[Viridian]

Hi all,

Found this forum looking for K10D reviews. Nice place to hang and I look forward to exploring the site.

I am from the Pacific North West, a photography enthusiast who has used Canon and primarily Nikon for the past few years. My retired Mom just bought my Nikon kit and I need to decide what to buy next.

I do a lot of photography for my church, available light, so I was thinking of getting a D40x(very quiet shutter) with a Sigma 30 1.4.

But, after doing a lot of reading (Luminous Landscape and bythom.com) the K10D really really looks appealing. Many features for the buck. And some really nice primes available. So, I am drawn to Pentax but feel comfortable with what I have experienced with Nikon.

Any help convincing me?

Erik

[Peter Zack]

Welcome to the forum.

Clearly you'll get a ton of Pentax bias here but the K10d is a great camera. There are a few converts here and among them is a Pro that shoots fashion in Europe that switched from Canon a few months ago. I don't know how quiet the D40x is compared to the K10. The Pentax shutter certainly isn't silent and in a quiet room it's noticeable but compared to most other cameras I've heard it's fairly similar.

For the price, particularly for the US market with the rebates, there's not much out there that can compete. Feature laden and a crop of lenses (Pentax claims 24 million lenses from the past) that dates back over 40 years. Most of the Pentax owners have a favourite lens that they bought 20-30-40 years ago that still works fine on the body. The biggest advantage has to be that each of these lenses no matter how old, has Shake Reduction since it is an in camera feature. Weather and dust seals are also a great assest.

The new SDM lens lineup is starting to hit the shelves and should be in full swing in a few months. Supply may be tight for awhile but they'll fix that as they see the demand rates.

My favourite feature would have to be the P mode on the camera. It's unique to Pentax and only available on certain models, the k10D being one. It has a pair of thumb wheels that adjust shutter, ISO and aperture. They are well positioned on both sides of the shutter button. Using this setting the camera is in a program mode and you can adjust any of the 3 settings as the camera adjusts the others* to correspond to the correct exposure. If you muck it up then just hit the 'green button' to reset the camera and start over. The advantage is that the camera basically works in both Tv and Av mode at the same time with the ability to change the most important settings and not take your eye off the viewfinder. All the shooting info you need is in the viewfinder as well.

The picture quality is great, the provided software is very good and a nice starting point before spending more on PP software.

These are only a few things about the camera and I've hardly scratched the surface. I'm sure many here will have a few favourite features and reasons to shoot with a Pentax.

Good luck in your choice.

*Edit: I should say that the ISO adjustment stays where you set it and the Shutter and Aperture adjust corresponding to that setting.

[bt*ist]

There's nothing wrong with Nikon or Canon - both make fine cameras. My reason for going with Pentax initially was the 'bang for buck' argument, and it was made by me years ago. Nowadays, I actually have more money to dedicate to photography but I have not felt any inclination to make a switch away from Pentax, and everything I've liked about them still holds true. I've recently purchased a K10D and it's a brilliant camera. All my old lenses fit it, new lenses are proving a lot easier to obtain and have fantastic quality, it has every feature I want and then some, it feels great in my hands... it satisfies every photographic requirement I have. I like the accessibility of functions on the many dials, I like the in-camera editing, the menu system makes sense (then again I've been using a variant of it in previous Pentaxes)... I have no regrets whatsoever. That said, as pointed out above, coming to a Pentax forum, you are likely to get some bias!

Bottom line: it's definitely worth picking one up and having a play, and worth figuring out how much you plan to spend on photography and seeing where the Pentax fits in against the Others.

[Arpe]

Pardon my ignorance, but where is the "Pacific North West" (sounds very wet) and "Willamette Valley"?

[Mechan1k]

Pardon my ignorance, but where is the "Pacific North West" (sounds very wet) and "Willamette Valley"?

Knowing my Geography (which isn't the best).

I'd say the Pacific side of the US ... up the North Western Region.

Not sure ... up near Seattle way ... or further north ... maybe Alaska????

[matiki]

Knowing my Geography (which isn't the best).

I'd say the Pacific side of the US ... up the North Western Region.

Not sure ... up near Seattle way ... or further north ... maybe Alaska????

Oregon, Washington, Idaho and the coastal areas of B.C. up to Alaska. Depending on the widely varying opinions of those you might ask, it may or may not include Alaska and parts of Northern California.

Pacific Northwest Bioregion

[FotoPete]

If you go d40X...

-small body
-you must get AF-S lenses or you WILL NOT have autofocus.
-AF-S lenses are costly
-AF-S VR lenses are costlier
-old Nikkor lenses will not meter

If you go K10D..

-Better build/ergonomics (grip option)
-Shake Reduction compatible with any lens mounted. (you just have to dail in the focal length)
-backwards compatibility with any K mount lens, screwmount lens with adapters. (metering via stopdown method) ...aka..Killer glass for cheap
-Some solid current offerings ( most DA lenses, Limited line, etc)
-AF is louder than Nikon AF-S but personally I use manual focus 100% of the time.

[carpents]

Like FotoPete said, I would not consider any Nikon less than the D200 because of the poor backwards compatibility. If you are not interested in manual focus lenses then this does not apply to you. The best camera for overall compatibility is actually the Canon, in that you can find cheap adapters for virtually every other camera mount to the EOS and for some of their cameras they actually make a dedicated manual focus screen. Pentax has an Achilles heel with the backwards compatibility in that the focus screen was designed for neither critically focusing nor metering with the older lenses.

Pentax still offers tremendous value with some really spectacular lenses, particularly primes, and the K10 is a well-thought-out camera with sometimes stunning results. My advice is to go with the vertical grip as well because it makes it an ergonomic dream.

[carpents]

Pardon my ignorance, but where is the "Pacific North West" (sounds very wet) and "Willamette Valley"?

Of course, you're fibbing - because you must know the Willamette Valley as it has taken up arms with you New Zealanders and your screw-top wine bottles!

[Arpe]

Er.. no, sorry. More of a beer drinker actually. But good to see common sense prevailing over there too

[Viridian]

Pardon my ignorance, but where is the "Pacific North West" (sounds very wet) and "Willamette Valley"?

I apologize. I live in the Willamette Valley which is in the Pacific Northwest of the US of A.

[Viridian]

Your advices makes good senses. I have always appreciated Nikon, but due to some pretty serious budget constraints I have to shop budget. The D40x is attractive really only in its sensor and small size. Not being able to use non-AFS lenses is a definite drag. So, as I consider it the appeal is losing its zing.

Pentax on the other hand is looking better and better to me. I really like what is available and what the radar view looks to be. If I can find a good used K10D and 16-45f4 I'll be in business.

yes, where I live is stinking wet, damp, moldy etc. On the positive side it is beautiful in the Spring and early summer.

Ahem, I need to go mow my lawn, or what is locally recognized as a bed of moss.

Cheers all,
Erik

[pixelpruner]

I love my K10D, but the shutter is loud. Go to a shop and test different cameras against each other for volume if it is a real issue for ya. Other than that, the K10D is in a different league to the D40x IMO.

[EvilPentaxUser]

Willamette Valley is in the state of Oregon it is near Salem and Portland not far for the state of Washington. looked it up off MS streets and trips.

I do not know anyone that has a DSLR made by anyone else. I actually in my area can count more fly fishers than people using a DSLR, and my area the local stores do not carry fly rods or flies. so it is a small market. I would check to see what canon offers in lens or who knows, contact adorama.com or b&h video and ask them about the cameras and what they will tell you. I would say email pentax support, but their answers to my questions are as vague as possible to have some sort of an answer.