A few years ago Pentax may have been the UK’s leading supplier of advanced amateur and semi-professional cameras, but over the following years their position has declined. Pretty much the last legacy brand to go digital with the awfully named *istD, they then did minor upgrades with Ls and Ss suffixes. But recently, everything has changed and K is back! First there was the K100D with the new Anti-Shake (AS) device and now the K10D with AS and a host of new features is aimed not only at advanced amateurs but also semi-professionals.
Historically, all cameras worth their salt have had PASM, which stands for Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual. Pentax has gone a step further with this camera, which I call PASIM because they added a very reasonable ISO priority setting. Pentax calls it sensitivity priority, but we usually know it as changing the ISO setting. In fact, there are two versions of sensitivity mode, one that chooses shutter and aperture for you, and another called Shutter and Aperture mode that allows you to choose shutter and aperture while optimizing the ISO for you.
The next big advancement was the image processing engine. Called PRIME (Pentax Real IMaging Engine), it collects data from sensors in 22-bit format and then A/D converts it to 12-bit RAW or 8-bit JPEG for storage. Pentax claims better graduation results with this system. DDR memory is used to keep image processing and data transfer as fast as possible.
AS and dust removal are interrelated, as the sensor features a nanotechnology-based fluorine seal to prevent dust settling, an adhesive strip to collect particles, and a combined vibration function to remove stubborn particles such as pollen. AS is said to allow the lens to improve independently by up to four stops when held handheld. (PEF) RAW and the Adobe Universal RAW format DNG RAW. JPEGs can be shot in three sizes (10, 6 and 2 megapixels) and in three qualities (three stars, two stars or one star). The camera also supports SDHC compatible cards, offering higher capacities.
The menu system will be familiar to anyone upgrading from an early Pentax DSLR, and is simple to navigate for those new to the system. The secondary menu, accessed by pressing the Fn button on the right side of the rear screen below the daisy wheel, common displays changes such as shooting mode, white balance, flash and ISO settings. White balance is adjustable between automatic, six presets, manual and Kelvin scale. Shutter options include single shot, continuous shot, 12-second timer, 2-second timer, IR remote, and IR remote with 3-second delay. ISO can be set from 100 to 1600 in 1/3 or 1/3 stop increments, and the flash has five different modes and compensation from –2 to +1 stop, also in 1/3 or 1/3 stop increments. quantity.
A switch on the side of the K-AF2 lens mount allows single, continuous or manual focus selection, and the AF area can be set to automatic, selectable or center point via a knurled ring around a rocker-type daisy wheel. Select the metering mode via the auxiliary ring below the mode dial. Built with a stainless steel chassis, the K10D has a total of 72 individual seals mounted on its fiber-reinforced polycarbonate (FRP) body, making it dust and rain-resistant with a durable finish. It also feels well-made, without any pretense of light weight or small size. It’s not that the camera is too big or too heavy, it’s just right. Whether you have large hands or the more delicate version, it’s comfortable to hold, with plenty of space between the grip and lens mount for the clumsiest of fingers.
The shutter release is located at the top of the handle, and two adjustment wheels drop easily onto your thumb and forefinger. To the right of the top of the camera is an LCD screen that displays all shooting parameters as well as an estimate of the number of frames available on the SD memory card. On the left side of the prism housing, the main mode dial has a secondary lower ring that controls the metering mode. The prism housing itself contains a pop-up flash unit with a guide number of 11 , which is convenient but not overly functional, as well as a hot shoe. The controls on the rear of the camera are well laid out and bear a strong kinship with its younger siblings, but with a few extra features added to bolster its credentials. These include a ribbed ring around the rocker for selecting focus modes, a handy addition that has been removed from the menu. The K10D has a Pentax K10D Camera Battery grip that can be purchased as an extra, but it’s worth mentioning here. It’s one of the most comfortable grips out there, and it’s built just as well as the camera, with a similar seal. However, it does have one quirk. The handle only holds one battery, the original camera battery remains inside the camera. This does mean that to charge the first battery, the handle needs to be removed. On the plus side, the extra space in the handle can be used to accommodate a spare card holder.
Flash optionsA pop-up flash is a handy piece of gear on any camera, especially for fill-light work rather than lighting the entire scene, and in this case it’s well thought out. The Function (Fn) button in the lower right corner of the home screen displays the usual secondary menu, one of the four options being flash settings. You can choose from Flash On, Flash On + Red Eye, Slow Sync, Slow Sync + Red Eye, and Rear Curtain Sync. With the screen on, you can use the rear thumbwheel to adjust flash compensation in ½ or 1/3 stop increments from –2 to +1 stop. The whole thing is very intuitive.
performanceWith a choice of two RAW, RAW + JPEG, or nine sizes/quality JPEG recording formats, the choice is almost confusing when it comes to storing your images. While three sizes and three qualities of JPEG are now common, Pentax unusually gives you the option to record RAW files in its own PEF format or Adobe’s universal DNG format. The included software Pentax Photo Lab supports both file types and is pretty good for free software.
Autofocus speed appears to be limited only by the lens, and since the camera is designed to operate with an upcoming sonic motor lens that Pentax is developing, it will be interesting to see how fast the system is.
At default settings, the camera produces files in JPEG format that are pleasantly colored and not oversaturated, and settings can be configured via the menus to achieve any desired amount of correction in image hue, saturation, contrast, or sharpness.digital noiseISO settings range from 100-1600, and the camera has a noise reduction setting that works at all speeds. While it does make some subtle differences at high ISO, this can be done much better with a dedicated software package. Regardless, files shot at speeds up to ISO800 are very useful, and the ability to select sensitivity speeds in half- or third-stop increments gives a lot of leeway. Metering is via 16-zone multi-segment, center-weighted or spot metering, selected via the secondary dial below the mode dial. It proved to be quite accurate, selecting the correct exposure for all scenes attempted.The 2.5-inch rear LCD screen proved bright and visible at fairly wide angles, and the 210,000-pixel display was more than adequate for the job. When viewing pictures, you can use the rear thumbwheel to zoom in, making the operation simple and fast .
The dedicated lithium-ion Pentax K10D Camera Battery proved to be very long-lasting, recharging within an hour at three-quarters of a charge, after a day of shooting with a lot of menu clutter. Stuff, some onboard flash for photos and a dedicated Pentax flash, and a lot of image removal to achieve this.
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