[anomaly]

I saw Ned's blog.

Oh the agony.

I am not going to fault them though, everybody does it. Just look at Sony and the PS3.

[Confused]

O.K., so let's take this opportunity to summarise what might realistically be found on the eventual successor to the K10D. Apologies in advance for 'pinching' everybody's ideas for improvements from the preceeding posts, so here goes......

1. Adjustable Beep Volume Control - even my el-cheapo C***n A630 has this useful facility on it. Can't imagine why it's not already on the K10D in the first place - seems easily rectifiable in a firmware update, unless somebody else knows different ?
2. Configurable RAW Button on K10D - yet again, this could surely be addressed in a future firmware update ?
3. High Max Flash Sync (1/1000) - not sure how much this would cost to implement and there may well be technical reasons why this is not possible ? I'm on slightly dodgy ground here and will leave this one to those more knowledgable than I !
4. JPG Edge Sharpness option - ditto re future firmware update ?
5. Permanent Sensitivity/ISO Display - I've got a real Bee in my Bonnet about this one. Regardless of what mode the K10D is operating in, the three VITAL pieces of information that I require to be displayed in the viewfinder at ALL TIMES are Aperture, Shutterspeed and *Sensitivy/ISO !! If given the opportunity, I would personally like to spend five minutes in a darkened alley with the Cretinous Moron(s) in the #design team who sanctioned this *idiotic omission. I don't care a flying f***k how many frames are left. I just want to be able to see the ISO on a permanent basis, thank you very much ! Period ! #Clearly the 'clueless wonders' in question have no concept regarding the essential parameters an experienced photographer requires at their disposal and it wouldn't surprise me to discover that these 'boffins' probably drive around in cars with 'now-you-see-it / now-you-don't' speedometers !!
6. Two SD card slots in D BG-2 Grip - there might be retooling costs involved here, but the idea seems perfectly reasonable to me.
7. User-Selectable Viewfinder Display - future firmware update ?
Now for the more costly options:
8. AF button on D BG-2 Grip - there would be retooling costs involved here.
9. Bigger Brighter 100% Viewfinder - ditto.
10. Bigger and Faster Buffer - more cost involved but it's probably already on the cards.
11. Blown-Highlights Indicator in Viewfinder - don't know about this one cost wise ?
12. Built-in GPS Facility - nice idea but probably too costly too include at the present moment ?
13. Disposable AA Battery solution - buy a K100D Super body instead LOL ! Tooling costs and longevity issues here ? If somebody produced a cheap enough adaptor, I'd probably buy one as an emergency back-up........any manufacturer's offering ?
14. Flash Synchro-X input - I rarely use this facility myself, but leaving it out of the original specifications certainly guaranteed a healthy revenue stream for Pentax-specific P-TTL flashguns.......if you can find one anywhere !
15. 5 Frames Per Second - cost issues again, but 5 FPS is likely to appear in a higher-priced top-of-the-range Pentax DSLR in the not-too-distant future. I hear the massed footsteps of approaching marketing executives beating their way to wholesalers warehouses !
16. Live View - cost issues again. The DSLR would require TWO CCD's. Ouch....!
16a. Articulating LCD or Top LCD Control Panel to show image - nice thought, but way too expensive with regard to re-tooling. I can't see that one happening in the near future !
17. Low Ambient Focus Assist Light - Badly needed in my opinion. Hope Pentax boffins are studying this forum ! AFAIK "Laser Holographic focus assist" is patented technology and no manufacturer likes paying over-the-odds for licensing privileges !
18. Real KAF2 Mount - I personally have no Pentax-mount legacy glass so it's not really a big issue for me, but it must drive diehard Pentaxians round the twist with frustration. I sincerely feel for you all of you ! But then again I've got a load of OM glass that I doubt I shall ever be able to use again on a DSLR, so you're not the only ones with problems !
19. SD and CF card slots - Write to SD and CF cards at the same time. I'm afraid it's never going to happen !! CF cards are nowadays regarded as simply too big to cram into smaller DSLR bodies. I've fortunately never experienced any unreliability issues with CF cards myself, but aren't SD cards meant to be precisely that: SECURE ??
20. Split Image Focussing Screen - Entirely possible, so keep banging away at your local Pentax salesman/lady and who knows, the message might eventually get through to the suits at Boardroom level ?
21. WB Selection with a Dedicated Switch - retooling costs etc, but it would be very useful. I bought a K10D because it instinctively felt ergonomically 'right' in my hand and I liked all the additional buttons. I think it's fairly safe to say that the majority of photographers are thoroughly sick-and-tired of ploughing through endless menus to change the settings required !! Simply look at BMW's infamous I-drive as a case-in-point ! 'Nuff said......
22. "Anti Blown Highlights" Multi-segment Exposure Mode - I'll second that, but it may add to overall cost again. How much more are Pentax 'aficionados' prepared to pay for all this additional stuff ? No, I haven't got a C....n 1DS-MkII either, which kind of sums this diatribe up, doesn't it.......keep taking the medicine !!

[EvilPentaxUser]

23. the ability to program the camera to add your name to the EXIF data. that way you have your name already in the image.

[blwnhr]

23. the ability to program the camera to add your name to the EXIF data. that way you have your name already in the image.

This is the kind of funky feature I would expect Pentax to add actually.

[m8o]

well I feel dis'ed... seriously, no mention of lower noise? (or at least monochromatic). I'd figure the page or so of posts after every mention from plenty of people who don't shoot in ideal/studio lighting conditions would warrant the mention.

[barondla]

16a. Articulating screen would require retooling. Live view does not require extra sensor. New Olympus E410 and E510 do it with single sensor. You hit button mirror raises, shutter opens and the image shows on screen. Since the K10D can already raise mirror and open shutter I would guess we will see this soon. Turning the top lcd screen into viewer shouldn't take much retooling. There is already a lcd screen there. Change it to color and send the image to it! Then we could have a top view too.
Would also like Pentax to change the way the back info screen works. On Olympus you can change F stops, shutter speeds, etc. On Pentax the screen goes out when you adjust any button. Makes it very little use at the present.
thanks
barondla

[Edvinas]

Yes, K10D can flip mirror up and can open shutter, however it doen't have sensor which is capable of continuous readout

Anyway, for me liveview without flipping LCD is completely useless feature.

[skamaraju]

Automatic Hyperfocal distance focusing - based on focal length of the lens and the aperture set. I suppose it would be useful for street photography, more like Rangefinders.

[benjikan]

O.K., so let's take this opportunity to summarise what might realistically be found on the eventual successor to the K10D. Apologies in advance for 'pinching' everybody's ideas for improvements from the preceeding posts, so here goes......

1. Adjustable Beep Volume Control - even my el-cheapo Canon A630 has this useful facility on it. Can't imagine why it's not already on the K10D in the first place - seems easily rectifiable in a firmware update, unless somebody else knows different ?
2. Configurable RAW Button on K10D - yet again, this could surely be addressed in a future firmware update ?
3. High Max Flash Sync (1/1000) - not sure how much this would cost to implement and there may well be technical reasons why this is not possible ? I'm on slightly dodgy ground here and will leave this one to those more knowledgable than I !
4. JPG Edge Sharpness option - ditto re future firmware update ?
5. Permanent Sensitivity/ISO Display - I've got a real Bee in my Bonnet about this one. Regardless of what mode the K10D is operating in, the three VITAL pieces of information that I require to be displayed in the viewfinder at ALL TIMES are Aperture, Shutterspeed and *Sensitivy/ISO !! If given the opportunity, I would personally like to spend five minutes in a darkened alley with the Cretinous Moron(s) in the #design team who sanctioned this *idiotic omission. I don't care a flying f...k how many frames are left. I just want to be able to see the ISO on a permanent basis, thank you very much ! Period ! #Clearly the 'clueless wonders' in question have no concept regarding the essential parameters an experienced photographer requires at their disposal and it wouldn't surprise me to discover that these 'boffins' probably drive around in cars with 'now-you-see-it / now-you-don't' speedometers !!
6. Two SD card slots in D BG-2 Grip - there might be retooling costs involved here, but the idea seems perfectly reasonable to me.
7. User-Selectable Viewfinder Display - future firmware update ?
Now for the more costly options:
8. AF button on D BG-2 Grip - there would be retooling costs involved here.
9. Bigger Brighter 100% Viewfinder - ditto.
10. Bigger and Faster Buffer - more cost involved but it's probably already on the cards.
11. Blown-Highlights Indicator in Viewfinder - don't know about this one cost wise ?
12. Built-in GPS Facility - nice idea but probably too costly too include at the present moment ?
13. Disposable AA Battery solution - buy a K100D Super body instead LOL ! Tooling costs and longevity issues here ? If somebody produced a cheap enough adaptor, I'd probably buy one as an emergency back-up........anyone offering ?
14. Flash Synchro-X input - I rarely use this facility myself, but leaving it out of the original specifications certainly guaranteed a healthy revenue stream for Pentax-specific P-TTL flashguns.......if you can find one anywhere !
15. 5 Frames Per Second - cost issues again, but 5 FPS is likely to appear in a higher-priced top-of-the-range Pentax DSLR in the not-too-distant future. I hear the massed footsteps of approaching marketing executives beating their way to wholesalers warehouses !
16. Live View - cost issues again. The DSLR would require TWO CCD's. Ouch....!
16a. Articulating LCD or Top LCD Control Panel to show image - nice thought, but way too expensive with regard to re-tooling. I can't see that one happening in the near future !
17. Low Ambient Focus Assist Light - Badly needed in my opinion. Hope Pentax boffins are studying this forum ! AFAIK "Laser Holographic focus assist" is patented technology and no manufacturer likes paying over-the-odds for this privilege !
18. Real KAF2 Mount - I personally have no Pentax-mount legacy glass so it's not really a big issue for me, but it must drive diehard Pentaxians round the twist with frustration. I sincerely feel for you all of you ! But then again I've got a load of OM glass that I doubt I shall ever be able to use again on a DSLR, so you're not the only ones with problems !
19. SD and CF card slots - Write to SD and CF cards at the same time. I'm afraid it's never going to happen !! CF cards are nowadays regarded as simply too big to cram into smaller DSLR bodies. I've fortunately never experienced any unreliability issues with CF cards myself, but aren't SD cards meant to be precisely that: SECURE ??
20. Split Image Focussing Screen - Entirely possible, so keep banging away at your local Pentax salesman/lady and who knows, the message might eventually get through to the suits at Boardroom level ?
21. WB Selection with a Dedicated Switch - retooling costs etc, but it would be very useful. I bought a K10D because it instinctively felt ergonomically 'right' in my hand and I liked all the additional buttons. I think it's fairly safe to say that the majority of photographers are thoroughly sick-and-tired of ploughing through endless menus to change the settings required !! Simply look at BMW's infamous I-drive as a case-in-point ! 'Nuff said......
22. "Anti Blown Highlights" Multi-segment Exposure Mode - I'll second that, but it may add to overall cost again. How much more are Pentax 'aficionados' prepared to pay for all this additional stuff ? No, I haven't got a Canon 1DS-MkII either, which kind of sums this diatribe up, doesn't it.......keep taking the medicine !!

I am really impressed..You should be in R&D

[Confused]

To "EvilPentaxUser" re:
Quote: "23. the ability to program the camera to add your name to the EXIF data".

If you'd had the misfortune to see some of my lousy photographic efforts, the LAST thing I'd want would be my name indelibly linked to the resulting image(s). LOL !! Imagine the following scenario -

Ques: Is that dreadful photograph one of yours ?
Answ: No way, it's not one of mine, mate !
Reply: Oh yes it is, it says so right here in the EXIF data....(leave room red-faced !)

To "m80":
Quote: "well I feel dis'ed... seriously, no mention of lower noise? (or at least monochromatic)".

Sorry about that one, but it was well into the early hours of the morning and I badly needed my beauty sleep. "Mea maxima culpa" etc !!

and last but not least.....I seem to recall reading in another post somewhere in this forum that two sensors were required ? So to "barodla" - I am suitably chastised, but am sort-of reassured by "Edvinas" reply:

Quote: "The K10D doesn't have sensor which is capable of continuous readout....Anyway, for me liveview without flipping LCD is completely useless feature".....

Which is precisely why I decided to buy a C***n A630 (sincerest apologies for mentioning the dreaded "C" word again).
Now if only I could find my hacksaw, watchmaker's screwdriver set and some superglue.......and you lot seriously thought I'd be worried by potential Pentax warranty issues LOL !

[barondla]

Not trying to chastise you Confused. Olympus E330 does have two sensors because it has live view A&B. Others only have A. Would have agreed with edvinas before using E410. The 7x and 10x mag live view setting is great for macro focusing. Much more accurate than viewfinder. On high power macro it is a dream. It would really be sweet with pivoting lcd. Would allow you to get in some tight spots for different angles. Realize K10D doesn't have right sensor, but bet that changes down the road.
thanks
barondla

[stewart_photo]

O.K., so let's take this opportunity to summarise what might realistically be found on the eventual successor to the K10D. (snip)

1. Adjustable Beep Volume Control

Do remember the EEPROM used for storing firmware is not infinitely large. There are limits to how much data can be saved in this circuitry, with some things occasionally sacrificed to make room for others as extra data space reaches a premium. In this case, overall beep volume may have been sacrificed in favor of the option to turn the sound related to each function on or off (an option in one of the menus).

5. Permanent Sensitivity/ISO Display - I've got a real Bee in my Bonnet about this one.

Manufacturers have downplayed ISO every since film DX coding allowed this setting to be handled automatically. Since customizing this setting was considered something only the more advanced photographer would seek, it was often hidden away in a sub-menu instead of prominently displayed. That mentality has continued into the digital era based on the notion that these cameras can also handle ISO automatically. However, since the ISO setting is so critical to those trying to balance ISO against noise, I agree this setting should be clearly displayed.

6. Two SD card slots in D BG-2 Grip

Since storing an extra SD card in the grip is merely a convenience, two cards is a fairly trivial matter not likely to receive much attention.

9. Bigger Brighter 100% Viewfinder - ditto.

In my opinion, the viewfinder in the K10D is already approaching excellent. I simply don't know how one could achieve a brighter display while still using glass, and I most certainly don't want that glass viewfinder to go away in favor of an LCD one. The glass viewfinder was one of the many things that attracted me to the K10D in the first place.

A slightly less than 100% view through the viewfinder has never been a major handicapped for me (with any camera), so I'm not particularily concerned about this (100% or not, either way is just fine by me).

12. Built-in GPS Facility

Don't understand the logic behind this at all. I can't think of a single worthwhile benefit to be gained by adding GPS to a camera. Instead, this sounds like something one would add to a point & shoot camera to attract gadget freaks more interested in toys than photography. If GPS is truly required, I would strongly prefer a separate, more fully featured, device.

13. Disposable AA Battery solution

I would prefer a more generic battery solution as well. However, to Pentax's credit, they did at least select a relatively common battery that is fairly easy to find world-wide at prices often far less than many proprietary batteries.

15. 5 Frames Per Second

A commonly desired feature which I personally have no particular need for.

16. Live View (snip)
16a. Articulating LCD or Top LCD Control Panel to show image

I've generally found the option to view scenes live through the rear LCD to be nearly useless for serious photography, mainly because it's virtually impossible to adequately support a camera held far enough away to see the LCD. Therefore, this capability should probably remain in the point & shoot arena. The articulating LCD is only truly useful with live view, so should perhaps remain in the point & shoot realm as well.

17. Low Ambient Focus Assist Light - Badly needed in my opinion.

Agree somewhat. The K10D does a fairly good job of focusing in low light (especially with DA lenses). It only starts to fail when scenes are dark enough to truly require some additional lighting. The current Pentax flash units (540 & 360) have an assist light just for such occasions, but there are times when one wants natural lighting even in the darkest situations. Manual focus (guessing the distance) is an option, but an assist feature might help eliminate that guesswork.

19. SD and CF card slots

My last camera used CF cards exclusively, with no obvious advantage over the SD cards I'm using now. Indeed, there are times when I actually prefer the smaller SD cards.

Some of the other things mentioned are perhaps worthwhile, with others clearly less so. Since I'm not a fan of overly complex cameras, I hope anything eventually added serves a substantial purpose - something beyond just satisfying the whims of gadget freaks. Especially since so many of the things mentioned would surely increase the cost of the camera.

stewart

[blwnhr]

I've generally found the option to view scenes live through the rear LCD to be nearly useless for serious photography, mainly because it's virtually impossible to adequately support a camera held far enough away to see the LCD. Therefore, this capability should probably remain in the point & shoot arena. The articulating LCD is only truly useful with live view, so should perhaps remain in the point & shoot realm as well.

I totally, 100% agree. I would not buy the camera if this "feature" was added.


I still want 5-8fps though.

[PDL]

Too much to quote - but I agree with most of the comments in stewart_photo and blwnhr's posts. But I have a few questions.

It appears that some people have all but forgotten the whining and gnashing of teeth that went on with the K10D's being -- to big, too heavy and short battery life - when it first came out. Now people like confused come along and want - 5fps, huge buffers, high x-sync rates, extreme DR, ISO 4 - 6800, live view and (here is the kicker) AA batteries.

Now I know why confused is ---- confused. Do you realize how heavy that camera would be? How many lbs (or Kilos as the case may be) of AA's would you have to carry around to shoot with a boat anchor like that. Why do you think the C*non and N*kon high end machines are so big? -- it's batteries - you would need at a minimum 8 AA batteries to power live view for any length of time. On my old (I know I am using a poor example) P&P (Point and Puke) if I left the LCD on it would burn through 4 NiHd AA's in two hours - and it had a 1" LCD screen and 2.2MP.

I do not need high frame rates - and 3 works just fine for me when I do use it. If one frame was good enough for the old speedgrafix guys to get good images - 3 fps should be good enough for me. (But then they understood when the "moment" was - two images every minute was a "feature" that forced those guys to really understand what they were shooting)

A bigger buffer would be nice - I would like to take maybe 10 frames (RAW) before the buffer gets hosed. But that comes at the cost of bigger circuits, more chips (memory), more heat and ---- batteries to keep it alive.

High sync rates - I grew up with 1/60 sync rates - 1/180 x sync rate is OK with me. I hate flash anyway (let's not start that again).

Higher DR - would be nice - but a new sensor would be in order and possibly a new CPU, when coupled with bigger buffers ---- more batteries.

ISO - for the life of my I can not figure out why everyone is so enamered with high ISO. I shoot at 100 (K10D) 95% of the time and I really do not care for going higher. I want ISO down to 25 - just like Kodachrome.

Live view - I got rid of the LCD useage on my P&P (see above) because holding a camera at arms length is just -- sorry for being blunt -- stupid. Now imagine holding a K??D with a 300mm f1.4 at two feet in front of you looking at a LCD "live view" screen that is 3" across. I don't care what SR you have in that thing - you will not get a good shot. Ever notice that people using P&P's have to change their focus from 2 feet to 20 feet every time they want to re-compose or prepare for another shot? I bought an SLR because I want to see through the optics - that is what I am paying all that money for. This sucker would get hot too - I really do not want a liquid cooled camera.

Batteries - AA's just do not cut it anymore - move on.

If the next Pentax does not have a beer bottle opener on it --- I ain't gonna buy it.
PDL

[and]

I hope they put more buttons on the updated k10d and/or the higher end model. And also get the damn iso in the viewfinder permanently. I like the added buttons and extra wheel on the k10d. The most pressing issue will be to get dedicated iso and white balance buttons on there. You can set the iso now in the k10d with the buttons and it works OK, if only the iso was always in the viewfinder it would be better. The only thing I frequently need to access the menus for now is WB.