[j0n4hpk]

Pros	Lots of controls to grow on and legacy lens compatibility
Cons	Slighty slow AF with F, FA Lenses
Rating	8
Price	Aprox $400.00
Years Owned	1

I can recommend this camera: Yes

Value, Features, Performance & Size
Bright viewfinder, compatibility witha any Pentax brand K Mount Lens ever produced by Pentax.

Camera Review
It's a Pro-camera for me and very good introduction to DSLR world.

[blade_o5990]

Pros	handling, color, UI, image quality
Cons	high ISOs, jpeg
Rating	9
Price (U.S. Dollars)	600
Years Owned	2

I can recommend this camera: Yes

Value, Features, Performance & Size
great image quality, intuitive UI, backwards compatible, DNG RAW

Camera Review
I love my pentax k10d. It feels very good in your hands, solid and comfortable. The camera produces nice natural color, has decent dynamic range (biased towards the shadows), and has an amazing user interface. The cameras controls are all logically laid out and all the essentials are easily operated without taking the camera away form your face (after firmware upgrade that allows the OK button to be used as an ISO button). The menus are logical and to the point. You kind of forget the camera is there when you shoot eh UI is that good. The camera performs very well at base ISOs but is not very good past ISO 400 (I would call ISO 400 acceptable depending on the subject and situation). If you are a use to shooting slow film, like me, this is probably not an issue to you. At base ISO you can get very solid pictures form this camera, I have made 20x30s before that really startled me with the level of detail. I can not comment on AF performance as I rarely use it. The K10 has a very nice viewfinder which facilitates using MF lenses. Some have commented on poor cold weather performance, this has not been my experience, I have used the k10 in -20 F weather, with no problems except reduced battery life and very occasional meter inaccuracies. While it doesn’t have all the Swiss army features that are becoming standard, but it doses what it is meant to do very well.

Best use: landscape, macro, studio, portraiture, general.
Not ideal for: low light hand held sports, weddings.

[Ehlacore]

Pros	Features, Weathersealing, Build Quality
Cons	JPEG IQ, HighIso, Autobracketing only in JPEG mode
Rating	8
Price (U.S. Dollars)	250
Years Owned	.1

I can recommend this camera: Yes

Value, Features, Performance & Size
Great value, nice fit in my hand, LOADS of features for novices

Camera Review
I got this used, and it was between this and an older model Nikon. I:m glad I went with the Pentax!

[Larsenio]

Pros	Low-ISO images are GREAT, Bright viewfinder, Compability to older lenses, Easily accessed menus, Lovely grip for large hands, Sound (A really loud lovely klick), Weight, Shake reduction, Weather resistant, Semi-pro, RAW-files
Cons	High ISO is bad (beyond 500 but 640 is actually better), Auto-focus in low light not optimal, AWB not good in some conditions, Jpg`s
Rating	9
Price (U.S. Dollars)	900
Years Owned	3

I can recommend this camera: Yes

Value, Features, Performance & Size
Size, perfect.
"Too many" features for an amateur, perfect for a semi-pro.
Good value for it`s class.

Camera Review
The camera was just the perfect buy for me and my entrance to the DSLR-world.
I learned the hard way by testing all features and pros and cons by testing and eventually understand this camera and the performances it really can achieve step by step...
Now, afetr 28000 exposures I wouldn`t want to change camera for anything. The camera fits my hands much better than k7/5 and I`m just getting more and more in love with the camera.

If you find a K10d for a good price; buy it.
And shoot in RAW---

[Boris]

Pros	IQ, Ergonomics, speed and ease of operation. Essentially everything
Cons	None
Rating	10
Price (U.S. Dollars)	1700
Years Owned	3 + 1

I can recommend this camera: Yes

Value, Features, Performance & Size
I haven't yet touched K-5. Taking this into account K10D yields the best IQ among all Pentax flagship cameras prior to K-5. IMHO, it outdoes both K20D and K-7. The color rendition and the tonality rendition of this camera are outstanding. Many times I would just convert the RAW files with default settings in LR and get what I want.

Camera Review
It is hefty and felt rather big after really small *istD. But what a joy it was to use. I shot with mine 20,000 images in three years and gave it to my daughter. She's shooting with it for a year now. Hence 3 + 1 in "years owned" field. I can only praise this camera. It's been reliable, dependable and produced excellent results.

Today, just before 2010 ends, it feels outdated - slow AF, narrow ISO range, not too reliable metering, no AF adjustment unless you engage in trickery, etc. But none of these really get in a way of photography. At least as far as what my daughter and I are shooting. The IQ however is stellar.

[junkman1989]

Pros	Feels right, lens compatibility, very reliable, love all the control
Cons	Noise on the high ISO settings, close up flash images tend to be too hot
Rating	9
Price (U.S. Dollars)	999
Years Owned	4

I can recommend this camera: Yes

Value, Features, Performance & Size
I chose the Pentax over the current Canon equivalent because it fit my hand much better (Canon was too small) and because of the Pentax lens compatibility. I bought several old film camera lenses at very low prices from ebay and craigslist.

Camera Review
I have made do with my old Sunpak and Nikon flashes, mostly in manual mode. Christmas is going to bring me a new pttl flash and I am greatly looking forward to that.

More than 40,000 pictures later, it is still working great. It takes hundreds of pictures with one charge on a battery (although the original is getting weak now).

I only shoot in RAW dng and love the range of control that I have with exposure in Photoshop. Finished images are saved as jpgs and then I save the originals to DVD to free the disk space.

I am continually finding a new way to adjust the settings to get a new flavor to an image or to work around a new exposure problem.

The autofocus is a bit problematic ... when shooting shots of children that move around a lot, it often focuses on the wrong spot. I tend to prefer the center focus mode, but if I get in a hurry, I sometimes forget to make sure that I lock the focus on the child before firing, ending up with a well focused distant object that is irrelevant.

Because I use the controls to compensate for the way I shoot pictures, I also have to remember to switch things back to more automatic settings when I hand the camera to someone else to take pictures.

One thing that people always say when the hand my camera back is "Wow, it's fast." They often take a dozen shots where they would only take one or two with a pocket camera.

The only tempting features that I have seen enticing me to upgrade are in-camera HDR, better high ISO noise handling, and perhaps faster frame rates and higher image resolution. Hmmm ... I would also like a preview display that swings out from the camera. My first digital was a Nikon 950 with a twist body and I loved being able to get shots at ground level or from way overhead or without people being conscious of the camera because it was lying in my lap.

[mugund]

Pros	Solid feel, nice colors, easy access to all controls
Cons	Jpegs look soft when viewed 100%, ISO beyond 640 has poor quality when viewed 100%, not good in AF-C
Rating	10
Price (U.S. Dollars)	500
Years Owned	2

I can recommend this camera: Yes

Value, Features, Performance & Size
Exceptional value for money - Solid handling with semi-pro features like weather sealing, plethora of external buttons
Features - Pentax unique modes like Sv, TAv priority, in built SR, bright view finder
Performance - Very fast in operation as long as it is not fast moving

Camera Review
This is my first SLR ever... I previously owned sony DSC-S85 which is a nice camera with the ability to change metering mode/ focus using an external button, highly usable manual modes like Av, Tv and a fast 2.0 to 2.5 lens. Limitations are it is slow in operation, ISO beyond 200 very noisy and I was looking at DSLRs from Sony, Pentax and Olympus (No Nikon/ Pentax ) as they had in built IS. I had my eyes on Pentax K100D Super then came the craigslist ad for K10D + kit lens for $500, I immediately lapped it up
My first impressions were this camera is one hell of a sopishiticated machine with so many options and completely strange (atleast to me coming from a prosumer camera background) ergonomics, it took me some time to get familar.
One standout is the solid feel and once I started using TAv and Sv modes, I was a very happy camper! It responded fast, I had no qualms in taking pics @ ISO1600 (as long as I do not see 100%, they are fine), I can change metering modes on the fly and I use the digital preview feature to do unusual angle shooting.

I bought WR 18-55 and the quality is very good.
Most of my pics are indoors and once I obtained Tamron 28-75mm and Pentax F-50mm f1.7, I have some many possibilities

Some of the cons - I have the Tamron 28-75mm and at large apertures indoor, I never had very sharp pix as I got outdoors wide open. performance with the 50mm was much better. I am not sure if the problem is in indoor lighting (I had seen reports where focus is upset in the presence of indoor tungsten lighting etc...) or with the lens ( I had the lens calibrated by Tamron service)

Wud've been nice if focus assist light is separate from the flash. It is very annoying having to remember opening the flash head in dark light
I with they zoom in the focus area in digital preview (with live view in newer cameras, it does not matter any more).
AF-C was useless in the few occasions I used

With a toddler running, I do not have whole lot of time to do RAW processing, there are sometimes when I wish the camera jpeg is sharp when viewed at 100% ( I changed the default options, it is better but not as good as when I processed a RAW file occasionally... Probably I need to learn batch processing so that I process all files at once )
It is not a big deal for me as I do not believe in 100% viewing but for some people it might be a big deal

Auto White balance is bad in indoor, it is a pain to do custom while balance every time


My biggest complaint is with Pentax system - They do not have fast affordable primes in the focal lengths 24mm to 30mm. Yes 35mmf2.4 is good but it is only half stop faster than my tamron and 24mm or 28mm will be very useful. (Probably 30mm or wider lens with fast apertures makes the lens big unlike the 30-50mm range I guess).

I have no complaints ( I have taken over 11000 pix) and have no plan to upgrade unless Pentax comes with form factor close to Nex cameras in the mirrorless segment.
I can recommend the camera whole heartedly

---

Last edited by mugund; 12-06-2010 at 05:09 PM. Reason: Indoor AWB is very bad, wanted to add that. Custom white balance is working out but doing it everytime is painful

[gus_nad]

Pros	Bang for the buck
Cons	battery pack
Rating	9
Price (U.S. Dollars)	600$
Years Owned	6 months

I can recommend this camera: Yes

Value, Features, Performance & Size
I am french speaking guy from Quebec, my apologizes for my english...
I own a K10d with my two previously owned lenses from my k100d: a 18-55mm and a 50-200mm. It gives a lot for the price. The sealed body is one the the main reason I have chosen this model. I have previously had many problems with sand and rain, no more of this with the K10D. I also added an after-market battery grip for 40$ that allow me to have more autonomy and the vertical shooting button.

Camera Review
I got that camera because my son dropped my K100 and since I got it, I have dropped it a couple of time and it's still in good shape. I tend to trust more this body, it's kind of heavy, but you feel it's not all made of cheap plastic. It fit's well in my hands, i like a camera body that fill your right hand and does note feel like you're holding it with your fingers like the new compact DSLR models on the marker.
I like that we can use all the previous lenses of pentax. My uncle gave me a 70mm he used to shoot in the 70's and it fits! A good thing in the single use world we are living in!
I may get used to the pentax way the buttons are displayed, but it feels that they are all at the right place for my fingers
The AF is pretty fast and does'nt go in back and forth frenzy often, even under low lighting conditions. Talking of light, I don't use the opo-up flash often as I own a AF-540 but it's yet powerful and not too hard on the batteries.
The LCD display gives you all the informations you need quickly so you don't need to go trough many menus like canon... The Raw button, the AF selector, the dial around the menu button is another interesting feature that keeps you from going into the menus often.
I like the colors I get with that camera and the auto-bracketing mode give very good HDR for my real estate photos I am doing.
I have tried the new K-X, while teaching a friend the basics of DSLR and I does not regret my K-10... except for the video capabilities a dad would enjoy some time... well I have a Iphone for those purpose.

I would strongly recommend any Pentax product as they are to of the line and not too expensive. Want to pay for big billboards and TV ads? go get a Nikon or Canon!

[Steve Beswick]

Pros	Excellent SOLID build, weather sealing, awesome IQ.
Cons	Sometimes lousy IQ over ISO 800
Rating	9
Price (U.S. Dollars)	$500
Years Owned	1.5

I can recommend this camera: Yes

Value, Features, Performance & Size
It has been a real trooper, easily enduring many, many airports, soccer fields,and other adventures. I haven't been able to upgrade, mainly because I haven't been able to find a newer camera that I like nearly as much! It is one of the two biggest APS-C cameras Pentax has ever made!

Camera Review
I bought my K10d during the big Ritz Camera sell off of 2009. I chose it over the K100d super for the higher megapixel count, even though at the time everyone was saying that the K100d was the IQ king. A couple of weeks later I picked up a K100d and ended up using it for roughly six months, swearing to myself that the K10d couldn't do as well, that it just didn't have the IQ performance. It's funny how wrong someone can be, with the evidence staring them in the face.

Around the sixth month I started forcing myself to use the K10d, so I could justify the expense to myself, and at first I hated the images I was getting from it. After a couple of weeks I started to question what the problem was, why I was having so much trouble getting good images. It was then that I began to dig into menus, tweak a little here, a lot there, disable this, enable that. It was then I realized that this one time ugly duckling was really a beautiful swan!

The K10d is a wonderful camera to use. It has almost every feature a still photographer could want, but it's “out of the box” configuration is terrible. You need to adjust it to get the performance out of it, otherwise it is like having a beautiful piano that is completely out of tune – no matter how well you play, it is not going to sound right. For example, to cure the issues I was having with the AF system, I simply switched it to center point only, and then I found the AF to be as fast and reliable as any camera I have ever owned. If the high ISO performance was better I'm not sure what reason I could ever come up with to upgrade.

The K10d is probably the oldest of the “prosumer” Pentax bodies you would want to invest in today. Yes, the *ISTd has TTL flash support, but it will not focus many of the newer lenses, it does not have weather sealing, and it does not have shake reduction. Furthermore, the K10d can often be purchased used for well under $300, which is a bargain in the DSLR market. I'm not going to recite the K10d's feature list, but for all practical purposes if you buy a K10d you are getting a professional grade camera for the same or less than some of the older entry level cameras cost.

[theunartist]

Pros	Solid Build, Great Colors Rendered
Cons	Discontinued
Rating	9
Price (U.S. Dollars)	$250 USD
Years Owned	Less than a year

I can recommend this camera: Yes

Value, Features, Performance & Size
Solid Build
Can take a Battery Grip & other accessories
Can handle larger manual lenses

Camera Review
I initially got this camera after acquiring a good number of fully manual lenses including some very heavy zooms. I felt I needed a better built camera than my K-m to be able to safely handle my larger lenses on a regular basis. The Pentax K10d was the right answer, solidly built with some size.

When I was looking for a 2nd camera body, I did not even consider the k10 till someone out of the blue told me to look into it. In today's world, it would seem 10mp is on the lighter side, but really, back in the day when I was using a Canon 20D, 8.2mp was a ton and plenty to print out even the largest prints (I don't believe they're printing anything larger than what you could find back a few years ago). Plus, if you take the time to read reviews on the Pentax k10, you will find some very positive and enthusiastic reviews.

I can describe my feelings towards the k10 in one word, AWESOME. I've read where people complain about out of camera JPEG's not being good or terrible High ISO images. I've attached 2 images to kinda dispel these fears. Out of camera images, whether Raw or JPEG, when properly exposed are just super and will not really need a lot of Post Processing. As far as High ISO, I limit my shots to ISO 1250, I was surprised with the general quality of the images and most were usable for 8x10 or smaller prints. IMAO, the strongest part of the camera are the colors rendered, just fabulous, blacks are extra rich. I think the sensor on the k10 is just out of this world. Once you get the hang of the buttons, wheels and menu, it's a simple camera to navigate and use. Not at all intimidating.

I really cannot find anything to complain about, maybe it's not a fast AF system but I don't take those kind of photos, so it never mattered. For me, it's pretty near a perfect 10 but I only gave it a 9, gotta leave room. If the k10 were available new today, I would buy one in a heart beat. You can pick up a gently used one for @ $300 or less...

Out of Camera JPEG with a Pentax-M 50/1.7


RAW ISO 1250 with a Pentax-F 70-210


It's a great camera!!!