.

We'll see how it works. "On paper" it's stunning, we'll see how it compares in my tests

Have fun!
Craig

Yikes, I had a K100D and sent it back! The penta-mirror viewfinder is too dim and small for manual focus lenses.

I swapped it for a Pentax *ist DS (pronounced Pentax issed DS, or just "DS" for short)

The "DS" has a bright glass Penta-Prism that should work well for manual focus lenses

We'll see when it gets here

Cheers,
Craig

[spystyle]

Alright I did it !

I swapped the K100D for a *ist DS

I really like it

While it's viewfinder is not as big as the original K1000 film camera, it is about as bright. I have an easy time using manual focus lenses with this camera.

I also ordered a split prism focus screen for it just like the K1000 has, it should be really sweet for manual focus lenses once I get that installed

Hooray for Pentax!

[spystyle]

Alright, I've got it all together now

Pentax *ist DS + Pentax-a 50/2 +Jinfinance split image focus screen = digital K1000 kinda

Manual focus is nice with this camera as it has a Penta-Prism (as opposed to a Penta-Mirror)

Here is a pic through the viewfinder, though it's not a very good pic I bet you'll get the idea



Install guides are here

[Peter Zack]

The Ds is a nice camera, I just joined today so missed most of this thread. Had I jumped in earlier, I would have suggested the *istD instead. It's basically a K10D Jr. with the dual thumb wheels and a similar layout. But these are old cameras and the K10D is a much better unit in a number of ways. Faster for one thing. One area that Pentax is not king is high ISO's. They are pretty good but not quite as good as some others. It's partly in the metering systems. I have a couple of second shooters that do weddings with me and one shoots Canon, the other shoots Nikon.

The Canon overexposes in normal light IMO and the camera is set that way I think to give better high ISO images. The Nikon is more in the middle and does almost as well at High ISO's. The Pentax metering leans toward slight underexposure to preserve highlights in normal shooting light. They are more of a landscape/people/portrait brand than a high ISO style camera. So in dark situations, add 1/2 to 1 Ev comp and you'll get good results.

Surprised you went with the smaller models and not a K10D. They are cheap these days.

[spystyle]

I had my eye on the K10D but it was $150 more than the DS. Since the DS is my secondary camera I didn't feel I needed the big guns.

Have fun
Craig