K10D - Good deal, or not?

Given that the K10D is substantially cheaper than its predecessor (*istD) when it was launched at around £600 versus £1200'ish, is it actually such a good deal?

If we are expected to ditch our existing kit, I think Pentax can think again. Just look at what we'll need to replace (camera body excluded).

£179.00 - Battery Grip - D-BG1 is not compatible with the K10D because it uses a
£50 - Bespoke Battery - Why, Why, Why? 4 x 1.5V AA's is ample power for any modern camera. A Battery is not included with D-BG2 grip.
£nnn.nn - CF Cards - The K10D, like all Pentax bodies after the *istD uses SD cards.
£200/300 - Wireless Flash - you'll need to buy another flash to use it.

I've been as excited as most on here at the prospect of having a shiny new K10D to play with. I'm not so sure I will buy one just yet. When I add up the actual cost of replacing my existing kit, the K10D is a very expensive upgrade path. Would we have to do it all again if/when a K1D is released?

If you are happy with the D why replace it immediately?
I am happy with my Ds for now, and whilst I would love a new toy I can't really justify yet. I am dissapointed in the expensive battery, but the other points don't worry me - I have SD cards, and can't use wireless flash without another unit so..... And I can understand your frustration about the grip, it would have been nice if they had been compatible for you.
I know people who want the K10D badly enough to have already ordered it, but others are hanging back until they can actually see it, handle it (even though they have seen it and handled it at photokina) and even read reviews of it. Some are even convinced the price will drop over the first few months....
Me? I'm going to save my money for a bit longer and then maybe just maybe I'll get one.

I'm of the same opinion Gwyn. I'll not be rushing out to buy/order one just yet. It'll just cost too much to upgrade my 2 x *istD's + grips + batteries.

I'm pondering p/x'ing the DL, as I am reluctant to let go of the D....

Part of the problem is that despite how much you paid for the D in the first place, whether 600 or 1200 pounds the camera has the same secondhand value, and there is no point p/xíng something if you are lucky to get 150 pounds as trade in for something that is a pretty good piece of kit...

I know I won't take such a great hit if I traded-in the DL.... but I will wait until after the PMA in Los Angeles to see if Pentax do reveal more about the 'K1D'.

There is such a poor p/ex value for cameras I'd keep the DL and D. Perhaps you could use them in high risk situations, like bad weather, caving, whatever else puts a camera at risk?

Just leaving the camera bag open and then taking it out of the car presents a high risk situation - this is why I have the DL, to cover me while the D was being repaired .....

One thing about the K10D is it takes at least 7 keypresses to perform a manual white balance (plus the shutter)!

The *ist-D could do it by holding down a button and pressing the shutter. Simplicity And having used the Expodisc for well over a year, I'm not going to go without it!

Now if only they could reuse that "RAW" button (which I know I won't use 'cause I always shoot RAW) to do the same thing as the *ist-D with whitebalance...

That, along with a few other gripes, means I'm holding off too.

Matt

I'd be really interested to hear your opinions over the K10D sample photos...

The sample photos look very promising. Especially "Image 4" (girl on left with out of focus car and buildings) - skin tone and detail are superb. Practically nothing lost in the shadows (I checked in PS), and just a bit of blown out highlights (which look perfectly acceptable).

"Image 9" - the sheep is also amazing. Check out that bottom right hand area in the deep shadows. I can still pull detail out of the shadows from a JPG! I can see the sheep's legs and the straw/grass underneath. Goodness knows what you can get out of a RAW file...

If these are straight out of camera - then WOW!

I'd much rather see a RAW file though

What do you think?
Matt

They look good to me too


The model's hair might be in need of a styling though,
Is it oversharpening :

My optio WPi uses a battery which pentax sell for £40 (at least they did when I bought it), so I purchased a couple of NP-40's for £9.99 each! I expect the same will happen for the K10D battery. and as the K10D is designed to use a battery grip, there must be scope for 3rd parties to make a grip that takes standard AA's?

Pentax reportedly ditched AAs because there were a lot of problems with the various flavours available - especially when used in the grip.

The "expensive" new battery is in fact a commodity item which can be bought quite cheaply.

I always thought the grip was a complete waste of money, and certainly won't be buying one with the K10D. You can take around 1,000 pictures, or more, with a set of NiMHs, and it takes seconds to reload with a new set of batteries. I have been holding a camera at 90% to do portrait shots for many years, and don't need a grip to help me.

2GB SD cards are very cheap nowadays.

I doubt if I will spend as much as £100 on batteries/cards etc. when I buy the K10D.

Shame about the flash business, but I was thinking of another gun anyway, and having two will be a considerable improvement on one with the built-in unit.

G

Using any old type of AA's in the D-BG1 grip is not a problem. The problem comes when you try and fill the grip and the camera with batteries, then try and use the camera. It will fail with a dead battery symbol in a very short time. Turn off, turn on, problem gone away for a while . . . 'til the next time. That's a Pentax design issue, not a battery problem.

If Pentax haven't changed the electronics/software to fix this, the K10D + D-BG2 combo will suffer in exactly the same way with its more expensive battery supply. Won't that p**s a few people off?

Cheers,

my trigger finger is itchy....
must be a new camera in my none to distant future....

Do not resist, let no opposition halt you.....

I feel some camera buying coming on as well. Great isn't it?