Originally posted by Kunzite Maybe I'm missing something, but proof of denoising is not the same as proof of smoothing?
It is proof of smoothing.
Originally posted by monochrome bclark shows a chart with blue triangles on it. Doesn’t mean anything to me.
That's alright, but those technically inclined can infer from the 2D FT plots that smoothing is applied.
Again, I'm not saying that this is terrible; the only bad thing about it is that it is not optional.
Note that DxOMark have reported smoothing for Pentax cameras before. Both K-7 and K-5, for instance, applied smoothing to RAW files as well. The difference is that back then the smoothing was applied beyond ISO 1600 only. While, in my book, any kind of mandatory smoothing should be avoided, it seems preferable to leave as many ISO settings untouched.
I don't know if the K-1 II would have fared better with DPReview if it didn't apply smoothing but I don't see the point of taking choice out of the hands of photographers and giving DPReview ammunition at the same time.
Originally posted by monochrome I’d bet RIcoh engineers don’t even know DPR exists.
That may or may not be the case. However, if Ricoh, as a company did not know how their products will be received by the press and hence ran into avoidable mistakes, that wouldn't be good at all. For sure, you don't want a company's engineers bend to marketing pressures, but some awareness is necessary for sustainability, in particular if respective choices create more winners (in this case, make RAW purists happy as well as those that appreciate some processing being done in-camera already).
Originally posted by monochrome I’d bet most US Pentax buyers don’t either.
I'd be very surprised if that were the case.
A great DPReview result will definitely help sales. I don't think you want to seriously dispute that.
To be clear, I don't give a rodent's bottom what some DPReview staff personally think about the K-1 II. Very often protest by Pentaxians is misconstrued as the latter requiring approval for their gear choices while they are probably, just like me, trying to prevent damage to the reputation of a brand that could do with some praise instead of being the target of criticism that other brands receive to a much lesser extent.