[benjikan]

I am sure that this topic has been done and perhaps over done. I would love to compile a users wish list for an upmarket Pentax Semi-pro and pro DSLR to present to Pentax here in France. It would be interesting to see if those wishes are already being seriously considered. As you may already know, my demands of a camera are rather pedestrian. I shoot in manual mode in studio using a flash meter and all is set manually or in an interior environment, which I still consider "studio". When I shoot outdoors I always bring studio flash or a mix of HMI and Studio flash. A bit more of a mix, but simple none the less.

The demands of sports and event photographers are much more stringent in terms of speed responsiveness etc.

If you have the time and the inclination, I would be pleased to forward your input to the people I know and they may pass it up the rung.

Best Wishes
Ben

[Jun Park]

The one thing I'd love to see in the next high-end Pentax dslr is focus bracketing. When I'm working with a shallow DOF while chasing after moving children, I will manually focus out just a bit and then hammer away while I slowly focus through the subject.

On a completely different subject, I am annoyed by the fact that the Sigma 70-200/2.8 focuses in the opposite direction from all of my other lenses

Thanks for your help, Ben. I really enjoy reading your posts.

[regken]

Ben,

For the hardware junkies like myself this may be one of the best times of the year. The PMA show is in the latter part of February and there seems to always be new cameras at the show. My K10D is only 2 months old and am just now starting to feel semi comfortable using it. Even though I am thrilled with it and can't think of any camera on the market I would rather have, the thought of what it would take for me to lay out cash for a new body is an interesting one. Here is a list of things that would make me buy a new body.

1)GPS data for all photos taken. Sony already has at least one P & S that will do this.
2)APS-H sensor with 12mpx. I want to be able to continue to use my old Pentax glass on a moderate sized body. Noise at ISO 3200 would have to be as good as the K10D at ISO 800.
3)Better dust removal system. The one on the K10D leaves a lot of room for improvement.

That's it! Everybody has their own shooting style and needs. The AF, fps and low light ability of the K10D are fine for me and would not spend money on improvements. Lenses: The DA*16-50 and the DA*50-135 must sell for less than $700 each. If they are more I will live with the primes I have.

The only other body I would like is a fairly inexpensive ($600) small EVIL that uses my K mount lenses. The K100D 6mpx sensor with SR would be great in this body.

Regards,

[jfdavis58]

OK, it needs to be able to drive me to and from any loaction without running out of gas or getting lost.

It needs to make coffee--good coffee; on demand. And have a wet bar for long days with goofy assistants and balky models.

It must be wireless internet ready so I don't need to carry a laptop.

It must have a phone with a clock.

Can't survive without a DVD player and an HD screen.

Needs to have space for spare clothes, toothbrush, comb, razor, etc in case the airlines loses my regular bags.

Specific to it's use as a camera:

Continuous zoom from -5mm to 5000mm @ constant f/1. Continuous shutter speeds from any length to as short as needed. Built-in flash that floats off camera.


It must be compact so it fits in a shirt pocket but expand as needed so that all you people know that I'M a REAL PRO!




Let me work on a few more.



OR

maybe, just maybe, I might actually learn how to use every feature it already has to full potential---now that's food for thought ain't it??? Novel!


{Gee Ben, so glad you came 'long with all'n ur good ide'rs and tipses and tecknikus and t'ings---hey, before you, we didn't got none o' that stuf.)

[ISH]

One thing that I would like to see Pentax improve on all their D-SLR's is the battery indicator. It seems that the battery indicator stays full strength for 90% of the life of the battery, then drops to half with it rapidly showing empty after that. I'd love to see some sort of percentage status of the battery. I do not need it readily accessible, but somewhere in the menu would be nice. It does not have to be percentage point accurate, but would maybe like to see the battery life status in 20% increment steps.

One might think that this would be as simple as a firmware update, but if not something to include in future models perhaps.

[dseang]

Dedicated buttons for controlling WB, ISO and Quality - a lá Nikon D200's 'Three Kings'.

Better metering wouldn't hurt either.

[slip]

although I am not a pro, there are a few things I would like to see.

bracketing for focus. ability to program to amount.

I am not sure if this is possible, but if I was shooting a big group, the ability to choose the distances that the lens would be in focus would really be a bonus.
for example, with the red dot focus indicator I could choose the closest person in focus and with another red dot choose the furthest away person in focus and the camera would choose the proper F stop. I know that you can do it manually, but if would save a lot of time in some instances like inpatient people at weddings.

more resolution for the camera display so that when I zoom in on a shot, I can actually see if it is in focus or not instead of having to transfer it to a computer first to see.

A wireless setup similar to canon's.... giving it the ability to transfer the shots directly to a laptop while you are walking around instead of having to transfer via memory card. still have them write to a card for security.

I can't think of anything else right now

cheers

randy

[macdaddy]

How about a full frame sensor, 12-16Mp, slightly more rugged frame (ala D200), faster frame rates (5 fps would be ideal), full Adobe DNG RAW (or, get them to support Pentax better!), and of course, MORE GLASS! In fact, how about stealing a march on canikon and introducing a complete lineup of Limiteds, INCLUDING ZOOMS, and covering the range from 12mm through 400mm, with fast fixed apertures (2.8 down to 1.4) and metal construction as beautifully executed as the old Three Amigos ones (31mm, 43mm and 77mm). And keep the body price under $3,000 USD. I don't want much, do I? 8o)
Rob W

[benjikan]

OK, it needs to be able to drive me to and from any loaction without running out of gas or getting lost.

It needs to make coffee--good coffee; on demand. And have a wet bar for long days with goofy assistants and balky models.

It must be wireless internet ready so I don't need to carry a laptop.

It must have a phone with a clock.

Can't survive without a DVD player and an HD screen.

Needs to have space for spare clothes, toothbrush, comb, razor, etc in case the airlines loses my regular bags.

Specific to it's use as a camera:

Continuous zoom from -5mm to 5000mm @ constant f/1. Continuous shutter speeds from any length to as short as needed. Built-in flash that floats off camera.


It must be compact so it fits in a shirt pocket but expand as needed so that all you people know that I'M a REAL PRO!




Let me work on a few more.



OR

maybe, just maybe, I might actually learn how to use every feature it already has to full potential---now that's food for thought ain't it??? Novel!


{Gee Ben, so glad you came 'long with all'n ur good ide'rs and tipses and tecknikus and t'ings---hey, before you, we didn't got none o' that stuf.)

Shucks Golly Gee Clyde...I'm Blushin'

[Harald]

One thing that I would like to see Pentax improve on all their D-SLR's is the battery indicator. It seems that the battery indicator stays full strength for 90% of the life of the battery, then drops to half with it rapidly showing empty after that. I'd love to see some sort of percentage status of the battery. I do not need it readily accessible, but somewhere in the menu would be nice. It does not have to be percentage point accurate, but would maybe like to see the battery life status in 20% increment steps.

One might think that this would be as simple as a firmware update, but if not something to include in future models perhaps.

One other battery indicator improvement: If you use two batteries, one in then body and one in the grip, you do not know which one is in use. If I set grip battery to be consumed first, I do not know if it is allready depleted.

This information is actually available, but buried deep to the menu. One could change the grip battery if it is empty while using the body battery.

So battery in body would act like an reserve battery if grip battery is depleted.

[wll]

I am sure that this topic has been done and perhaps over done. I would love to compile a users wish list for an upmarket Pentax Semi-pro and pro DSLR to present to Pentax here in France. It would be interesting to see if those wishes are already being seriously considered. As you may already know, my demands of a camera are rather pedestrian. I shoot in manual mode in studio using a flash meter and all is set manually or in an interior environment, which I still consider "studio". When I shoot outdoors I always bring studio flash or a mix of HMI and Studio flash. A bit more of a mix, but simple none the less.

The demands of sports and event photographers are much more stringent in terms of speed responsiveness etc.

If you have the time and the inclination, I would be pleased to forward your input to the people I know and they may pass it up the rung.

Best Wishes
Ben

1) a 10mm or so wide rectangular lens, a NON full frame fisheye.

2) a 135mm 2.0 or faster for stage shoots.

3) a 100mm f2.0 or faster for low light stage and available light work.

4) a wide angle T&S lens for landscape and studio work.

5) The fast 200mm and 300mm are in the roadmap.

6) a faster sync speed (Please 250 +, (for stop action and outdoor studio work)

7) And last but not least - a LCD screen attachment to the viewfinder (like Zigview, but much better quality). I'm tired on trying to dig a hole or ? to get my face low enough to get my shots and with the right angle finder you still have to bend way down. For us over 50 it's a pain. A removable viewfinder with a waist level finder would be the cats meow !!!!!


wll

[ISH]

On my K10D with the grip, I have in the menu to use the battery in the grip first. Mine does use the body battery as a reserve battery and does automatically switch to the body battery once the grip battery has been depleted. i can even swap batteries while the K10D is on and remove the battery from the grip and replace it without powering down. Not sure if it's recommended or not, but it does work.

[arbutusq]

I would like to see parameter customization a la Nikon. On the D70 I could control so much more, like the size of the center weighted area for metering, change far more image parameters, and my absolute favourite, upload custom curves to change the output look of my files to suit my preferences.

[Harald]

On my K10D with the grip, I have in the menu to use the battery in the grip first. Mine does use the body battery as a reserve battery and does automatically switch to the body battery once the grip battery has been depleted. i can even swap batteries while the K10D is on and remove the battery from the grip and replace it without powering down. Not sure if it's recommended or not, but it does work.

Yes, you can. But you cannot see when the grip batterry is depleted. Gauge in upper LCD shows first the situation of the first battery and when it is depleted it sterts to show situation of second battery. You dont know which one is in use and is the first one allready used without going to the deepness of the menu. This information should be in upper lcd.

[matix]

So far I am happy with the K10D. 6 weeks and 2,500 shots I have had far fewer unusable shots than from my previous cameras.

SUGGESTIONS!!

1. The onboard flash needs to be recalibrated and the guide number increased, ie more output. The flash has more issues with backlighted subjects that I have never experienced before, probably a firmware update would help that.

50% of my shots with the onboard flash where there is any hint of backlight, or even reflection are unusable. Tried Spot, CW and Average metering, still poor. I have a Pentax AF-360FGZ flash on the way, coming snail mail dammit!

2. Focusing in low light, very poor or impossible.. needs a better focus assist method.. please, the laser hologram that Sony had in it's F series would be fantastic, that was unbeatable up to 4 or 5 meters.

3. Battery status indicator, the ability to show approximate remaining time for the battery was another feature that endeared me to my previous camera which had an 'Infolithium Battery' excellent help when travelling.



Other than that, I have no real gripes.