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Pentax K10D

Reviewed January 2007

Image Quality

Introduction
Ergonomics
Characteristics
Image Quality
Interface & Software
Camera Views
Test Photos
Specifications
Our Opinion
The Pentax K10D is rugged — gaskets ensure a tight fit to all doors and covers — and is clearly conceived with the consummate photographer in mind and could, in a pinch, even serve some professional needs.
Although it offers a Green (Auto) mode, Scene modes are absent from the K10D and instead Pentax offers a couple of ingenious modes that are, at this time, not available on any other camera. The first is SV Mode (Sensitivity Priority), which allows the user to boost sensitivity with the rear e-dial — thereby increasing shutter speed — and control the aperture/shutter speed combination with the front e-dial, which in turns allows prioritizing freezing action or depth of field. Photo: © Don Kitchen, 2007.
Aperture: f5.6, shutter speed: 1/180 sec., 100 ISO, 39 mm equiv.
The other is the TAv Mode (Shutter and Aperture Priority), which also takes advantage of the K10D's range of sensitivities, allowing the user to modify the shutter speed with the front e-dial and the aperture with the rear e-dial while the camera adjusts the sensitivity to make the selection work.
Aperture: f6.3, shutter speed: 1/160 sec., 100 ISO, 24mm equiv.

The 16 to 45mm zoom It uses extra low dispersion glass to improve colour accuracy, and aspherical surfaces to minimize distortion. At its widest angle of 16 mm, it is equivalent to a 24 mm lens when the 1.5 multiplier effect of the CCD — the CCD is smaller than a full 35 mm frame — is taken into account.

At this setting, the lens yields images that are nearly barrel distortion free, as can be seen in the image at left. Similarly, chromatic aberration is minimal, and only detectable when wide angle shots contain strong contrasts, and the image is inspected at 100% scale on a monitor. Moreover, using the default camera settings, the lens appears to yield vibrant colours.

Although easily corrected in software, its sharpness is average throughout its focal length range, and wide angle shots tend to be noticeably softer on the edges than they are at the centre of the frame. Furthermore, when set to the wide end and used with the built-in pop-flash, the lens causes a very noticeable shadow which can only be avoided if an external, camera-mounted flash is used.

This aside, the Pentax K10D shines on a number of fronts, and when used with any number of other Pentax lenses, the K10D yields perfectly crisp images.

Photo: © Don Kitchen, 2007.6.
Aperture: f4, shutter speed: 1/30 sec., 1100 ISO, 43.5 mm equiv.
Aperture: f5.6, shutter speed: 1/100 sec., 100 ISO, 30 mm equiv.
More importantly, the K10D is impressive in the fact that its sensitivity range is entirely useable. At 100 ISO noise is absent from the images, and from 100 up to 400 ISO, which if the increment is set to 1/3 EV covers no less than six sensitivity settings, the images the camera captures are virtually noise-free. Beyond this, a range that covers an additional seven steps, noise increases very slowly, and even at the maximum of 1600 ISO, is no more prevalent than in the 400 ISO images produced by compact cameras that employ smaller CCDs.
In addition, these images can be recorded in any of three formats: JPEG with a choice of three compression levels, or in any of two RAW formats, PEF or DNG.
While the PEF format is Pentax's own proprietary RAW file format, currently the K10D is one of the few cameras to also support Adobe Systems' DNG format, a new and open RAW file format developed for use in digital cameras. Both formats are identical in the sense that they capture the RAW output of the CCD without any processing, and include within the file structure all the shooting parameters and camera settings, making it possible to process the image later, on a computer.
Aperture: f5.6, shutter speed: 1/200 sec., 100 ISO, 51mm equiv.

The only noticeable difference between these two formats as they are implemented on the K10D comes down to file size. While DNG regularly produces file sizes of approximately 16.5 MB, Pentax PEF file are compressed using a non-lossy scheme and generate file sizes of between 11 and 13 MB.

Worth noting here, the RAW button on the left side of the camera is a brilliant idea, making it possible to instantly capture a RAW image without having to access a menu option. It can only be hoped that this feature will become standard on the equipment of other manufacturers.

Photo: © Don Kitchen, 2007.
Aperture: f4.5, shutter speed: 1/500 sec., 800 ISO, 450 mm equiv.
Set to capture JPEG format photos at the three-star setting, the camera applies a compression that is often around 8:1 for 10-megapixel images. Yet the results are always impressive, and for everyday shots, can easily replace the more work-intensive RAW format. Moreover, able to save simultaneously a high quality JPEG image — at any of the three resolutions offered — and a RAW file, the best of both worlds are available to the user at any time.

The Pentax K10D is well-designed and this comes through very quickly when the camera is in hand. Controls are intelligently laid out, their position intuitive. In addition, the K10D is extremely capable. It is equipped with all the basic modes and adds a couple of interesting modes. The K10D has all the functions one expects from a high-end SLR: it can be user-customized for many functions, it has built-in stabilization that allows it to stabilize any Pentax lens; and it also provides a wide range of sensitivities, even yielding useable images at the highest part of that range. To boot, it is dust and moisture resistant, a claim few others can make.

Clearly, with the introduction of the K10D, Pentax is raising the bar once again for dSLR cameras.

Compare Prices for
Pentax K10D 10.2MP SLR Digital Camera
StoreSeller RatingsDescriptionPrice
Top Choice Digitalin stock$566.00
TriState Camerain stock$639.98
Introduction
Ergonomics
Characteristics
Image Quality
Interface & Software
Camera Views
Test Photos
Specifications
Our Opinion



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