Pentax K10D?

[rmtagg]

I got my K10 in late Aug 07. I have taken a ton of pictures already and LOVE this camera. I have a 35mm Pentax from the 80's and am using 2 of those lenses with the K10 plus the lens that came with it. I am very much an outdoor person and my K10 has been through numerous rains, sleet, snow and heat. The camera is well made, nice in my hand and I like it better than my friends canon D30.

[Mr. Pickles]

We got lots of boards here to post images from Pentax's in....

I think Pentax still makes some fine cameras and lenses. Not much love for them, but those that have them can show the rest what they are missing

[macdaddy]

Hate to rain on everyone's parade, and I made some outstanding photos with my K10D when I had one, but there are a couple of known, serious sensor issues in my opinion (and that of some pro shooters who, like myself, either have are will leave Pentax because of them.) The most serious is a CA-like fringing that occurs when shooting edges against a strong background.
I shoot a lot of architectural stuff for a book series I'm doing and if you look at the edge of a building against, say, a bright blue sky, you'll see it. No amount of work in Photoshop will remove it; it's burned into the photo and isn't a result of either lenses or the photographer's techniques. This has been brought to the attention of Pentax, and they won't acknowledge it, let alone fix it! It is a sensor issue and hasn't been corrected, which is why I'm now shooting with an Olympus again!
I have shots that exhibit this made with: FA 43mm Limited, FA 77mm Limited, DA 12-24mm, DA 16-45mm, DA 50-200mm, Super Takumar 135/f3.5, Kiron 80-200/f2.5 Macro. At least 30 others have seen it (27 of whom are pros who depend on their equipment to make a living!) with ALL the "digital Limiteds", so it's not just my camera, or my lenses, or my techniques!
Perhaps there will be a firmware upgrade to correct it, or the alleged "K20D" that's rumored for late January 2008 will fix it. All I know is, for me, 11 months of wrestling with it was 10 months too long! In MANY ways it and its lenses are outstanding and, like I said, I got many excellent shots with it, but this is an issue Pentax needs to fix.
Rob

[GEli]

Macdaddy, can you post some examples of this issue? I'm a K10D user myself and a quick check of all my usual photo sites and a quick googling of the description of this issue seems to bring up no other reports of similar problems. Perhaps you simply got a bum sensor? Did you contact Pentax regarding the issue, and if so what did they say? With the number of awards and honours this body has received, and the lack of mention of this issue at any of the major camera review sites, I'm a bit skeptical that this isn't an isolated issue.

I love my K10D. The image quality is fantastic, the UI is extremely intuitive and the body just feels so lovely in your hands. I've had a couple times where I've completely forgotten I'm holding a camera while shooting with it, which is one of the highest honours I can bestow on a camera.

[brady38]

Hello Macdaddy:

I concur with Geli. I have shot over 15,000 shots with my K10d and K100 and have not had any of the CA-like fringing problems you specify. Please note I shoot with both Pentax and Sigma lens. Please take a look at my gallery at dbrady.zenfolio.com and look at the Manhatten Island shots. They were all taken from the boat tour, against a lot of sky, and I see absolutely no problems.

I read daily most of the comments on the Pentax SLR forum such as DPreview since the K100 and K10d have been out, and have only seen a couple of comments regarding CA. And these were minor problems. I have owned at one time or another several of the major brands of DSLR cameras, and like Geli, find Pentax to produce photos as good or better than other brands, especially in RAW mode. I too am looking forward for the release of the K20d and will be purchasing it when available.

[ront]

Originally Posted by tcom

In case interested, I have added a new gallery with the photos of my recent trip in South Africa, all photos done with K10D. The camera worked very well, had not any problem under rain nor in the dusty Kalahari desert.

The photos are here: South Africa Photo Gallery by Dominique Schreckling at pbase.com

Excellant pictures Dominique. I enjoyed them a lot.

Ron

[eagle7312]

I am impressed with the Pentax K10D which I have had for about 1 year. Time has proven it to be a well built camera with weather protection, "professional" feel (weight) and ability to produce great pictures. It is my first DSLR and I am glad that I made the choice. The initial lack of lenses in early 2007 is now replaced with a plethera by pentax and third party vendors. Recently Pentax has introduced the K20D which builds off technology of the K10D. Try pentax...you will be impressed with the quality and reasonable cost.

Mike Surma

[thomasjmpark]

Well Ive had no problems with this camera so far. I to am new to DSLR, infact photography of any kind, but logic tells me that this camera is good. Its not a top of the range camera but at the cost I feel quite justied in paying the price for a well designed piece of machinery.

As far as picture quality goes I find that the few lenses I have seem to be more than adequate for my needs. There are some issues with vignetting but they are lens problems. The sensor and camera work brilliantly well for me and to be honest i dont see a reason to upgrade to the K20D. I have a well designed, firm, weather proof bit of kit that any photographer can use

[prometeus]

I also have a pentax k10d and I love the camera.

[Joel]

I got a K10D about 3 weeks ago and love it.