[Alizarine]

I call them DipReview!

This made my day! lol

I guess this is more like a simple bussiness descision to put those two camera segments together. Joint R&D, production and sales should save some money.

And perhaps, two heads are better than one? (in this case, hopefully)

[K1D27H]

err what's with the people at DPReview? It's like a lot of them hate anything Pentax - even the news!

They rigged the tests of Pentax cameras and they did not even bother to offer an apology for skewered results. The site itself disregarding the Pentax section can be called "HatePentaxReview".

[gazonk]

They rigged the tests of Pentax cameras and they did not even bother to offer an apology for skewered results. The site itself disregarding the Pentax section can be called "HatePentaxReview".

Well, the K-5 still has one of their highest scores ever...

[K1D27H]

Well, the K-5 still has one of their highest scores ever...

True, but the test images were replaced later without any kind of explanation, which I find their action rather suspicious.

[vrrattko]

I don't find dpreview to be biased against pentax - they liked k10d, k20d, they liked k-7 more than plenty of forum users here....and k-5 received higher rating than its competitors from dpreview. Actually it was dpreview k10d test that made me consider pentax instead of Canon.

[thibs]

Well they're, intentionaly or not.
When testing the D200, they were very happy to test with different NR settings because it made the Nikon look better.
When testing the K10D, they felt they had to test cams with initial settings only, that's their rule. My A** (sorry).

And when people moaned because K7 wasn't reviewed yet (I think that was the K7), they responded that since Pentax users were so shitty annoying, the review would be pushed back. If that isn't a idiot 15 years old frustrated teen attitude, I dunno what else it could be.

[RioRico]

I based my K20D purchase largely on user ratings of comparable cameras at DPR. This was just before Hoya bought Pentax. Too many Canikonympus owners said they needed to 'upgrade' soonest; I wanted a cam that would last awhile. Bingo!

[MSL]

No site is perfect, and every reviewer will have his or her own bias. At DPR, some may be more familiar with one brand than another, and this will creep into a review. I have found their site very useful, and was willing to spend the extra money on a k-5 because of the positive review it got. Beyond the actual reviews and ratings, I find the sheer volume of information there to be very useful, and they make it easy to understand the history of a particular company's product line.

[thibs]

Note I never said dpr was useless. I said they treat brands differently.

[sjwaldron]

I don't find dpreview to be biased against pentax - they liked k10d, k20d, they liked k-7 more than plenty of forum users here....and k-5 received higher rating than its competitors from dpreview. Actually it was dpreview k10d test that made me consider pentax instead of Canon.

Same here, it was their *ist DS review that I remember looking at before choosing it over the Canon Digital Rebel.

[Kunzite]

All right, so we have people who bought Pentax cameras, reading DPReview's recommendations:
- the "Recommended" *istDS, with it's bad Bright mode - "could have done better by making the 'Natural' setting (with a little bit of sharpening) the default" (of course, users are idiots and can't change few settings)
- the "Highly Recommended (just)" K10D, with it's "soft", useless JPEGS - the 'Bright' setting should be the default, I tell ya'! Of course, users are idiots and can't change few settings.
- the "Highly Recommended" (that was a surprise) K20D, which unfortunately is unable to raise the NR as high as the competition (and to kill all the detail; yes, that is somehow an advantage)
OTOH they were much more forgiving with Canikon and consistently gave them Highly Recommended.

[RioRico]

As I mentioned earlier, I largely based my K20D purchase on user ratings of comparable cameras. Yes, I read the DPR reviews also. But I noticed disconnects between the DPR gear reviews and the user ratings. I remembered the 2nd Engineering Corollary to Murphy's Law: Anything that test fine in the lab will fail in the field. When field experience contradicts lab tests, I discount the official review.

Bottom line: Lab tests may confirm that the tested item meets its specs. Lab tests will NOT indicate whether the item will survive out in the real world. Don't be ruled by recommendations.

[philbaum]

As I mentioned earlier, I largely based my K20D purchase on user ratings of comparable cameras. Yes, I read the DPR reviews also. But I noticed disconnects between the DPR gear reviews and the user ratings. I remembered the 2nd Engineering Corollary to Murphy's Law: Anything that test fine in the lab will fail in the field. When field experience contradicts lab tests, I discount the official review.

Bottom line: Lab tests may confirm that the tested item meets its specs. Lab tests will NOT indicate whether the item will survive out in the real world. Don't be ruled by recommendations.

Photography can be an art form. I agree it is important how a camera handles in the field. If you enjoy using a product, one is more likely to get a lot of use out of it and develop one's art even further.

One thing thats beneficial about buying Pentax is - their top of the line cameras are not expensive compared to other brands. Camera mfr tend to stuff their best and newest developments in their top camera. Therefore, you are not getting a deliberately compromised camera when you buy Pentax's best, e.g. there are features in the K5 that are not in the D7000 (because it fits within a total lineup and a mfr is loathe to undercut their highest price models)

[sjwaldron]

All right, so we have people who bought Pentax cameras, reading DPReview's recommendations:
- the "Recommended" *istDS, with it's bad Bright mode - "could have done better by making the 'Natural' setting (with a little bit of sharpening) the default" (of course, users are idiots and can't change few settings)
- the "Highly Recommended (just)" K10D, with it's "soft", useless JPEGS - the 'Bright' setting should be the default, I tell ya'! Of course, users are idiots and can't change few settings.
- the "Highly Recommended" (that was a surprise) K20D, which unfortunately is unable to raise the NR as high as the competition (and to kill all the detail; yes, that is somehow an advantage)
OTOH they were much more forgiving with Canikon and consistently gave them Highly Recommended.

I didn't base my decision on their opinion pieces. I looked at the facts they presented such as the great viewfinder (at the time) and compact black body. I do remember seeing their mention of poor JPEG quality, but I had no intention of using JPEG even before I bought the camera.