[K57XR]

My apologies if this link has already been posted. I just saw it and dated today 03/04/11.
Pentax K-R-Slr Review: Overview

[dcmsox2004]

like this info:
"During our tests, I found these claims to be quite accurate. The camera was able to quickly and accurately lock focus on my subjects, even while shooting in marginal lighting. Thanks to the AF-assist lamp, the camera is even able to acquire focus in almost total darkness; as long as your subject is within the lamp's effective range."
now... this review(er) didn't beat the test k-r to death like many other reviewers/testers have... but once again another review does not reveal ff issues.......
wonder why?????

[gp1806]

I want to trade my K-R for his.

[GrinMode]

He probably did not test in the conditions that would cause the problem, intentional or not.

I had focused in near darkness with my K-r, as long as the subject is within focus assist beam's limits as he says.

This might be because the focus beam is not Tungsten at all, hence no FF error in near darkness conditions.

Maybe the f/w fix is just to trigger the beam at a higher level that it is now, to compensate somewhat for the Tungsten light.

In one of my tests in Tungsten light, the beam came on but there was still front focus. But this was because the subject was so close that it was outside the beams radius.

[RonakG]

One of the cons they have mentioned is -

ISO 12,800 and 25,600 look horrible

I mean, c'mon. How many entry level cameras let you even shoot at those ISOs?

[gp1806]

He probably did not test in the conditions that would cause the problem, intentional or not.

I had focused in near darkness with my K-r, as long as the subject is within focus assist beam's limits as he says.

This might be because the focus beam is not Tungsten at all, hence no FF error in near darkness conditions.

Maybe the f/w fix is just to trigger the beam at a higher level that it is now, to compensate somewhat for the Tungsten light.

In one of my tests in Tungsten light, the beam came on but there was still front focus. But this was because the subject was so close that it was outside the beams radius.

Does the K-R set the WB before the spot beam comes on? If so, the tungsten light FF issue still 'kicks in' even with the focus assist.

[GrinMode]

Does the K-R set the WB before the spot beam comes on? If so, the tungsten light FF issue still 'kicks in' even with the focus assist.

The spot beam does not affect WB. It aids focusing. So the camera can see better in the dark (camera defines what 'dark' is) to focus good enough.

There are some reports that this does not help though. Not sure if helps a bit or not at all. It may depend on how 'strong' the Tungsten source is.

I hope someone as capable as Falk do some real analysis on this .

[ccd333]

Overall a quite positive review, which is not surprising. But some of the info had me puzzled. For example:

They stated that the upgrades from Pentax previous entry-level DSLR's include 12.4 CMOS sensor and shutter speed to 1/6000. The K-x has both of these.

As RonakG alluded to about this comment......."ISO 12,800 and 25,600 look horrible". No kidding. You hear the term "usable" a lot to describe some of the higher end ISO shots from other cameras. Usable is a subjective term. My sense of the broader range of ISO capabilities is that it puts a more reasonable setting......say, 3200.....in a much better light (no pun intended!) when it comes to perspective on the lower settings. 3200 for just about any camera a couple of years ago would have been classified as "horrible" (or even 1600 if that was their max). By having to go to 12,800 to get to that term really shows how far DSLR's and their standards have evolved.

"OVF is a bit dim, and shows minimal info". How dim is it? Dimmer than a comparable Nikon (like the D5000)? Dimmer than the *istDL (my current camera)? And what info is it lacking?

Here's all of the things it shows (taken from their review):

AF Frame
Spot Metering frame
AF Point
Flash Status
Picture Mode Icon
Shake Reduction
Shutter Speed
Aperture Value
Focus Indicator
Number of Recorder Images/ EV compensation Values
Focus Mode
AE Lock

What else should it have?

[Deimos]

Overall a quite positive review, which is not surprising. But some of the info had me puzzled. For example:

They stated that the upgrades from Pentax previous entry-level DSLR's include 12.4 CMOS sensor and shutter speed to 1/6000. The K-x has both of these.

The sensors in the K-x and the K-r although based on the same hardware are different. They supposedly made quite a few modifications to the sensor in the K-r to the point that they could call it "new", (changes that dont really seem to make the K-r any better IQ wise than the K-x)

[ursamajor]

Sensors of Kr and Kx:
All sizes | low-key_ISO_elevator | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
All sizes | grey_ISO_elevator | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Pentax K-r Measurebation - a set on Flickr
All sizes | high-key_ISO_elevator | Flickr - Photo Sharing!