New K10 Delivered Monday

Joe_M · 12-15-2007, 11:13 AM

I've been lurking on this board and DP Review Pentax Board for awhile. I finally decided to pull the trigger and get a K10 with the 18-55mm which will be delivered Monday and a Pentax DA 50-200mm which will be delivered Tuesday. Reading both boards convinced me Pentax was the way to go.

I have a couple of very basic questions.

Is it worth getting a SDHC card or is a fast SD card good enough? Are there any brands you recommend? I plan on usually shooting RAW or RAW +JPEG, how many shots will fill up a 2gb card?

This will be my first DSLR. I'm coming from a Canon S5 which I loved but wanted the better pictures and control the K10 can give.

Thanks

weaponx525 · 12-15-2007, 11:59 AM

I guess it would depend on what type of pictures you will be shooting and which format of pictures (RAW or JPG) you intend to use. For example, in RAW+JPG mode, my K10D can shoot approximately 214 pics with a 4G card. If you really want to take advantage of the 3 fps of the K10d you'll have to get the fastest card possible: something like a 133X SD card or a Class 6 type SDHC card. Personally I have two SDHC cards: one Panasonic brand (Class 6) and one Transcend (Class 6) brand. I have filled both of those cards with pics and the Panasonic presented no problems whereas the Transcend had trouble saving some pics after around the 2 G mark (comes with limited lifetime warranty though

Personally I would recommend the Panasonic: I paid $99 CAD for it 3 mths ago. I think you can get a Class 4 SDHC in the neighbourhood of about $50 CAD.

Stratman · 12-15-2007, 12:13 PM

here is a decent deal on a 2 pack of Sandisk 2 gb cards Sandisk | 2GB Ultra II Secure Digital (SD) Card | SDSDH2-2048R

Recently i bought 2 of the OCZ cards on Newegg.com, damn cheap, and supposedly 150x speed, here's the link to those. Newegg.com - OCZ Speed 150X 2GB Secure Digital (SD) Flash Card Model OCZSD150-2GB - Retail

Crescent City · 12-15-2007, 12:22 PM

I have been trying to figure out the exact the same thing and I must say I must say it is not easy getting a straight answer. Near as I could tell the K10 writes at 9 or 10 mbs a second. The San Disk II is a 66x card and it writes at about the same speed. Please correct if me I am wrong. ON the SDHC side of things my only concern was whether my built in card reader supports that, and I can't find any information on that. You can spend a fair amount of money on these things especially on the 133x and higher cards 4gig cards. I did read some goods about lexar's cards that support UDMA. No help on the camera side but offloading onto the puter there isn't anything faster when you use their udma reader. Right now they are only selling the firewire reader but the USB reader has been announced but usn't selling yet.

Crescent City · 12-15-2007, 12:29 PM

Also, I wanted to mention the San Disk II plus cards which have an integrated usb plug which eliminates having to keep track one more piece of kit. Has any tried one. ch

Joe_M · 12-15-2007, 01:17 PM

Thank you for the great detailed answers. It was exactly what I was looking for.

It was a hassle changing cards on the S5, they were in the battery compartment. How easy is it in the K10?

Stratman · 12-15-2007, 01:46 PM

Originally posted by Joe_M

Thank you for the great detailed answers. It was exactly what I was looking for.

It was a hassle changing cards on the S5, they were in the battery compartment. How easy is it in the K10?

There is a door on the side of the camera, unlatch it, insert the card, and close and latch the door. Done !!

I'm awaiting delivery on my K10D too, but have downloaded the manual from the Pentax site in PDF format. If UPS does regular delivery on Saturday, I should get it today !! If not, I'll get it Monday, woo hoo !!

Joe_M · 12-16-2007, 07:31 AM

Congratulations on your new camera Stratman.

I'm going to download the manual now. Should be a good read while I wait for the delivery man.

SpecialK · 12-16-2007, 02:12 PM

I am (slightly waivering on) the belief that a couple smaller cards are better than one big one - only for the off chance the card goes belly up with your irreplaceble images on it.

**Mapleleaf-Mick** · 12-16-2007, 03:57 PM

Question on Sandisk Cards. What is the fastest card I can use in K10D? I notice that Sandisk has an ultra II, Ultra III, Ultra IV, and an Ultra V. I don't want to put in a card that my camera can't use. I. E. if the fastest card that works in my K10D is an Ultra II, then I don't want to waste money and put in an Ultra V even though the camera will take it.

jmdeegan · 12-17-2007, 02:52 PM

Originally posted by Mapleleaf-Mick

Question on Sandisk Cards. What is the fastest card I can use in K10D? I notice that Sandisk has an ultra II, Ultra III, Ultra IV, and an Ultra V. I don't want to put in a card that my camera can't use. I. E. if the fastest card that works in my K10D is an Ultra II, then I don't want to waste money and put in an Ultra V even though the camera will take it.

My understanding is/was that the Extreme III are the fastest SD or SDHC cards made by SanDisk. I've discussed with others and researched, and unless my numbers are wrong, the fastest SDHC cards still don't touch the fastest SD cards yet, and to get SDHC, even the same 2 or 4 gb capacity, there is a premium. Tack on a new card reader, the chance most printing kiosks aren't SDHC compatible, etc etc....I steered away from SDHC for now.

I snagged 3 2gig Sandisk extreme III cards, and while I don't like how quickly it files up (shooting RAW, I get approximately 120 images), this hasn't been a nuisance yet--Thats about a day of shooting on my vacation, or a few days of random snapshots of the kids.

I do like having multiple smaller cards because there is a lower risk-if there is a card failure, I lose 120 images max, not 240 or 480 or whatever the case may be.

Tho, if it hasn't been said yet, if you won't be shooting in burst modes, the write speeds should not be as significant a driving factor

weaponx525 · 12-17-2007, 10:48 PM

With regards to SDHC cards apparently they, ie the "SD" industry, is trying to standardize how they quote speeds, hence the new Class structure with the SDHC standard. If I am correct the Class is actually a multiplier of 150 Kilobits/sec. Theoretically you can calculate the speed of the card you are buying instead of adhering to "Ultra" this or "Extreme" that. However I have noticed that my Class 6 Panasonic claims to read at 20 Mbps: I personally doubt it. I am however very happy with its reliability.

With regards to card readers as long as you are careful when you are buying a reader, as long as it adheres to the USB standard, you should be ok wherever you go ie camera kiosk or whatnot. I personally purchased a SDHC card read and have had no problems so far in the computers I plug into ( XP SP2 or Vista) and the Costco kiosk where I get my pics developed has been very reliable thus far.

In regards to getting a memory card reader, you might actually be safer in staying with the SD standard and not the SDHC standard as my "old" SD card reader could not read my new SDHC cards. I have heard great things about the Sandisk CF cards but I personally haven't read about any benchmarks on the Extreme class of Sandisk versus, say a Class 6 Panasonic.

I am pretty sure that the max capability of the K10D is 10 Mbs so you can probably make your card purchases with that figure in mind. Anything over that would be extra overhead that you would never achieve.

My two cents though ...

Yonnie · 12-17-2007, 11:07 PM

Best performance I have achieved has been with the SanDisk Extreme Ultra III SD cards. I've been curious about the Ultra IV and other cards that are advertised as being faster but I'll stick with what works for now.

12-15-2007, 11:13 AM	#1
Joe_M Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 92	New K10 Delivered Monday I've been lurking on this board and DP Review Pentax Board for awhile. I finally decided to pull the trigger and get a K10 with the 18-55mm which will be delivered Monday and a Pentax DA 50-200mm which will be delivered Tuesday. Reading both boards convinced me Pentax was the way to go. I have a couple of very basic questions. Is it worth getting a SDHC card or is a fast SD card good enough? Are there any brands you recommend? I plan on usually shooting RAW or RAW +JPEG, how many shots will fill up a 2gb card? This will be my first DSLR. I'm coming from a Canon S5 which I loved but wanted the better pictures and control the K10 can give. Thanks

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12-15-2007, 11:59 AM	#2
weaponx525 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 138	I guess it would depend on what type of pictures you will be shooting and which format of pictures (RAW or JPG) you intend to use. For example, in RAW+JPG mode, my K10D can shoot approximately 214 pics with a 4G card. If you really want to take advantage of the 3 fps of the K10d you'll have to get the fastest card possible: something like a 133X SD card or a Class 6 type SDHC card. Personally I have two SDHC cards: one Panasonic brand (Class 6) and one Transcend (Class 6) brand. I have filled both of those cards with pics and the Panasonic presented no problems whereas the Transcend had trouble saving some pics after around the 2 G mark (comes with limited lifetime warranty though Personally I would recommend the Panasonic: I paid $99 CAD for it 3 mths ago. I think you can get a Class 4 SDHC in the neighbourhood of about $50 CAD.

12-15-2007, 12:13 PM	#3
Stratman Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: St Louis, Missouri U S A Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,464	here is a decent deal on a 2 pack of Sandisk 2 gb cards Sandisk \| 2GB Ultra II Secure Digital (SD) Card \| SDSDH2-2048R Recently i bought 2 of the OCZ cards on Newegg.com, damn cheap, and supposedly 150x speed, here's the link to those. Newegg.com - OCZ Speed 150X 2GB Secure Digital (SD) Flash Card Model OCZSD150-2GB - Retail

12-15-2007, 12:22 PM	#4
Crescent City Inactive Account Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New Orleans, La Posts: 55	I have been trying to figure out the exact the same thing and I must say I must say it is not easy getting a straight answer. Near as I could tell the K10 writes at 9 or 10 mbs a second. The San Disk II is a 66x card and it writes at about the same speed. Please correct if me I am wrong. ON the SDHC side of things my only concern was whether my built in card reader supports that, and I can't find any information on that. You can spend a fair amount of money on these things especially on the 133x and higher cards 4gig cards. I did read some goods about lexar's cards that support UDMA. No help on the camera side but offloading onto the puter there isn't anything faster when you use their udma reader. Right now they are only selling the firewire reader but the USB reader has been announced but usn't selling yet.

12-15-2007, 12:29 PM	#5
Crescent City Inactive Account Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: New Orleans, La Posts: 55	Also, I wanted to mention the San Disk II plus cards which have an integrated usb plug which eliminates having to keep track one more piece of kit. Has any tried one. ch

12-15-2007, 01:17 PM	#6
Joe_M Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 92 Original Poster	Thank you for the great detailed answers. It was exactly what I was looking for. It was a hassle changing cards on the S5, they were in the battery compartment. How easy is it in the K10?

12-15-2007, 01:46 PM	#7
Stratman Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: St Louis, Missouri U S A Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,464	Originally posted by Joe_M Thank you for the great detailed answers. It was exactly what I was looking for. It was a hassle changing cards on the S5, they were in the battery compartment. How easy is it in the K10? There is a door on the side of the camera, unlatch it, insert the card, and close and latch the door. Done !! I'm awaiting delivery on my K10D too, but have downloaded the manual from the Pentax site in PDF format. If UPS does regular delivery on Saturday, I should get it today !! If not, I'll get it Monday, woo hoo !!

12-16-2007, 07:31 AM	#8
Joe_M Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 92 Original Poster	Congratulations on your new camera Stratman. I'm going to download the manual now. Should be a good read while I wait for the delivery man.

12-16-2007, 02:12 PM	#9
SpecialK Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: So California Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,480	I am (slightly waivering on) the belief that a couple smaller cards are better than one big one - only for the off chance the card goes belly up with your irreplaceble images on it.

12-16-2007, 03:57 PM	#10
Mapleleaf-Mick Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Saskatoon, Canada Posts: 299	Question on Sandisk Cards. What is the fastest card I can use in K10D? I notice that Sandisk has an ultra II, Ultra III, Ultra IV, and an Ultra V. I don't want to put in a card that my camera can't use. I. E. if the fastest card that works in my K10D is an Ultra II, then I don't want to waste money and put in an Ultra V even though the camera will take it.

12-17-2007, 02:52 PM	#11
jmdeegan Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: nyc Photos: Gallery Posts: 564	Originally posted by Mapleleaf-Mick Question on Sandisk Cards. What is the fastest card I can use in K10D? I notice that Sandisk has an ultra II, Ultra III, Ultra IV, and an Ultra V. I don't want to put in a card that my camera can't use. I. E. if the fastest card that works in my K10D is an Ultra II, then I don't want to waste money and put in an Ultra V even though the camera will take it. My understanding is/was that the Extreme III are the fastest SD or SDHC cards made by SanDisk. I've discussed with others and researched, and unless my numbers are wrong, the fastest SDHC cards still don't touch the fastest SD cards yet, and to get SDHC, even the same 2 or 4 gb capacity, there is a premium. Tack on a new card reader, the chance most printing kiosks aren't SDHC compatible, etc etc....I steered away from SDHC for now. I snagged 3 2gig Sandisk extreme III cards, and while I don't like how quickly it files up (shooting RAW, I get approximately 120 images), this hasn't been a nuisance yet--Thats about a day of shooting on my vacation, or a few days of random snapshots of the kids. I do like having multiple smaller cards because there is a lower risk-if there is a card failure, I lose 120 images max, not 240 or 480 or whatever the case may be. Tho, if it hasn't been said yet, if you won't be shooting in burst modes, the write speeds should not be as significant a driving factor

12-17-2007, 10:48 PM	#12
weaponx525 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 138	With regards to SDHC cards apparently they, ie the "SD" industry, is trying to standardize how they quote speeds, hence the new Class structure with the SDHC standard. If I am correct the Class is actually a multiplier of 150 Kilobits/sec. Theoretically you can calculate the speed of the card you are buying instead of adhering to "Ultra" this or "Extreme" that. However I have noticed that my Class 6 Panasonic claims to read at 20 Mbps: I personally doubt it. I am however very happy with its reliability. With regards to card readers as long as you are careful when you are buying a reader, as long as it adheres to the USB standard, you should be ok wherever you go ie camera kiosk or whatnot. I personally purchased a SDHC card read and have had no problems so far in the computers I plug into ( XP SP2 or Vista) and the Costco kiosk where I get my pics developed has been very reliable thus far. In regards to getting a memory card reader, you might actually be safer in staying with the SD standard and not the SDHC standard as my "old" SD card reader could not read my new SDHC cards. I have heard great things about the Sandisk CF cards but I personally haven't read about any benchmarks on the Extreme class of Sandisk versus, say a Class 6 Panasonic. I am pretty sure that the max capability of the K10D is 10 Mbs so you can probably make your card purchases with that figure in mind. Anything over that would be extra overhead that you would never achieve. My two cents though ...

12-17-2007, 11:07 PM	#13
Yonnie Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Tennessee, USA Posts: 110	Best performance I have achieved has been with the SanDisk Extreme Ultra III SD cards. I've been curious about the Ultra IV and other cards that are advertised as being faster but I'll stick with what works for now.