K10D Questions

Hi am looking to buy a Pentax K10D have been weighing it up against the Sony Alpha 100 am still not tottaly sure but i think i am swaying towards the pentax.

As far as i can see the only thing the sony does better is 1 its cheaper by about £100 and 2 its not as big / heavy.

Any i have a few questions about the k10d which hopefully can be answered before i just go and buy one.

1) I will mainly be using the camera for wildlife photography therefore would like to get some long zoom lenses are there many for this camera ? by the way when i say long i guess i mean to about 300mm as anything more would probably be too expensive for me at the moment anyhow.

2)one of the things putting me off the sony apart from apparently plastic feel is a loud shutter mechanism, so i was wondering if the pentax is loud ? because i can see that to be a annoyance/problem in some situations.

3) Ok i have seen in many reviews that JPEGS are not as good on this camera compared to rivals but considering i will want to try and shoot fast moving animals and the like surely shooting in raw in burst mode would not be as good as shooting JPEG so are the reviews over exgerating and surely the JPEGS could be made better by changing contrast etc on the camera if so can this setting be saved because for some stuff would rather shoot in JPEG than Raw.

not much else i can think of sorry if i sound like a amatuer its because i am Lol this would be my first DSLR and i know the pentax is not exactly a entry level but i am willing to learn and would rather buy that than a point and shoot dslr.

I would seriously consider Nikon if wildlife photography is your main usage. Apparently they're better in the long focal length department, not to mention autofocus. Perhaps you can peruse the forum - this has been discussed in the past few weeks. Maybe somebody else can give more info.

The Pentax K10D is a lot better camera than the Sony A100. The main reson is that the K10D is a mid-level camera for an advance user while the A100 is a low-end camera for average user. This means that the K10D has a lot more creative controls and these controls are easier to reach while shoting. The jpegs are ok with the K10D. The debate was basically because a terster tested the K10D in the default mode, which is a setting called "Natrual". In this setting the jpeg has less contrast, saturation and sharpness since the camera was designed for an "advance" user it was assumed that the user will want to do some post processing. In this case the n"Natural" mode is a good setting. If you want to use the jpeg straight out of the camera then the "Bright" smode would be the best setting. Then play with the contrast, saturation and sharpness to suit you.

Now for telephoto use at the a Nikon or Canon whould be a better choice since they have several long telephoto lenses. Pentax currently doesn't much to choice from in telephotos. The DA50-200 is about it (except in the use market). By the end of the year there is supposed to be a proffesional level (expensive) telephotos available. They are DA*200, DA300 and a DA*55-260. Then next year they will get some consumer grade telephotos to the market (DA70-300). So if you are willing to wait there should be some great telephotos coming out.

There is always the Tamon, Sigma and Tokina lenses that are available for the Pentax.

Dave

Dave

For long tele lenses, check out the side lines at a sporting event. Most of the pros use Canon (most of the premium Canon lenses are white). In the film days, that was also true, with Nikon being the fashion photographer's friend (I still used Canon as I could share lenses with a couple of friends).

As for Pentax vs Minolta/Sony, both cameras are great, but there are more Minolta telephotos out there than Pentax. If you plan on using third party lenses, then that is a moot point, as most are available in either mount. To further complicate the issue, there are the Olympus cameras, with a very good zoom (the 50-200 f2.8-3.5). With the 2x lens factor, that is a 100-400 35mm equivalent.

The bad news is the ultimate Olympus is not an Evolt, but the old E-1 (at least until it's replacement is out and proven). The E-510, which is the closest to the Sony or Pentax, is certainly capable (as the Sony or Pentax), but is not built to the same standards as the E-1 (magnesium body, weather sealed, dust sealed - even to the viewfinder, and pretty much could be used as a self-defense weapon in a bear attack).

Back to your original choices, I would lean to the Sony just for the less expensive legacy glass (check out dyxum.com for KM/Sony lenses and cameras). For me, I like my ist D (small, light, and solid) as my needs for the Pentax is a light weight hiking camera (I use an E-1 if shooting within a half mile of a car).

Wayne

PS If you can find a new or mint KM 7D, you might want to consider that over the Alpha - the 7D is a pro-level camera and even though it is 'only' 6mp, it may be better for a rugged wildlife camera than the newer models.

GateCrasher said:

3) Ok i have seen in many reviews that JPEGS are not as good on this
camera compared to rivals but considering i will want to try and
shoot fast moving animals and the like surely shooting in raw in
burst mode would not be as good as shooting JPEG so are the reviews
over exgerating and surely the JPEGS could be made better by changing
contrast etc on the camera if so can this setting be saved because
for some stuff would rather shoot in JPEG than Raw.

Click to expand...

The JPG quality issue is a complete beat-up, it's very usable at virtually any settings, no less so than any other similarly spec'd camera. I prefer the flexibility of shooting RAW and yes the buffer is more limited (as JPEG can be shot at full frame rate until the card is full) but with the best cards it is extremely quick to save. At worst when the buffer is full you will be restricted to just under 1 FPS.

If you intend to shoot long lenses in combination with TCs then lock-out of the SR system focal length factor setting using certain lens/TC combos may be of more practical concern.

--
Rob

Hey,

Don't worry about image quality, you're comparing excellent with excellent. Simply they are all good.

For me the Sony feels cheap when you use it compared to a K10D or Nikon D80.

The shutter for the Nikon's are quieter than both the Sony and Pentax, the Sony sounds cheap, the Pentax sounds solid but it is certainly louder than the Nikon.

If i were you i'd get the Nikon because the HSM of Sigma's long lenses will work on the Nikon. AF speed is crucial for wildlife and HSM helps alot when the lenses get big and heavy. HSM doesn't work on Pentax or Sony. Forget buying nikon or canon long lenses... you'll have to sell an arm and a leg to get one...

Hope that helps

--
to state the obvious I effin' heart photography...

GateCrasher said:

1) I will mainly be using the camera for wildlife photography
therefore would like to get some long zoom lenses are there many for
this camera ? by the way when i say long i guess i mean to about
300mm as anything more would probably be too expensive for me at the
moment anyhow.

Click to expand...

Are there many lenses? you can look at the collection in my profile.
Mind you, I bought most of them second hand of Eekbay (in the last two years).
The only cheap tele Pentax you can buy from a standard store new is the
50-200. Tamron and sigma sell Pentax mount 70-300/5.6 lenses cheaply.
Sometimes you can get the Tokina 80-400/6.3 new?

GateCrasher said:

2)one of the things putting me off the sony apart from apparently
plastic feel is a loud shutter mechanism, so i was wondering if the
pentax is loud ? because i can see that to be a annoyance/problem in
some situations.

Click to expand...

The Sony feels much much more plasticky to me.

The shutter is loud. I don't know how it compares to the Sony off-hand.

GateCrasher said:

3) Ok i have seen in many reviews that JPEGS are not as good on this
camera compared to rivals but considering i will want to try and

Click to expand...

The JPG is good. Perhaps better than it's rivals in several ways.

The only complaint I can think of off hand is the levels of sharpening.

I always use -3 (none) sharpening as I post-process, and so it is of no relevance.
The only time one should use any in-camera sharpening is if you intend to
print the JPG unaltered - straight from the camera.

--
cheers!

Gunn

-- Get a big lens and get closer™.

http://www.dpreview.pentaxistDS.photoshare.co.nz
http://www.y3m.net/penwik/pmwiki.php/Main/PentaxLensWiki

I have both cameras. I got them about the same time, but have concentrated on the Pentax. I just got out the Sony today for the first time in several months. My conclusion is that it is easier for me to get satisfying pictures with the Sony than the Pentax...color, exposure, and resolution. I used the kit lens on the Sony and a Tamron 18-200 on the Pentax, not the greatest lens. That said, I need to explain that I am not experieinced with camera settings nor a range of lenses and am doing a lot of experimenting an will be starting a photgraphy class at the local CC next week. I feel the Pentax is "more" camera than the Sony and I expect to grow into it, but think it will take some time. I have had both since December and I am still feeing a bit at sea with the Pentax as far as getting consistently good results with it. My biggest complaint is blown highlights, which may be the fault of the lens. I would say that if you want the easy way out, get the Sony or if you prefer a long learning curve, get the Pentax. The Sony shutter mechanism is considerably noisier than the Pentax. As far as long lenses are concerned, others have addressed those in their replies.

Once you have used a camera with dual control wheels you will never want one with a single wheel.

The K10D control system is very well laid out and easy to use, settings at your finger tips instead of buried in menus. And the wheels can be customized to do what you want them to (or at least give you several choices)

I love the hyper program mode where a touch of a wheel puts it instantly in to shutter priority or aperture priority, depending on which wheel you move.

--
Jim Cruickshank

Thanks to all the people that have replyed, hmm the Nikon D80 is nice but its even more expensive than the K10D which is already alot of money for me.

I have seen some great wildlife photos taken with the K10D and Sigma lenses so i think i might just go for that unless anyone knows where to buy a D80 for £489.99 with a lens and 2gb card as thats the cheapest k10d i've seen so far.