[Confused]

I'm seriously considering the purchase of a Pentax K10D in the very near future and would like to ascertain something beforehand. The three items of visible information that I'd personally regard as essential in the eyepiece of a digital SLR would be Aperture, Shutter speed and ISO. However I seem to vaguely remember reading somewhere that the ISO is not always displayed, which if accurate would seem to be a pretty ridiculous state of affairs. Therefore:
1) Does the ISO setting remain permanently visible in the viewfinder no matter what ?
2) Does the ISO readout only become visible in the viewfinder when using certain exposure modes ? If so, which ones ?
Help please from any experienced K10D owners...........

[Edvinas]

No, K10D doesn't always display ISO in viewfinder.

ISO is displayed in following cases:
- Sv (sensitivity priority) mode
- TAv (Shutter speed-Aperture priority) mode
- Av (aperture priority) mode when one of e-dials is set to ISO
- Tv (Shutter speed priority) mode when one of e-dials is set to ISO.

In other modes ISO is not displayed all the time, instead remaining number of pictures in card is shown. ISO can be viewed by pressing OK button.

Well, for me it is very strange that manufacturers decide that remaining number of pictures is more important parameter than ISO.

BTW, which DSLR permanently displays ISO in viewfinder, I've tried to find one but failed (I was not looking at Nikon and Canon pro models though).

[Confused]

Edvinas: Nice to hear from Lithuania and many thanks for your rapid reply. I'm afraid that I simply don't know if any other DSLR "permanently displays ISO in the viewfinder" as I've only been seriously considering the K10D ! I totally agree with you that it's certainly "very strange that manufacturers decide that remaining number of pictures is more important parameter than ISO".....I believe it is utterly essential for the ISO reading to be visible at all times !! Try to imagine driving a car whose speedometer needle disappears completely every time you change gear !

[and]

I agree, what a waste not to include a custom option to display iso instead of remaining frames, it should be so easy to do.

What you can do with the k10d, apart from pressing the ok button, which btw is not too bad since you can do it with your right hand without taking your eye from the finder, is to have an iso warning display. you can set at which iso the iso warning should kick in and if it does it will be permanent.

You can also limit the auto iso to only choose from a limited range.

[egordon99]

"Av (aperture priority) mode when one of e-dials is set to ISO"

WOW! Didn't realize the K10D could do this (been stuck with my "one-dial-does-all" DS)...This would make my everyday shooting soooooo much easier! Now who wants to lend me $800?

[and]

having two dials is great. You can configure them too, and seperatley for each mode.

In Av mode I have the back wheel set to aperature and the front to EV.