K10D dust removal system

Hello All

I'm putting my pocket change in a jar for a K10D of my own someday but meanwhile, as that jar slowly fills, I'm still doing research . What do the owners of the K10D here think of this review on DSLR dust removal systems?

http://pixinfo.com/en/articles/ccd-dust-removal/

Drew

My advice is

Buy a Canon their focus speed is quicker, they offer longer lens support and a higher frame rate, they also (allegedly) offer less noise at higher ISO, their dust removal system is also supposed to be superior.

On the other hand you could buy a Pentax K10D and own one of the finest DSLR's yet produced, packed with innovative features and a joy to use, As for its dust removal system, well it may not be all its cracked up to be but its still a lot better than the one on my istD :

After a couple of months the sensor on my D was filthy, I eventually had it cleaned by Pentax but despite trying to limit lens changes it soon became very grubby again, my K10 on the other hand is now over three months old and despite changes lenses like my socks the sensor is still clean, with the exception of the occasional stubborn bit of dust which is easilly removed with a cotton swab.

IMHO the dust removal system is a NO NO
Is the system as effective as I thought it would be?
NO
Do I regret buying the K10D because of this?
NO

I worry about dust less than 1% of the time.
Sure, I have dust. I had loads of it on the *ist-D, and I regularly cleaned the CCD. The K10D has had specks of dust too - all have been removed by the "shake" it does and/or a rocket blower. I haven't yet had to swab clean the K10D

And when I do get dust on the image it takes all of 10 seconds to eliminate with Photoshop.

Don't worry about these "technical" reviews. Just save faster and enjoy the camera

Matt

'Photo*ist'

I'm in the same situation as you,...seriously tempted by the K10D but nervous about aquiring a 'consumer durable' as a photographic tool...

This review is from a UK team and seems sensible and well balanced;

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/PentaxK10D/index.shtml

The section on the dust removal system is interesting, as is the rest of the quite detailed review. My interpretation is that this part of the camera at least is not likely to spring any nasty surprises as it would appear to be well thought out and, unlike some of the mindless complexity, it actually would appear to work!

Just a pity that the all important 'SR' comes over with less facility than in other more superficial reviews....

Ok Guys

Here is my pennies worth.

I was attracted to the K10 for quite a few reasons one of the main factors was dust removal. This however was because I was new to DSLR and was worried about doing it myself as I did not have a clue.

Let me back up what the others are saying that you do still get dust on the sensor which wont be shaken off. Whether this is less than you would normally get as a result of having the dust removal system on the camera I don't know.

Cleaning the sensor is very easy. I was at focus on imaging 2007 and was shown how to do it and to my surprise it is really really simple. I had a go for the first time a few weeks ago on the K10 and it really is a snip. There was no one more nervous than me.

What it boils down to is that it does not matter if you have a dust removal system built into your camera or not you will at some point have to clean it manually or pay to have it done. If I was buying another camera and know what I know now then dust removal would not be at the top of the list by any means. It really is a sales gimic thing especially for new comers like me.

The K10 is a truely wonderful camera in the right hands and has many other features to help novices and pro's alike take great pictures. These far out way dust removal.

Pete

www.clikpic.com/petekd

Thanks Viewfinder;
That was different, they actually said the Dust Removal system on the 400D was worse than the K10D, yet other reviews claim it the other way around.
This just goes to prove that "Reviews" cant be trusted, they also claim the Pentax metering was not as effective as its rivals...err, I'm a bit confused here because I bought into Pentax because a review of the MZ7 (at the time) said the multi-segment metering beat the competition: : :

As for their claim that the Shake Reduction was only good for two stops COMPLETE TWADDLE! I am using the Bigma with my K10D and it performs right up to the full four stops.

In their deffence, scientific tests of this system are nearly impossible.

All I can say for sure is that I now consider 1/60th at 320mm easily do-able, whereas before it was on the very limit of shots which I would fire off anyway without real hope of them working out.

I agree that dust and its removal is not a real big problem with a DSLR and I agree that tests and reviews are often misleading. The test performed seemed quite valid to me but when I see a review that gives Pentax a ZERO I felt compelled to get more info from the K10D users' point of view.

Drew