k10d delayed?

One other thing I noticed in the K10D brochure, regarding the shake reduction, was the following:

"The “Shake Reduction” works fast and reliably up to focal lengths of 800mm. Under normal conditions the camera automatically recognises
the focal length. The focal length of older manual lenses must be entered manually. In additional to the focal length, 3 levels of “Shake Reduction” can be selected."

I wonder why '3 levels' of reduction can be selected - why not one level, which does all the reduction you need... :

Dan

I'm going to guess that the more shake reduction the greater the battery drain. And also that wide angle lenses will need less that long telephotos.

John, I was about to say, "yeah, I think you're right about the battery drain, and if you can hold a camera steadier than the next person, you could turn the SR down a bit", but then I thought that if you can hold it steadier, the SR doesn't have to work so hard, so it wouldn't use as much power anyway.

The wide angle lenses wouldn't need so much either, but then that's why you have the focal length detector (or adjuster).

I just can't see why there's a user control over how much SR is applied - surely you'd want it either to work, or not? From the screen-shot, it looks like you can have normal SR, or more, or less.

Dan

Ah, well, I guess we'll find out soon (or not so soon) enough...I don't know yet whether I'm that excited about SR, but I'll give it a chance.

I'm much more excited about the 10.2MP, the 22 bit A/D conversion, the Pentaprism viewfinder....

But will the 22 bit AD conversion really make a difference? You will get downsampling in every case to either 12 bit for RAW or 8 bit for JPEG.
More bits will not automatically mean a better image.
Just a question what kind of AD conversion do the D, DS, DL, etc have?
Regarding pentaprism vs. pentamirror, When I compare my DS to my old MZ-10 I do see that the viewfinder of the DS is a little brighter, but not by a big amount.

A considerable amount of extra information will be retained. Whether this can be translated into better prints I don't know. Printers may not be able to reproduce the subtelty yet, but they will in the future.

Current A/D conversion is 12 bit I think, unless someone else can correct me on that.

It is possible to work in PS in 16 bit, but I never do.

I think the pentaprism does make a significant difference but it is true that Pentax viewfinders are excellent anyway. To appreciate this we only need to compare them with the dismal efforts from some other manufactrers.

The reason the focal length is needed for the SR is not whether to apply more or less, but how far to move the sensor, for a given cameras movement. As the image magnification on the sensor varies for the FL, so does the correction movement. I suspect that applying high degrees of SR on long FL lenses can produce image artifacts, like double imaging, so it may be better to turn it down a bit and get a softer image, but with no artificial introductions. Only guessing but....

As for the 22 bit conversion, I wonder if you can change the way it is downsampled, to accentuate the contrast resolution in the Highlights or in the shadows, or just do a straight compression. If you could move the effective sensitivity, and take two images into PS, you'd effectively have the same image with and without an ND. Then you'd be able to do some fancy mixing. Probably not, but we'll see.

Haven't been here for a while, so came in today, hoping that some of you would have reported on the K10 by now. Now I find it's been delayed . I don't think there is any doubt that I'll get one, but I was waiting for a review first. Perhaps I'll just have to trust Pentax and preorder anyhow. By now, I guess you lot have accounted for all the first shipping.

Hi everyone,

I should still be able to supply from the first batch - next delivery is likely to be late January, but I have been assured that I will have enough to complete my first pre-orders from the first batch!

Just to clarify because I know that it's come up - the grip does not come with the battery!

As ever - please feel free to contact me if you need any info. I soon will have a dedicated K10D website on www.pentaxk10D.co.uk and a dedicated lens site on www.pentaxlenses.co.uk !

Plug over!

Chris

Chris,

Could you just clarify when you expect (at the moment) to get your first batch?

Regards,

The first stock is due very late November / early December. This is looking increasingly likely - I know that a very small drop of review stock is coming in early next week.

PUK have stated that I will get enough to cover my pre-orders and a few more for regular stock . I would say this of course, but I would seriously recommend that if you want one before Christmas, to get an order in.

The next drop is likely to be January, but this could always be delayed of course!!

Chris

oh well...I may just wait till april or may to buy mine....
haven't changed my mind, but there's a brand new Stony HD-DV camcorder in my bag as of yesterday......

can't have it all eh Don? Have fun with the camcorder!

My K10D will haev to wait till the bank is refilled too.