[weatherwise2]

I have been looking at the K10D camera to buy. I like a lot of the features and the positioning on the camera but when I hold in the store and compare sides by side the weight always bothers me. I'll probably get a good telephoto lens down the line since I take a lot of outdoor shots and will be traveling with the camera and several lens.

On the other hand the bulk is a component of keeping stable esp when using with a good tripod. I still have an old Minolta SLR film camera.

any comments on the weight either as a pro or con?

[Adam]

I think the weight and size of the K10D makes it feel much more sturdy than the other Pentax DSLRs. It's easier to hold as well, so if you have lots of lenses in your photo bag and you're going on a long trip, it'd be your top choice.

Oh, and remember that it's weather-sealed

[davemdsn]

I have the *istD with grip and the K10D with grip. The K10 is quite a bit larger, and yet it is lighter (or at least no heavier). It is by no means "light" compared to compact DSLRs but it is better balanced and the weight is easier to manage.

Obviously there is no camera that is the perfect tool for everyone. For many the K100D is the better camera. Smaller and lighter (although not by much because of heavier batteries). Still has SR. Takes wonderful photos.

K10 sure is nice though. It's like a triple chocolate brownie with hot fudge sauce and caramel drizzled on it with a scoop of sweet cream ice cream. And it has no calories or fat. Maybe it is the perfect tool?

[Sailor]

One thing to think about: if it feels heavy after a few minutes in a store, consider how it will feel after a few hours around your neck.

I have both a K10D and a relatively compact DS2 and much prefer the feel and weight of my DS2. Of course, we're all built and wired differently, so opinions about weight and size of a camera differ - as this thread demonstrates. At the end of the day - as always - only you can decide which way to go.

Jer

[mtngal]

I have both the K100 and the K10 (and used to have the DS). I'm a small female and find that the K10 with my A*300 lens (which is heavy and rather awkward) is as heavy as I can (barely) reliably handle, the K100 with the same lens is more comfortable. It isn't so much the weight of the camera on my neck, but rather holding it still with a longer lens when I'm shooting.

I also have small hands, and find reaching some of the controls a bit far for my short fingers, but that's not enough to stop me from using the K10 as my primary camera. I finally bought a Slingshot 200 bag and have no problems carrying the camera (recently its been both cameras) with 5 lenses of various weights (the 300 being the heaviest, down to the little M 50mm 1.7) just about every day to and from work, and hiking on weekends.

As Jer pointed out, it is an individual thing. If you don't like it in the store, you probably wouldn't like it after hiking a couple of miles, and there's nothing worse than having a camera you aren't comfortable with.

Harriet

[WMBP]

I have been looking at the K10D camera to buy. I like a lot of the features and the positioning on the camera but when I hold in the store and compare sides by side the weight always bothers me.

This seems to be a completely individual personal preference. Me, I very much like the heft of the K10D. I usually carry it around with a telephoto zoom lens attached - have taken it out on multi-hour outings and not been bothered. But the fact that this works well for me says nothing about whether it would work at all for you.

I would figure out what camera you really want to take photos with, regardless of the size. If it's the right camera for you, you should be able to live with the weight. After all, the K10D isn't THAT much heavier than a K100D. If you really find both of these cameras too big, then look at the Nikon D40, which I believe is even smaller. Or don't get a digital SLR at all. There are very fine compact superzoom cameras available like the Canon PowerShot S3 IS.

Will

[d.bradley]

I recently switched over from a Minolta 7D and find the K10D a little bit too small (height mainly) and just enough heft. I'm used to a (half) metal body. I may end up with the grip to make it a bit larger.

On the otner hand, the 7D with a grip was HUGE for me, but others found it necessary.

I also use old Takumar lenses which are made of steel, so weight to me is a good thing. Never had any problems with fatigue, but then I'm a strapping young lad

Ponder it, then go with your gut!

[davemdsn]

I met a female wedding photog years ago who only shot with a Mamiya RZ67. She looked like she weighed about 105 pounds and the RZ is a huge medium format beast. She said she didn't even notice the weight any more.

I think that when you have a preferred tool you become accustomed to it, not noticing it. It becomes a part of you and the rest of your body adjusts to the extension.

If you don't find yourself making the adjustment, maybe it is the wrong tool for our needs.

[TomE]

I use both the DS and K10D and don't pay that much attention to which is heavier, I just use them, but then I am using larger lenses like the FA*,s too.

Tom

[xfloggingkylex]

my friend (using a canon 350D with grip) and I both love the weight of the K10D. It just has a very sturdy feel.

[nystateofmind27]

K100d + 16-45mm DA + 360 flash, it's almost like going to the gym. Not that I'm complaining.

[Kaimarx]

K100d + 16-45mm DA + 360 flash, it's almost like going to the gym. Not that I'm complaining.

Hehe, K10 + Grip + 200mm TANKumar and hood IS going to the gym

[Chocolar]

Ok, let's just assume Pentax, after reading this thread, introduces a improved k10 with an alluminum alloy (instead of stainless steel) frame that would make the whole camera weights 3oz liter, but costs us$50 more, would you buy it? It still would be the lowest-price camera in its class with a metal body.

[silverbullet]

My experience:
In store the K100 seemed heavy, when compared to the Canon and Nikon. However, for that extra weight I did gain a metal chassis, and SR, and a more comfortable size.
In the field, I found that although heavier, it is not 'heavy'. On vacation I walked all day with the camera and attached kit lens around my neck, and my bag with the other kit lens, spare set of batteries, and other assorted 'stuff' over my shoulder. Surprisingly, at no time did I feel weighed down by the gear, or that the weight was fatiguing me.

Chris

[DHCowboy]

Pro! Pro! Pro!

What I'd like would be akin to a brick with a lens. The heavier the better! Gimme steel, brass, or at least the newer magnesium and metal-bodied lenses any ol' day. Easier to keep steady for hand-held slow-shutter pics and then always there's the durability factor...
I lost ALL of my equipment in Australia in a flood back in 2000 up in a town called McKaye - 2 Canon bodies and a slew of mint lenses as well as a beater Minolta 3xi and it's lenses (I loved that thing.. - it took a beating and always delivered beautiful pics..) when the town's drainage system clogged up and I awoke to my car being awash in a parking lot and water up to my keister! (what had finally woken (?) me up, - as my hiking boots were waterproof and I didn't wake as soon as I might have...LOL!)
So I went out and bought the heaviest thing I could find a few town further South... Weighed 'em all and the Nikon was the best I could find. I sure do rue that purchase now tho, - plastic lens mounts? Say what?
So far the K10 looks to be my new selection to get back into the wedding / portrait business. Still haven't bought, - but had one in hand for a week and was decently impressed.
A good camera isn't made to be "convenient" to carry in my eyes, - but durable, predictable, and able to deliver what you need when you need it. Weight concerns might be able to be addressed by a point-n'-shoot. But please build the serious cameras like you're thinking serious! Plastic has it's limits man...

And what if you run out of film and have to throw the camera like the bad guys always do when their pistol goes empty? (hah!)

Cheers!
Cowdude