K-m opinions

While I was at SRS yesterday swapping my 60-250 I had a good look at the K-m, what a lovely little camera that is. Lovely build quality and so small. We're thinking of it as a possibility for our eldest daughter, her 21st is coming up and she's getting to be quite a keen photographer. The other option we are considering is the Oly E-520.
Regarding the K-m, I just wondered how the kit lenses stacked up quality wise I noticed the bayonet was plastic rather than the metal of the 18-55 Mk2 and 55-300. Any user comments re the K-m in use would be welcomed, what rechargeable batteries do you use for example?
Thanks.

I don't have a K-M but the kit lenses are a cheaper build than what we have been used to previously. The DA-L lenses don't even come with a hood, it's an optional accessory.

If I were ever to consider buying one, even as a gift, I think I'd go for a K-M + DA 18-55 MK II combination if its available. With the addition of a DA 50-200mm lens you've got a very good starter kit.

I've just sold my Samsung 50-200mm lens, only because I have a better replacement, and I was always impressed by the image quality from it.

Thanks Peter, yes I was wondering about just the body and the DA 18-55 MK II. I must admit just looking and the kit lenses I wasn't totally convinced of the build.

I concur - I handled a K-m when last in SRS and was very impressed with the camera, but I'd also prefer a "proper" kit lens (metal mount, quick-shift and hood) to the "lightweight" version. Ideally I think the K-m would make a great pairing with the DA35 Macro Limited, but then I tend to prefer primes...

As for batteries I doubt you'd go far wrong with a set (or two) of Sanyo Eneloops.

Sanyo Eneloops are my preferred choice too, especially if the camera is going to get infrequent use. NiMh's can go flat through self discharge in as little as two weeks. Annoying to say the least.

These are about the cheapest you'll find anywhere.

i will also say uniross hybross are very good, i use both and both give the same results, the hybross last a tiny bit longer,

If you want Eneloops in a hurry, Sainsbury sell the Sony version which is made by Sanyo £8 for 4. You can get them cheaper on the web though. Panasonics (ownners of Sanyo) are also good.

shim

Hi
As a new K-m user I am using Fameart 2700mah Nimh Japanese made set of 4 from 7 day shop £5.49 They seem to hold up well in the camera and 2700mah Nimh are listed in the user manual.I purchased my K-m on a Currys Digital offer for £369 that included the 18-55mm lens and the 50-200mm lens also got £50 cash back.

Further to last also included a Lens Hood

Same kit as you Briamb, also from the house of Curry, and it strikes me as a super deal if you include the cash back too. I worked out at the time that a Nikon D60 and Nikon's two zoom equivalents would have cost very nearly double the amount. I got an Eneloop kit from Amazon, not too expensive at all. Chuck in a Pentax lens or two from Ebay and I think one can have a first-rate set-up which is great value for money.

Not a fan of the 18-55mm "L" kit lens. It is just sooooo plasticky and light and it looks so ordinary. The regular version at least has the full Pentax colour scheme with green band and all. It also seems to need a bit of coaxing to get some nice, rich contrasty colours of it other than in bright sunlight. The 50-200mm gives much better results "out of the box", imho.

I've found some of the stock jpeg settings on the k-m to be pretty awful. The results can be horribly vivid while also not all that sharp. If you go through all the settings and customize the jpeg output, though, one can get much better results to my eye. This is a potential disadvantage of the k-m, though. It sets much store by its preset picture modes but I wonder how many users will feel confident about diving into all the jpeg settings. Still, the stock settings can be bypassed entirely by shooting in raw mode, I guess.

Even so, using stock settings only at low ISO, my mid-range Nikon compact produces more natural-looking pics than the jpegs from the k-m which are a bit rough by comparison. Hmmn.

The DA-L 18-55 has the same very good optics as the DA 18-15 II. I wouldn't worry about the build quality, but it would be worth getting a DA II instead for the hood and Quick Shift.

Thanks for all the useful comments, if we go for the K-m I think we will probably go with DA 18-55 II.
The battery info seems pretty conclusive
mecrox, what settings did you alter to improve the jpeg output? As I'm not sure my daughter will be ready for RAW files just yet.
Thanks again

As a complete novice to DSLR I went for the K-m twin lens kit with the 18-50 and 50-200 lenses...........

Admittedly not even had it a fortnight, but so far very impressed.

Bought a few extras off ebay such as lens hood - £5 inc P&P and UV / Polarizing filters - again few quid........

I was split between the choice of a Canon or the Pentax Km - however given Dad had ME Super and a bag of lenses all of which fit, including a 50-500mm Mirror - and the equivalent Canon deal would be nigh on double the Pentax, was a no brainer for me.

Will go and upload a few snaps to photobucket or flickr, then you can see the image quality it produces from someone like me, who is at the beginner end of the scale!


Lynton

Thanks Lynton, I'd appreciate that

Sorry, missed your question. The presets are set up for jpegs but they are all changeable in the camera settings pages for tone, hue, contrast and sharpness. Many folks probably change anything which smacks of "vivid" to "natural", for example, to avoid over-saturated landscapes and the like. The sharpness settings are mostly set to -1 on a scale of -4 to +4, but can easily be changed to, say +1 and there is a superfine override available too. You'll need to look at the manual but nothing is set in stone and if you bog up there is always the return to defaults switch.