K10D Shake reduction - brochure feature absent on camera

Bought a K10D about 10 days ago, and I've noticed that there seems to be a discrepancy between the camera, and the anti-shake feature described in the brochure (p23) on the Pentax web site at:

http://www.pentax.co.uk/downloads/photo/uk/K10D/catalog_K10D_GB.pdf

Anyone know what this "3 levels of shake reduction" is or was?

Weeeell, from the brochure I'd say it only applied to older manual lenses that lack the focal length info.

However, as the firmware was/is updated at quite a rate, I suspect there's just a time-lag difference between marketing material and production code.

Matt

I'd questioned the need for this option when I saw it in the on-line manual - surely anti-shake either moves the sensor enough to cancel out shake or it doesn't, I don't see how you can varying degrees of anti-shake (the focal length info is a different matter and is dealt with as such).

I reckon they realised I was right, and took the option away!

Dan

Hi Matt
Are you saying that the firmware has already been updated? I bought my K10 last week and the firmware version says 1.0 when I switch on with menu button held down. ??

In answer to the query about 3 levels of antishake, are Pentax referring
1) Antishake on/off for picture taking.
2) Dust removal at startup
3) Dust removal only on request from menu

It's actually on the brochure for the K10D that's shown online, and it says 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 don't know whether this screen is only available if there's a lens it doesn't recognise fitted. Hopefully they've rewritten this document anyway, as there are a few mistakes in it - "WE HAVE DEVELOPED A RESISTANCE TO AGAINST THE NATURAL ENEMIES OF BRILLIANT PHOTOS" for one.

I think Matt meant that this would have been written long before the camera was released, and while the firmware was still in development, so it's highly likely that some features would have been altered before the production model appeared as pre-production samples were tested.

Dan

FWIW...I checked out a k10 here in winnipeg, and it has the shakereduction menu greyed out when using any lens with an A setting or newer, and the menu only becomes selectable when a manual, non A lens is attached.
Therefore you can't set anything with a newer lens.

Isn't that because the camera 'knows' about newer lenses, focal lengths etc. and applies the correct amount of shake reduction depending on the lens fitted.
For the older lenses, you have to 'tell' the camera what the focal length is for it then to be able to apply the correct amount of shake reduction and hence the menu is only enabled when the camera needs user input.

I can't actually verify this because my K10D, posted from UK on 2nd January, still hasn't arrived

I have a number of non F series lenses which don't report their focal lengths. If you turn the camera on with one of these mounted and SR engaged you get the menu asking what focal length the lens is, but as far as I can tell theres no setting for a level of shake reduction.

This is all exactly right. With the DA 18-55 zoom that I bought with the K10D, that menu item is not available, but with all my KA lenses it is.

But it's not quite what I was getting at - sorry, I probably haven't been clear enough.

Check out that brochure, p23. Look at the picture in the centre of the page; it's an image of the shake reduction menu item. The top part of that image is where you set the focal length according to the lens you've got on the camera.

The bottom part of the image has the 'wobbling hand' icon next to it, and to the right of that, a little scale with '-' at the left hand end and '+' at the right hand end. It looks like it's some sort of adjustment.

However, on the K10D that I have, the bottom part of that menu item is entirely absent - there's the focal length setting and that's all.

There's also no mention of this additional scale in the K10D manual AFAICS.

I'm just wondering what that scale was for - or indeed if it ever existed anywhere other than the marketing brochure.

Daniel understood what I meant - the firmware for the K10D was in massive development just before launch and I reckon the marketing literature predated that firmware by a long way
Matt