[kro77]

Hello Everyone,

Background Info:

Recently I decided to finally get a dSLR. I have been using P&S digital cameras since I gave up on my Sears SLR Pentax Clone I used in college mainly because of the price of dSLRs. However recently prices have come way down so I started looking for a sub thousand dollar setup. I looked at various cameras (Nikon d80, Canon 400d, Canon 30d, Sony Alpha, and the Pentax k10d) and finally decided on the K10d for a couple reasons.

The reasons where as follows:

1 - Price - (the K10D kit i got was for 800 dollars) lower then most of the competitors (except the Alpha), and I was not shackled to an existing platform

2 - Performance - The k10d appears to give me the visual quality and shooting performance of the higher end competitors with minor variations in ISO and image flavor.

3 - I already had 3 old Pentax manual focus lenses

4 - Comfort in my hand - I found most of the above cameras personally uncomfortable to handle. The only exception being the Alpha, but that was second to the k10d.

5 - Water resistant - I could take it on the slope with me.

Performance

So I have had the K10d for about three weeks now, and have found it really nice to work with. However one caveat I would give is this camera is not for someone who does not understand basic photographic principals. There is the green mode which helps, but if you want to take action shots you need to know how to take them. The camera does not have the various modes that are popular on P&S and some lower priced dSLR cameras that makes photography easy.

This camera is a tool, much like my old Sears SLR, it gives you the basics and you then must learn how to use it. While I enjoy this kind of approach, I can see some people getting quite frustrated with it and not like the results.

In terms of technical performance, the camera has taken some great shots, even if the subject matter is quite dull. I find the ability to shoot JPGs at 3fps +/- to be nice for some winter ski shots, and I find the colors to be very nice. However I have had to battle with the Auto White Balance on indoor shots. I have basically given up and do a Manual White Balance before I shoot indoors in less then ideal lighting conditions. However I saw this kind of behavior with most of the dSLRs I tried out.

One of the reasons I decided on the K10d was the comfort, and that includes the layout of buttons and dials. It took a day or two to figure out all the basic functions, but now I find that I can modify most everything I need to from memory and the viewfinder validates my choices. Overall I find the controls to be just great.

The flash could be better, especially since you manually have to release it, but again I believe Pentax did this because of the philosophy of this camera. However when used it is not bad, and gives me better results then my P&S flashes. But that is all I can really say since I have never really figured out flash photography and that is one of my goals this year.

Overall

If I had to grade my camera I would give it a 9 for a person that likes photography, just because I think there is always room for improvement. The first thing that comes to mind is maybe some more White Balance Presets, and second would be further tweaking of the cameras high ISO performance.

So in conclusion, I like the camera, and I would buy it again if I had to make the decision all over again.