K10d for life?

[TwoUptons]

Here are a few more things that haven't already been hit on...

Battery. This is one small pause I have about the K10 as well, but if it helps any, I have an old Yashica film camera that used a very odd mercury battery that hasn't been made in years. I found a guy who has made an adapter that lets it use modern, non-toxic batteries. I would imagine that the same thing will happen with the Pentax/Minolta battery if the cameras are still viable when the batteries go away.

Technology. I remember selling Casio QV10 cameras with 320*240 resolution for $1000. I couldn't get them fast enough. That was in 1994. Now I can buy the same features in a child's camera for $20. Literally. That said, I bet some of those QV10s still work. It's just that nobody wants to use them anymore. 20 years from now a K10 will probably work fine, but will you want to use it? Maybe in the same way I took my K1000 out for a spin this morning, as a toy, but not for the important work of recording your life.

Some things last a long time. My house was built in 1937, my car in 1973. Some things don't. My DVD player is two years old, and I'll update it with some sort of hi-def player in a few years. It will probably go at a garage sale before it's 20. But the need for a place to sleep and the roads haven't changed much in the past 50 years. Video has.

I know it sounds silly, but buy what you need for the next few years. In terms of durability, the K10 (or most other cameras) should be fine. In terms of features, we simply can't predict that so well.

I also don't know that I would buy a used DSLR. To be "a deal", any of the older cameras would have to be a lot less expensive than the new K100, and I don't know many people who will want to sell what cost them $1000 three years ago for $250 or so.
Hope that helps,
-Eric

 

[Grant Hutchins]

Computer technology gets cheaper over time. Camera body costs keep coming down. More and better features are added to each model so the real cost of features has come down even greater than the cameras themselves.

Like it or not, whatever you buy now in the form of electronics is outdated the day you buy it and it's replacement is on the drawing board if not well on it's way to being ready for production.

There's no way around the fact that there's no "cheap" DSLR solution. You have to accept certain limitations if you are trying to stick to just the kit. The k10 plus 2 good lenses can easily get you a lot closer to $2k than $1k, ad a few other things like trying to find the right camera bag, tripods, flashes, extra battery, extra memory cards, and you'll be over $2000 in no time

If cost and longevity of value for features are your primary concerns, I would suggest waiting 'till after PMA and considering something like one of the new Sony H series or similar prosumer cameras. It's usually the case that in another year there will be better cameras with better value for money. If after a year or even six months, you find you can't live out a DSLR (let's face it, unless you're a pro, none of us NEEDS all these expensive toys our culture obsesses over) than you can by a better less expensive DSLR. You'll have your smaller compact camera which will still be useful as a back. If you don't need a back up you can give it as a nice little "Just because" gift to someone you want to have it. You might be able to give the prosumer to someone as a way to invite them to share your new hobby with you. If the camera(s) can be real way give you a means to spend more time with someone (spouse, parent, kid, friend) than that is money well spent.

On the other hand wanting something is not the same as having it. Sometimes having "it" no matter how good "it" is doesn't live up to the IDEA of having it. If you spend money that is enough beyond you're budget that you'll feel guilty about it, you'll never really enjoy the thing you bought, especially after the thrill of buying it fades.

 

[photographer reborn]

The K10D is a well-made camera, and physically should last 20 years
with moderate use. I believe the shutter is supposed to be good for
100,000 activations.

But as you noted, these days DSLRs are like computers. They are
continually updated and improved. Good lenses, however, last a long
time. I would recommend going for a less expensive camera (like the
K100D) and buying some good quality glass.

I agree with Joseph. At present I have a *ist DS and I'm quite happy with it. I was tempted to "upgrade" to the K100D but I didn't because I would lost some features that I like from my DS. Later, I was tempted to upgrade to the K10D but... finally I decided to spend my money buying a good lens. I can wait for a future body that fits my "needs", but a good lens is "forever".

Before the DS I had an Oly 750-UZ. I sold the Oly and bought the DS, and this was a great upgrade.

In your case, I think is better to upgrade to a K100D and to buy a good lens. The K100D is by far better than you Oly. Maybe you can stay with your K100D for 3-5 years. You can stay with a good lens for 3-5 bodies.

Regards,

--
Javier.

 

[Anastigmat]

Hi, I am seriously contemplating buying the k10d!

I have however some doubts. Here's why: I have an Olympus C-750
currently that I bought over 3 years ago to get me going in the
prosumer cameras....until I get use to it and know what I want more
out of my pictures. I had, from the beginning, the intention of
likely going to dslr one day!

But I do not have the budget to upgrade camera after camera or buy
multiple accessories (a bag, 3 or 4 lenses overtime, a flash,
memory but that would be it).

But that is the strategy behind these APS-C cameras. You get cameras coming out at regular intervals with incrementally higher resolution but no revolutionary improvements in picture quality. People obligingly "upgrade" to the newest cameras and the camera makers continue to obsolete older generations of DSLR cameras which are still good enough (and sometimes better in certain respects).

I don't want to spend my time shopping, I want to take pictures. I
don't have thousands to spend on cameras every 2-3 years. If this
camera takes good pictures with my lenses, I shouldn't see any
reason to change cameras in 1-2-3 years from now like seemingly
many do here! I am not as rich as you guys it seems.

If you have thousands for a camera, I suggest the EOS 5D. It is full frame, and you would likely not be tempted to upgrade.

So I might make my k10d my camera for the next 20 years!

but I am worried about a few things. First things that come to mind:
1- Batteries only made for the K10d: will I have replacement
batteries in 10-15 years from now?

Probably. I can get replacement batteries for obsolete wireless home phones on the Internet. You can probably do the same in the future.

2- Can I regret not having some future (current?) options like a
live LCD (swivel)?

etc

People have been taking photos with SLR cameras without any live LCD for decades. It is not a problem. Right angle finders and the Zigview are good substitutes.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0506/05060701zigview_lcd.asp

Is it realistic to think that this camera could be my only camera
for 20 years considering that I want the best pictures possible
with my budget, with the available or future options (luxury?) and
some issues like battery replacement down the road?

No, it is not realistic. You will likely find the APS-C sensor too antiquated and small, and the noise at high ISO too high when full frame DSLR cameras become the norm within the next 20 years.

 

[Pontoneer]

I don't see any problem whatsoever with keeping a camera 20 years , as long as you accept that technology may have changed somewhat ( please note I did NOT say 'improved' ) over that timescale .

My film cameras are mostly older than that : I bought my KM in the late 70's , followed by the ME , MX's & LX's . I still have them all , plus a newer MZ-S , and they all still work .

On the digital front , I bought a secondhand *istD not so long ago . It runs on AA batteries so no worries there . It may only be 6MP but I seldom print bigger than A4 and I use it with all my old SMC-M glassware from my film cameras so the quality is right up there with the best of them ( I use a D200 at work and am pushed to see any great improvement ) .

My seven year old Apple G4 is still as good as it was when I bought it - OK a new MacPro will be faster , particularly on a power hungry piece of software like CS2 - but I am happy still running CS on mine and it does what I want it to do .

Like my cameras , my hi-fi is between 20 and 30 years old : I like my analogue kit ( Michell Gyrodec/SME IV/ATOC9 , Quad 66/606 , IMF TLS80II's) and it still effortlessly outperforms highly expensive digital kit that I might hear if I happen to wander into a hi-fi shop . I do have a CD player but most of my music is on vinyl . I also have 3x revox reel to reel machines and can still make excellent recordings with them . Just because they aren't digital does not make them obsolete .

Many people change their cars every couple of years , losing thousands in the process . I've been driving the same car for 25 years , it wasn't new then and , although I only paid £100 for it , it is still going strong and I'm sure I now get looks of envy from modern car drivers as I pass them in my 1957 Mercedes-Benz 219 . Ok , it has no electric windows , no cruise control , no toys whatsoever , but it still starts first time , every time and gets me where I want to go . I also have a slightly younger 1963 model which I'm restoring and fully expect to pass them onto my daughter when I have to give up driving .

I don't have any worries getting parts for these cars , everything is still available from the factory . And they are simple to maintain doing the work myself - can't say that for the new ones .

I can still get most of the hi-fi serviced : Quad , SME & Michell have legendary service departments , sadly IMF no longer exist , but then there's eBay .

Parts for some of the older Pentaxes are no longet available , although Pentax UK still offer limited support for the LX & MX - not that it has been needed in my case .

The thing is , some people have got to always have the latest thing and will get it just for the sake of it . If you buy something of quality , it can , and should , be capable of lasting you a lifetime provided you take care of it .

If you are happy with the pictures your camera takes today , it should still be capable of taking the same pictures 20 years from now .
--
With kind regards

Derek.

 

[Macfisto]

So if I understand some of you if not most of you correctly (summarizing), I could look at it from another angle and ask this question:

beside possible wear and tear, and possible long term battery rarity, what else should I consider that I am not thinking about if I need to buy myself another camera within a few years (5-6)?

It seems the quality will not be much more higher than this (specially with nice lenses) and 10 megs is enough for me (prints). This camera, k10d, is fully manual. Granted it may not have all the possible and eventual nice added feature but when comparing to an old 35 mm, it's fully manual.

So if my camera works, if fully manual, takes nice pictures (and print size), and able to have batteries for a while, I wouldn't have to think to about changing, wouldn't I?

I mean the rest would problably be only bonus, luxury, features/options that do not exist but are "nice-haves" but nothing really much in quality

p.s. sorry for the very hypothetical thread! It's just that money doesn't come around flying the window these days and spending the equivalent of 500$ a year on equipement even overa period of 10 years, is a bit expensive for me (even if I were to think of it in terms of rolls of films!
--
-------
BeLIEving is seeing!

 

[Pontoneer]

I think as long as you buy a camera from one of the major makes , like Pentax , then even if one piece of your kit should break , replacements should be available so that all your other components will not be relegated to the dustbin .

I an sure the K mount or something compatible will be with us for a while - it is very well established , and there will be used K mount equipment around for all of our lifetimes - so even if you did decide in 10 years time there was a worthwhile improvement in camera bodies , you could still use your old lenses . If you dropped one of your lenses , there will still be replacements around etc....

It has been said so many times before , but pentax seem to be better at future-proofing than many other manufacturers : you can still use even the oldest screw mount lenses (with adapter) on the latest bodies (K10D) and , of course , any K Mount lens will fit straight on and still work .

Pentax also still offer support for a lot of their older models , although it is drying up for some of the VERY old products . However , they still go further back than most japanese makers .

That can't be said of some other manufacturers .
--
With kind regards

Derek.

 

[Barry Pearson]

Well, if any camera system is to any extent future proof it is Pentax.
I got my Pentax K1000 for my 21st birthday and I was using it
regularly up to 2002, that was 21 years! What is more, the camera
I am contemplating replacing it with (when the bonus comes through)
is a Pentax that can still use the lenses I bought for that first
camera, 26 years ago.

[snip]

26 years - is that all? I've been using Pentax for about 40 years, and those lenses would still work. But - my carry-around lenses are all less than about 16 years old, because even Pentax can improve their lenses over time!

 

[crussell]

Hi Macfisto,

I recently upgraded to the K10D from the Oly C-750 and have been enjoying it very much! The only thing I miss is the great macro capability of the C-750, considering I will need to spend a lot of money on a good macro lens to achieve similar results with the K10D...

My C-750 had lost the ability to store settings when changing batteries, which was very frustrating when out shooting. One day I will have the time to order the replacement capacitor and fix it, but I expect the K10D to last a lot longer than the C-750. The 10MP CCD suits my desire for large print sizes much better than the 4MP, and I don't see the need to upgrade from the K10D anytime soon, although I will be getting new lenses and accessories now and then.

Cheers,
Colin