We went for a walk.
The weather was splendid - like the nature wanted to gift us with one final spasm of the passing Summer. Right before an ugly english winter emerges fully, we had fantastic sun and the clarity of the air was outstanding.

Despite all the hype for newly released K-3 ( which I am trying to resist desperately ), and despite owning a K-01, that also keeps delivering - I decided to take K10D and treat it with some primes, so I took F50mm and F28mm - my two cherished AF lenses that keeps delivering no matter what I stick them on

Well, K10D was a better choice also for its speed over K-01 - I admit that, but I was worried about the dynamic range and high contrast situation. Fortunately it surprised me again and rewarded with photos that will remind us of that beautiful day for many years to come..

Autofocus worked good as usually and you can judge for yourself how accurate it was ( although I have to admit that my K10D after having its AF fine tuned once, works super accurately with every single AF lens I have! ) So, all the K-3 owners - I am not impressed at all :P

I developed photos in Lightroom 5.2 and treated with some adjustment brushes that helped to recover some of that dynamic range. At places also used de-sharpening brush in order to thinner DOF but this tool doesn't work too good in that app.. nonetheless rather happy with the results.

EDIT: moved two added later B&W photos here so you see all the series in one place :






We left behind a shopping center where we parked. Hopefully you can see the crispness of the pigeons that were swarming that area.


There is my wife and my youngest one walking along a path leading to the track for cyclists and skaters. AF worked spotless!


Despite the amazing weather we met there only 2 (TWO ) cyclists o.O - there they are.. well done you two !! Again they both were in motion - yet the AF was spot on :




My wife loves skating so there she is - also in slow rolling motion towards me :


Finally we reached a place for my boy - the playground , there he is - driving his 4x4 :


Yeah he was passionate about it - this one shoot against the sun and probably wide open if I recall - lens hood helped a lot :


Again shoot against the sun - note a slight flare. We met some friends there - there is my son and another curious head down below, that's his friend...


..and two shots of his brother :




And after all the fun we had - we all headed towards the shopping centre again, where the car was parked. The K10D paired with F28mm really showed what its got - and the weak AA filter often isn't enough for that sharp lens, so you can see some moire there - it was way more noticeable before I applied de-moire with brushes in Lightroom ( still you can see some on the fence in far ):


Yeah - that was it From over 200 photos I took , I kept about 160, from which I shared above a small fraction . Generally very happy with K10D - especially on sunny, bright day like it was. Autofocus was spot on , exposure also never failed - usually on slightly underexposed side - typical for pentax, and usually just enough to recover some highlights. I love this camera and I don't see it going anywhere any time soon --manntax

PS: as always eager to hear your thoughts

[slowpez]

Really nice shots. Just goes to prove that it is the photographer not the equipment.

[charliezap]

A very nice series.Being here in Florida for vacation it's strange to see photos where people have on cold weather gear.--charliezap

[paulh]

Nice photos! I agree - the K10D is a great camera, especially on beautiful sunny days like you experienced. Thanks for sharing.

[manntax]

Really nice shots. Just goes to prove that it is the photographer not the equipment.

Thanks for that - much appreciated !!

A very nice series.Being here in Florida for vacation it's strange to see photos where people have on cold weather gear.--charliezap

he he Florida you say :P.. yeah - the cold gear had to be worn as though very sunny - was quite cold that day. Today we had so ugly day down here that I gave up having my camera taken when I went out :P

Nice photos! I agree - the K10D is a great camera, especially on beautiful sunny days like you experienced. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you! Yeah K10D still goes strong in my books - and yes - especially on nice bright day.

[8540tomg]

I'm inspired.

Taking my K10 out today.


I still prefer the build quality of this body to my K5.

Tom G

[manntax]

I'm inspired.

Taking my K10 out today.

YESSS - get out there and show them ! I simply wanted to share the joy of using it - glad could have you inspired

I still prefer the build quality of this body to my K5.
Tom G

I so much agree with what you said - the build quality is outstanding ! I can stick my massive 200 2.8 nearly 2kg lens on it and still handle the camera with no problem at all - even put it on a tripod. Same as Z1p - but somehow I was hesitant to do the same with MZ-S when I had it ( sold it and bought second Z1p some time ago ).

But - to comply with the post title - yes - K10D delivers also BW and I love the way it comes out in B&W conversions - here are two shots with the mood feeling in black and white just right
K10D seems to wisely underexpose just enough to recover plenty of details from the highlights and yet still avoiding excessive noise in the shadows and darks. It cleans very nicely .. and I have to give the credit for at least some of the final effect to the PP applied - it took some time in order to bring out all the details and balance whites and darks - but that detail IS there and this camera CAN deliver and it's still *VERY* capable nowadays !





So yeah - all K10D's out there - go out and show those shiny K-5's and K-3's what you're made of !

---

Last edited by manntax; 11-09-2013 at 04:18 PM.

[lesmore49]

I have a K10D..with battery grip, that I've had, used a lot since Nov. 2007. Great camera if you use it within it's limits. At 100 ISO is wonderful...fully capable of taking top quality photos.

I also have a Km and a K-5. The Km is a great little camera...the K-5 is my favourite.

When I take pics with all three cameras at 100 ISO....you can't tell the difference in the finished product.

However at 800, 1600, 3200 +....the K-5 is superior.

No surprise...technology marches on.

[manntax]

I have a K10D..with battery grip, that I've had, used a lot since Nov. 2007. Great camera if you use it within it's limits. At 100 ISO is wonderful...fully capable of taking top quality photos.

I also have a Km and a K-5. The Km is a great little camera...the K-5 is my favourite.

When I take pics with all three cameras at 100 ISO....you can't tell the difference in the finished product.

However at 800, 1600, 3200 +....the K-5 is superior.

No surprise...technology marches on.

Yeah many valid points there, however the comparison of entirely different technologies sometime can be tricky - think digital vs. film, or CMOS vs. CCD - there are strengths and weaknesses in each of the camps - the important part is to know the limits and make a wise choice.

I remember having my Zenith with trusted Helios 58mm ( which I still have ) or my Kiev 4a - and roll of Konica VX 100 or 200 - there was no ISO 3200 , 1600, or even 400 for that matter for me - for practical reasons. For someone who grew up in photography on things like this , K10D has plenty to offer and manages to surprise.
I simple like this camera - it was my first digital camera after previous film-only experience, and as such - has become a well known companion that I don't have to think which button to press or what options does what - it simply works Not too mention a superior image quality at ISO 100-200 - sorry but I do see a difference in photos and often I pick K10D instead K-01 simple because light is good and I know I will be shooting at ISO 100-400.

Had I gone with K-01 instead - I would have far less photos for sure, also would have missed some quick snaps that K-01 would never manage to take ( both cyclists, my son on the slide , etc.. ) , yet the dynamic range would allow me to spend less time in Lightroom probably saving me an hour or two of brushing shadows and highlights.
So again - the right tool for a job.

So was not my intention to somehow compare K10D to other cameras - K-01 is basically K-5 in terms of IQ so I know exactly where which one shines. I wanted rather to share some enjoyment I had with this fantastic camera and also prove that despite the years passing by and - as you say - technology marching on - this camera still can and does delivers pretty much what many of us would have expected and be happy with even from a modern camera.

Obviously if I had K-3 instead I would have been very happy to take it for a walk too

[lesmore49]

Manntax,

Don't get me wrong. I really enjoy my K10D. It's been and...is...a fabulous camera. I have blown many a print up to 8 X 10 and the sharpness is competitive with many current DSLR's.

Last February I was in the Canadian Shield and came across a Great Grey Owl in a tree. The camera I had with me was my trusty K10D and my Pentax 55-300.

The Owl took off...I took photo of this magnificent bird in flight.

The K10D/ 55-300 was set at 400 ISO, f 8....cloudy day. No matter....the K10D came through.

[manntax]

Manntax,

Don't get me wrong. I really enjoy my K10D. It's been and...is...a fabulous camera. I have blown many a print up to 8 X 10 and the sharpness is competitive with many current DSLR's.

Last February I was in the Canadian Shield and came across a Great Grey Owl in a tree. The camera I had with me was my trusty K10D and my Pentax 55-300.

The Owl took off...I took photo of this magnificent bird in flight.

The K10D/ 55-300 was set at 400 ISO, f 8....cloudy day. No matter....the K10D came through.

No surprises there !! I fully agree and wish both of us the very best out of this fantastic camera !