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11-15-2010, 12:21 PM   #1
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Happy with your k-r?

Hi, I am in the market for dslr (my first) and was leasing very much towards k-r but have come across with mostly people complaining on forums, about foucsing, exposure, fiaos, etc. So are you hay with it? Would you recommend it to a friend?
Thank you, i just can't deal with camera being sent for repairs as i am leaving in two weeks for a two month trip with camera

11-15-2010, 01:57 PM   #2
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Hi. Everybody will have different opinions for you. The best is always to try it for yourself.

I've had the camera for only about a week so far, and I'm not 100% satisfied. It's a good camera, and I think a great value but I'm still having some small issues with it. My issues are not huge and I'm not sure they are factory defects or just the way the camera is. I am comparing it to my older Pentax (the DS2). I guess I had hoped it would be alot better than my older one.. and it doesn't seem that much better. Maybe I am being too picky?

My issues are mostly regarding exposure. It just seems to me, that I have to do alot more work to get perfect exposure. I think my old camera was as good or maybe better when it comes to exposure. Maybe the new CMOS sensors are more sensitive to exposure than the older CCD sensors?

I do find the Pentax cameras to be very reliable and sturdy. My previous one was working great for many years, until I got it wet on a kayaking trip.

My advice.. if you can afford the K-5, get it. From what I've read, I think I would be happier with it.. but the price was a little high for me.

-Peter
11-15-2010, 02:09 PM   #3
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If you read any forums for any object or on any subject you will see lots of complaints. Whether you are looking at a forum for cameras, cars or blenders.

It is a new product. I have one and had to send it back for a button that fell off. This has likely not happened to anyone else, or maybe it has but it is rare.

If you want a K-r or any other piece of gear for that matter, buy it and spend a day or three testing it out thoroughly, meaning just play with all the features. If you do not notice anything strange in that time, 99% chance you wont have any issues.

Most problems if there are any show up right away, and no piece of gear no matter how expensive is without its flaws.

I bought a Canon Rebel a couple years ago and the shutter was defective, I noticed it day one and returned it...Same with the k-r problem was evident after playing with it for a few hours

Last edited by Deimos; 11-15-2010 at 02:34 PM.
11-15-2010, 02:54 PM   #4
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The only thing the wife hates about her K-R is the learning curve from the Pentax K100D
1. It dosen't have a top LCD
2. No AC plug-in for saving battery life while d/ling your photo's to your PC.
3. Where the strap hooks to the camera is always getting in the way on the left side.
4. The 3" LCD takes up the whole back of the camera so your nose is always hitting it and leaving nose prints on it.

11-15-2010, 04:37 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by Fl_Gulfer Quote
The only thing the wife hates about her K-R is the learning curve from the Pentax K100D
1. It dosen't have a top LCD
2. No AC plug-in for saving battery life while d/ling your photo's to your PC.
3. Where the strap hooks to the camera is always getting in the way on the left side.
4. The 3" LCD takes up the whole back of the camera so your nose is always hitting it and leaving nose prints on it.
I agree with these..but I thought you could buy an AC adapter for the camera. (I thought I saw it in the manual). I also recommend getting a SD card reader and using that as it saves battery life.
11-15-2010, 05:31 PM   #6
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You "could" buy an AC adapter, except they're not in stock anywhere yet. AWOL like spare batteries and the AA cell adapter.
11-15-2010, 06:06 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by marubex Quote
i just can't deal with camera being sent for repairs as i am leaving in two weeks for a two month trip with camera
You make it sound as if there are lots of K-r's leaving the factory with defects that are so obvious that they would warrant immediate repair. That clearly isn't happening. The design of the product is sound and Pentax quality control is very good.

Quite frankly, if I were you, and this was to be my first DSLR, I wouldn't be scanning every forum in the world asking people to tell you about their problems - real or perceived - with the camera. At this stage you've already got the camera on your shopping list, so if you are leaving in two weeks for a long holiday, and this is your first DSLR, now would be a great time to do the following:

(a) read the K-r Manual and start studying it to learn all of the many features of the camera and how to use it. It's about 300 pages so there is a lot of information to absorb, and it will take some time to do so:
http://www.pentax.jp/english/support/man-pdf/k-r.pdf

(b) study up on some photography basics, like exposure, depth of field, focal length, autofocus, composition etc, to help you learn how to use your new tool and all its features once it arrives. The articles here are a great start:
Digital Photography Tutorials

They way you are going at the moment you will leave on your holiday all anxious about your camera and un-skilled in its use, and then will probably blame the camera for every basic photographic error you make. Be more confident!

11-15-2010, 06:58 PM   #8
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Well said, rawr. Experience breeds competence and competence breeds confidence.
11-16-2010, 04:21 AM   #9
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I've had my K-r (my first dslr too) for less than a week and I am over the moon with it. Last weekend I shot my kid's school fete (fair) on a heavily overcast day which would have left my old superzoom useless. The K-r handled it easily, even with the 55-300. Low light performance is fantastic: you can safely leave auto-iso at 3200 max and while there is obviously some noise at that level it is minimal and 'clean' – looks like film grain. I've also shot at 12800 where there is more noise but it is still more usable than at 400 on my old camera.

The K-r is slick to use, focuses quickly in all light, flies through the shots (6 fps is amazing). I'm shooting RAW+JPG all the time without a hitch. It has taken very little time to learn to navigate the menus (though obviously there is some learning curve – it would be silly to expect it to be just like your previous camera). I don't have any problem with build quality, especially for the price. I bought it for travel and street use and I know it is going to be fantastic.

As for the negative stuff: if I believed the forums I wouldn't have touched the iPhone 4. I did get one and it is also amazing. People naturally gravitate to forums when something goes wrong, while everyone else is too busy taking pictures to be posting.

I agree with rawr's suggestions, but don't be too put off by a handful of bad experiences here and elsewhere.
11-16-2010, 09:27 AM   #10
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why not just buy a cheap 3 dollar USB SD card reader?
11-16-2010, 09:40 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Eagle_Friends Quote
why not just buy a cheap 3 dollar USB SD card reader?
I might actually avoid the very cheap ones, they have given me i/o erros and this might result in a corrupting the card (format) and losing pictures. Or, actually, I would not use one for anything important unless I had tested it throughly with badblocks (linux) or equivalent.
11-16-2010, 09:23 PM   #12
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Had mine for a few weeks now and love it. I love the interface, how easy it is to use, and the various settings to tweak picture output quality. And I love the 6fps... I have kids and capturing them in action is now much easier! Nothing but great things to say about mine. I have it with the 18-55mm and 55-300mm lenses... very happy that I got the longer zoom.
11-17-2010, 11:23 AM   #13
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I too have had mine a few weeks and really am enjoying it. I also have a K200d which I was (and am) happy with, but the extra features of the K-r are really nice. My first one had a sluggish e-dial, which I have seen posted here, but Amazon took the return without any issues for a full refund. There is always a chance to getting something not 100% perfect, especially with a brand new camera so close to the release date. I am very happy with the K-r and would recommend it.
11-28-2010, 07:18 AM   #14
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Got mine yesterday, a bit premature as my DS got problematic.

I'm happy to report that I have NO issues whatsoever. Well except for the negative effect on my bank account .

Coming from the DS, the difference really night and day. Expected when comparing products with a five year technological gap.

However I feed that the DS has better build quality and definitely (my subjective opinion) better ergonomics.

But count me in with the happy K-r users!
11-28-2010, 11:48 AM   #15
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I've been thinking about selling the K-x and going K-r because of the AF points, they are really useful.
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