New Pentax Camera?

barendvl · 11-14-2007, 04:15 AM

Originally posted by wll

The Pentax proprietary batteries are much stronger and give very fine performance in a small package. For me they are the way to go.

I just hope the new semi pro model or pro model uses the same batteries as the K10D.

wll

I'm with you. Changing the 4xAA's in my flash just gives me enough time lost sometimes to lose a shot as well. And changing just one battery is at least 4 times faster then removing four batteries and putting 4 new ones in...
Then again, this is the ONLY advantage, 4x AA give plenty of power as well (I've seen K100D and K110D both running for ages on a set of batteries).

Edvinas · 11-14-2007, 04:53 AM

I also thought that AA rechargeables are the way to go until I found out that they self discharge quite badly... also they are giving less voltage and therefore flash and camera operates slower...

By the way I am very dissapointed that Pentax doesn't give us possibility to use CR-V3 in their flashes as they do this in *ist series and K100D. I bet flash would recharge much quicker with CR-V3 than with rechargeable AAs.

mattdm · 11-14-2007, 07:12 AM

Originally posted by Edvinas

By the way I am very dissapointed that Pentax doesn't give us possibility to use CR-V3 in their flashes as they do this in *ist series and K100D. I bet flash would recharge much quicker with CR-V3 than with rechargeable AAs.

Try lithium primary-cell AAs (Energizer makes some). The FAQ on Pentax's web site indicates that it makes no difference.

jgredline · 11-14-2007, 07:52 AM

I like the AA battery's because there are finally some good rechargeable ones being made by Duracell...However, Since I will take an average of 500-600 pics on an average shoot hunt, I find I have to change batteries 2 and even 3 times at times...With MY K10D with my battery grip and battery, I have never run out of batteries and have shot as many 800...Another point is the speed of the auto focus that is a result of pure battery power, Burst shots are non stop and fast because of battery power...Flash recovery is fast because of battery power...I would much rather have the K10D battery in the K100D super for these benefits and not to mention it would be lighter still....

and · 11-14-2007, 07:55 AM

Originally posted by jgredline

I like the AA battery's because there are finally some good rechargeable ones being made by Duracell...However, Since I will take an average of 500-600 pics on an average shoot hunt, I find I have to change batteries 2 and even 3 times at times...With MY K10D with my battery grip and battery, I have never run out of batteries and have shot as many 800...Another point is the speed of the auto focus that is a result of pure battery power, Burst shots are non stop and fast because of battery power...Flash recovery is fast because of battery power...I would much rather have the K10D battery in the K100D super for these benefits and not to mention it would be lighter still....

well said, well said.

WMBP · 11-14-2007, 08:08 AM

Originally posted by Matjazz

One thing that made almost all Pentax DSLRs stand out of the crowd is AA battery support. I hope they keep it.
(lack of it in K10D was a deal breaker for me).

Exactly the way I felt when I was considering the K10D. I saw a lot of positives and one big negative: the K10D's proprietary battery. The last five digital cameras I'd had all used AA batteries and I was sold on this as a big advantage.

Now that I actually have had a K10D for ten months, I've changed my mind. The battery is a definite plus. I own two. Before a shoot, I make sure they're both charged up. I've never needed to put the second battery in during a shoot -- even shooting an all-day wedding (started around 10am and stopped around 10pm), not shooting four-hour swim meets where I took close to 1000 photos. I haven't figured out how long the batteries last because they last too long for me to remember when I changed them last time -- and I change batteries now only because I think should, almost never because the battery is depleted.

Will

and · 11-14-2007, 08:22 AM

Exactly, thats why I said, how many of the AA lovers have actually tried using a k10d to see. Its a positive experience

proprietary 4 ever!

JamesD · 11-14-2007, 09:17 AM

We've had no battery issues with our k10ds. We also carry a spare so that should there be an issue, we're good to go.

jgredline · 11-14-2007, 09:32 AM

Originally posted by WMBP

Exactly the way I felt when I was considering the K10D. I saw a lot of positives and one big negative: the K10D's proprietary battery. The last five digital cameras I'd had all used AA batteries and I was sold on this as a big advantage.

Now that I actually have had a K10D for ten months, I've changed my mind. The battery is a definite plus. I own two. Before a shoot, I make sure they're both charged up. I've never needed to put the second battery in during a shoot -- even shooting an all-day wedding (started around 10am and stopped around 10pm), not shooting four-hour swim meets where I took close to 1000 photos. I haven't figured out how long the batteries last because they last too long for me to remember when I changed them last time -- and I change batteries now only because I think should, almost never because the battery is depleted.

Will

Exactly what I and ''and'' said..

I have no idea how long the K10D battery will last..let alone two of them..

After my post above, I started to think that a further plus Pentax could have done for the super is use the K10D battery...Lighter, faster, long battery life...

Matjazz · 11-14-2007, 09:37 AM

True that I didn't use K10D, but I did a wedding with DS and took 700 shots without changing batteries and my girlfriend that asisted me with K100D also took 700 shots without changing batteries. I can also use disposable lithium AA's and CR-V3 that have close to infinite shelf life and jiuce for 1200+ shots. Not to mention I can get ordinary AA's on every gas station. It's also good to know tha when I find my DS after being in a drawer for years, I'll still be able to power it up.
If K10D only had some type of standard disposable battery solution (like Nikon with CR2)

WMBP · 11-14-2007, 11:07 AM

Originally posted by Matjazz

If K10D only had some type of standard disposable battery solution (like Nikon with CR2)

Well, my point wasn't to knock AA batteries, exactly. I just wanted to say that, when I bought the K10D, I was not enthused about having to deal with proprietary batteries. My experience however has shown me that it's not a problem at all.

I don't know the technical details, but I thought that there was a technical advantage to the proprietary batteries -- something like they keep a strong charge during continuous shooting or something like that. Anybody know anything about that?

One thing I have noticed with my K10D is that, on the very rare occasions when I have depleted the battery, I don't get a lot of warning. Not sure if it's much different with my *ist DS, though, which uses AAs. When the K10D's battery icon starts to show that the battery is getting low, it's getting VERY low and needs to be changed immediately. I don't use two batteries at once (one in the body, one in the grip). Instead, I just use the one battery in the grip. I do this mainly for convenience: I hardly ever have to remove the grip these days. But I also do it because this way, I have some clue about how I'm doing on battery power. If I ever do have to change batteries during a shoot, well, I know that I'm putting in a fresh battery and should be good for the rest of the day. Then I make sure everything gets charged up that night.

I would not mind if there was an option regarding batteries: use the proprietary if you've got it, but use something else if you need to. Is that what the Nikon does?

I have a ton of rechargeable AAs here, for use with the DS, and with my 540's. I hate messing with 'em. I get confused about whether they're charged or not. Although I have three chargers, I have five or six sets of rechargeable batteries, so they can't all stay in the chargers. And I don't trust ones that have been out of the charger for more than a day or two to keep their charge.

Really, I hate the subject of batteries. I would prefer that the camera have a small nuclear generator inside, so that I never have to worry about power again.

Will

nosnoop · 11-14-2007, 11:39 AM

Originally posted by Matjazz

If K10D only had some type of standard disposable battery solution (like Nikon with CR2)

Unlike AA which is available everywhere, CR2 is not exactly easily available. So I don't see much advantage especially if it is easier to find an AC outlet than a place to buy CR2

K10D batteries are so cheap nowadays (probably doesn't cost much more than a CR2), you can just charge a couple and throw them in the bag for emergency use.

Gimbal · 11-14-2007, 01:10 PM

The long battery life of the K10d is due to the camera being power-efficient, not because the battery is superior to 4 AA batteries. Actually it’s almost exactly as much energy in the 7.4V 1620mAh K10d battery as there are in 4 1.2V 2500mAh AA batteries.

It’s superior due to size and weight though, but we are not carrying around more power then before.

filmamigo · 11-14-2007, 02:01 PM

Originally posted by LeftBehind

Is anyone else hoping for budget primes? Or rather, one budget prime. Nikon and Canon have their 100$ 50mm 1.7 which i would love for Pentax to match, especially with the price of used lenses sky-rocketing.

I agree COMPLETELY. One optically sharp prime in the Canadian $100 to $200 (retail) range that every consumer camera store would have to and want to stock.

My only primes are MF because of the insane prices of new and used primes. I can't reckon spending $320 CDN retail for a 50mm when Nikon and Canon are on the shelf for $160 and $120 respectively. I'd be tickled with a $130 AF 50mm 1.7, 1.8 or 2.0. Better yet, 35mm 2.0 to match the APS-C bodies.

I know I can get a reasonable price on a 50 by going mail-order from the US, but I shouldn't have to do that for a simple prime.

vinzer · 11-14-2007, 04:10 PM

I think Matjazz's idea is that battery manufacturers would stop making new batteries for the K10D sooner than they would stop making AA batteries. The batteries we buy today for the K10D, no matter how many, will eventually give up, so I'm with Matjazz on this one point.

Of course, the Pentax/Minolta battery in the K10D is nice, but an option to use AAs via an adapter would also be welcome.

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11-14-2007, 04:15 AM	#31
barendvl Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Netherlands, Eindhoven Posts: 133	Originally posted by wll The Pentax proprietary batteries are much stronger and give very fine performance in a small package. For me they are the way to go. I just hope the new semi pro model or pro model uses the same batteries as the K10D. wll I'm with you. Changing the 4xAA's in my flash just gives me enough time lost sometimes to lose a shot as well. And changing just one battery is at least 4 times faster then removing four batteries and putting 4 new ones in... Then again, this is the ONLY advantage, 4x AA give plenty of power as well (I've seen K100D and K110D both running for ages on a set of batteries).

11-14-2007, 04:53 AM	#32
Edvinas Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kaunas Posts: 1,458	I also thought that AA rechargeables are the way to go until I found out that they self discharge quite badly... also they are giving less voltage and therefore flash and camera operates slower... By the way I am very dissapointed that Pentax doesn't give us possibility to use CR-V3 in their flashes as they do this in *ist series and K100D. I bet flash would recharge much quicker with CR-V3 than with rechargeable AAs.

11-14-2007, 07:12 AM	#33
mattdm Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Boston, MA Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,948	Originally posted by Edvinas By the way I am very dissapointed that Pentax doesn't give us possibility to use CR-V3 in their flashes as they do this in *ist series and K100D. I bet flash would recharge much quicker with CR-V3 than with rechargeable AAs. Try lithium primary-cell AAs (Energizer makes some). The FAQ on Pentax's web site indicates that it makes no difference.

11-14-2007, 07:52 AM	#34
jgredline Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: LosAngeles, Ca. Photos: Albums Posts: 10,628	I like the AA battery's because there are finally some good rechargeable ones being made by Duracell...However, Since I will take an average of 500-600 pics on an average shoot hunt, I find I have to change batteries 2 and even 3 times at times...With MY K10D with my battery grip and battery, I have never run out of batteries and have shot as many 800...Another point is the speed of the auto focus that is a result of pure battery power, Burst shots are non stop and fast because of battery power...Flash recovery is fast because of battery power...I would much rather have the K10D battery in the K100D super for these benefits and not to mention it would be lighter still....

11-14-2007, 07:55 AM	#35
and Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,476	Originally posted by jgredline I like the AA battery's because there are finally some good rechargeable ones being made by Duracell...However, Since I will take an average of 500-600 pics on an average shoot hunt, I find I have to change batteries 2 and even 3 times at times...With MY K10D with my battery grip and battery, I have never run out of batteries and have shot as many 800...Another point is the speed of the auto focus that is a result of pure battery power, Burst shots are non stop and fast because of battery power...Flash recovery is fast because of battery power...I would much rather have the K10D battery in the K100D super for these benefits and not to mention it would be lighter still.... well said, well said.

11-14-2007, 08:08 AM	#36
WMBP Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,482	Originally posted by Matjazz One thing that made almost all Pentax DSLRs stand out of the crowd is AA battery support. I hope they keep it. (lack of it in K10D was a deal breaker for me). Exactly the way I felt when I was considering the K10D. I saw a lot of positives and one big negative: the K10D's proprietary battery. The last five digital cameras I'd had all used AA batteries and I was sold on this as a big advantage. Now that I actually have had a K10D for ten months, I've changed my mind. The battery is a definite plus. I own two. Before a shoot, I make sure they're both charged up. I've never needed to put the second battery in during a shoot -- even shooting an all-day wedding (started around 10am and stopped around 10pm), not shooting four-hour swim meets where I took close to 1000 photos. I haven't figured out how long the batteries last because they last too long for me to remember when I changed them last time -- and I change batteries now only because I think should, almost never because the battery is depleted. Will

11-14-2007, 08:22 AM	#37
and Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,476	Exactly, thats why I said, how many of the AA lovers have actually tried using a k10d to see. Its a positive experience proprietary 4 ever!

11-14-2007, 09:17 AM	#38
JamesD Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 536	We've had no battery issues with our k10ds. We also carry a spare so that should there be an issue, we're good to go.

11-14-2007, 09:32 AM	#39
jgredline Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: LosAngeles, Ca. Photos: Albums Posts: 10,628	Originally posted by WMBP Exactly the way I felt when I was considering the K10D. I saw a lot of positives and one big negative: the K10D's proprietary battery. The last five digital cameras I'd had all used AA batteries and I was sold on this as a big advantage. Now that I actually have had a K10D for ten months, I've changed my mind. The battery is a definite plus. I own two. Before a shoot, I make sure they're both charged up. I've never needed to put the second battery in during a shoot -- even shooting an all-day wedding (started around 10am and stopped around 10pm), not shooting four-hour swim meets where I took close to 1000 photos. I haven't figured out how long the batteries last because they last too long for me to remember when I changed them last time -- and I change batteries now only because I think should, almost never because the battery is depleted. Will Exactly what I and ''and'' said.. I have no idea how long the K10D battery will last..let alone two of them.. After my post above, I started to think that a further plus Pentax could have done for the super is use the K10D battery...Lighter, faster, long battery life...

11-14-2007, 09:37 AM	#40
Matjazz Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: EU/Slovenia Photos: Gallery Posts: 774	True that I didn't use K10D, but I did a wedding with DS and took 700 shots without changing batteries and my girlfriend that asisted me with K100D also took 700 shots without changing batteries. I can also use disposable lithium AA's and CR-V3 that have close to infinite shelf life and jiuce for 1200+ shots. Not to mention I can get ordinary AA's on every gas station. It's also good to know tha when I find my DS after being in a drawer for years, I'll still be able to power it up. If K10D only had some type of standard disposable battery solution (like Nikon with CR2)

11-14-2007, 11:07 AM	#41
WMBP Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Dallas, Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,482	Originally posted by Matjazz If K10D only had some type of standard disposable battery solution (like Nikon with CR2) Well, my point wasn't to knock AA batteries, exactly. I just wanted to say that, when I bought the K10D, I was not enthused about having to deal with proprietary batteries. My experience however has shown me that it's not a problem at all. I don't know the technical details, but I thought that there was a technical advantage to the proprietary batteries -- something like they keep a strong charge during continuous shooting or something like that. Anybody know anything about that? One thing I have noticed with my K10D is that, on the very rare occasions when I have depleted the battery, I don't get a lot of warning. Not sure if it's much different with my *ist DS, though, which uses AAs. When the K10D's battery icon starts to show that the battery is getting low, it's getting VERY low and needs to be changed immediately. I don't use two batteries at once (one in the body, one in the grip). Instead, I just use the one battery in the grip. I do this mainly for convenience: I hardly ever have to remove the grip these days. But I also do it because this way, I have some clue about how I'm doing on battery power. If I ever do have to change batteries during a shoot, well, I know that I'm putting in a fresh battery and should be good for the rest of the day. Then I make sure everything gets charged up that night. I would not mind if there was an option regarding batteries: use the proprietary if you've got it, but use something else if you need to. Is that what the Nikon does? I have a ton of rechargeable AAs here, for use with the DS, and with my 540's. I hate messing with 'em. I get confused about whether they're charged or not. Although I have three chargers, I have five or six sets of rechargeable batteries, so they can't all stay in the chargers. And I don't trust ones that have been out of the charger for more than a day or two to keep their charge. Really, I hate the subject of batteries. I would prefer that the camera have a small nuclear generator inside, so that I never have to worry about power again. Will

11-14-2007, 11:39 AM	#42
nosnoop Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 1,299	Originally posted by Matjazz If K10D only had some type of standard disposable battery solution (like Nikon with CR2) Unlike AA which is available everywhere, CR2 is not exactly easily available. So I don't see much advantage especially if it is easier to find an AC outlet than a place to buy CR2 K10D batteries are so cheap nowadays (probably doesn't cost much more than a CR2), you can just charge a couple and throw them in the bag for emergency use.

11-14-2007, 01:10 PM	#43
Gimbal Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 2,106	The long battery life of the K10d is due to the camera being power-efficient, not because the battery is superior to 4 AA batteries. Actually it’s almost exactly as much energy in the 7.4V 1620mAh K10d battery as there are in 4 1.2V 2500mAh AA batteries. It’s superior due to size and weight though, but we are not carrying around more power then before.

11-14-2007, 02:01 PM	#44
filmamigo Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 797	Originally posted by LeftBehind Is anyone else hoping for budget primes? Or rather, one budget prime. Nikon and Canon have their 100$ 50mm 1.7 which i would love for Pentax to match, especially with the price of used lenses sky-rocketing. I agree COMPLETELY. One optically sharp prime in the Canadian $100 to $200 (retail) range that every consumer camera store would have to and want to stock. My only primes are MF because of the insane prices of new and used primes. I can't reckon spending $320 CDN retail for a 50mm when Nikon and Canon are on the shelf for $160 and $120 respectively. I'd be tickled with a $130 AF 50mm 1.7, 1.8 or 2.0. Better yet, 35mm 2.0 to match the APS-C bodies. I know I can get a reasonable price on a 50 by going mail-order from the US, but I shouldn't have to do that for a simple prime.

11-14-2007, 04:10 PM	#45
vinzer Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Philippines Posts: 1,399	I think Matjazz's idea is that battery manufacturers would stop making new batteries for the K10D sooner than they would stop making AA batteries. The batteries we buy today for the K10D, no matter how many, will eventually give up, so I'm with Matjazz on this one point. Of course, the Pentax/Minolta battery in the K10D is nice, but an option to use AAs via an adapter would also be welcome.