[Deimos]

Hi All,

Thought I'd post a quick mini review on the new k-r I received. The last and only other dslr I had was a Nikon d60. I have two lenses both Tamron, 17-50 2.8 and 90mm 2.8 macro.

First impressions:

The k-r seems to be very solid and well built. It doesnt feel plasticky or cheap in anyway, it actually almost feels like metal. The handling is good. Grip feels good in my hands better than the k-x also doesnt feel as "cheap" as the k-x if that makes any sense. My hands do get a bit sweaty tho but thats prob just me

All of the buttons and e-dial work fine, they seem well laid out and have a different feel to them than the rest of the camera surface so they are easy to use. Only gripe there is the directional buttons are quite small.

It also isnt as heavy as I expected it to be and feels well balanced with the 17-50 attached.

The viewfinder is a bit dark but otherwise nice and wide. The lcd at the back is great, large and the definition and colours are very good.

AF feels very fast. The screwdrive motor in this is very very fast. (from one side by side video I saw quite a bit faster than the k-x)

FPS is almost too much if you set it to continuous hi! Like a machine gun! Before I got the camera I wondered why anyone would want to set the fps to a slower continuous speed, now I know! You dont always want to take 20 shots in like 2 seconds

High ISO is quite remarkable. I havent seen anything on a big screen yet, but noise control is amazing even with NR off, mind you I have only shot jpg so there is prob something going on. That said amazing...1600 is fantastic, 3200 is very usable.

I have noticed issues with my 17-50 backfocusing in tungsten but that seems to be a common issue and is unrelated to the body. I have done focus adjustment of -10 and its still not dead on in Tungsten. In fluorescent and natural light its dead on. And the 90mm strangely enough is dead on in all light, maybe a tiny BF in tungsten.

LV works great, the zoom-focus-confirmation is brilliant, LV seems very usable and it also seems that AWB and AF are both dead-on in LV, even in Tungsten. The green AF light is a bit of a nightmare if you are taking a photo of someones face using LV as they get a green spotlight in the eyes! Im pretty sure you can turn that off though

The menus offer a staggering amount of customization and features (especially coming from a D60). They seem pretty well laid out and are quick to navigate. I do miss a few of the newb features of the d60 such as built in help button to give explanations of settings and such. then again this def feels like a much more serious camera in every way than the d60 was.

All in all im very happy so far, havent had much of a chance to run around taking shots yet, mostly been stuck in my tungsten light filled apt doh...

Cant wait for the weekend!

I'll keep you posted.

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Last edited by Deimos; 11-02-2010 at 05:32 PM.

[Adam]

Thanks for the post!

Just an FYI- these should go here: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-digital-slr-camera-reviews/113820-pentax-k-r.html

[Deimos]

Thanks for the post!

Just an FYI- these should go here: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-digital-slr-camera-reviews/113820-pentax-k-r.html

Dually noted