What I would Like

Two slots good for cards, like in the Canon 1D, where we can save RAW on one card and Jpegs on the other....

X-flash adaptor would also be good

Larger buffer for RAW...

Maybe rather than rack up the pixel count too high, focus on getting IQ right from the number of pixels....Discussions on Full-frame rather superfluous, if you can get a decent A3 print from the current products does it matter if it was full frame or not?

I think Pentax should still bring out the 645D, a lot of development has been done, and although it is a 'specialist' market, I think there will be demand for it if Pentax get the product right...

I've just thought of another handy addition: GPS location in the EXIF data.

Can anyone confirm whether there is any substance to the rumour that Pentax intend to bring out a revised edition of the K10D this autumn? The K100D 'Super' has been officially announced but I understand a similar upgrade in line with modost hardware improvements (but not so much to justify an entirely new model designation) is slated for the K10D.

I'm currently holding off buying and would dearly like to know if my reasoning for doing so is baseless (my EOS 300D is woefully long in the tooth, a pain to use and wants replacing every time I pick it up)

and what's discouraging me from making the plunge? The soft edge sharpness issue with jpeg processing - I know the standard answer is 'shoot RAW' but there are circumstances that warrant the convenience of jpeg compression (including buffer underflow when shooting in continuous and size/storage considerations). I'm sorry but it's still a bit of show stopper for me

Other niggles include relatively uninspiring dynamic range and somewhat manual AWB (counter-intuitive to it's 'auto' appellation) - be nice to see these improved upon.

Sorry for being long-winded: essentially, can we expect an interim model before the 'K20D'?

This issue has been gone over a thousand times on the net, ONLY one man (and he is not a photgrapher BTW) in the world raised the issue of Pentax jpg's, unfortunately the masses listen to this god like creature instead of using their own judgement, the simple answer is to shoot in bright mode if you must shoot in jpg mode.

Who can tell, but the price is right just now and will not get better, probably. I'd take the plunge and enjoy the K10D as it is, which is very satisfactory.

I seem to be an (almost) lone voice here in that I don't suggest using RAW. My reasoning is that it adds more work, takes up more card space and I have not seen any work so far that suggests that it is superior in practice (it is superior in theory) to using the best quality JPEG. I have the A3 prints aplenty to prove the point, but I can't show you those on the web unfortunately.

The JPEG files are not soft, just relatively unsharpened. All DSLRs produce soft images from the CCD and this needs "capture sharpening" (maybe) and "output sharpening" (certainly). Martin Evening's books explain this thoroughly and are well worth reading.

I use different amounts of sharpening for the K10D than I did with the *istDS and I think this mainly relates to the increased pixel count, but maybe to the degree of processing the camera does as well. Don't forget that even RAW files are to some small extent processed by the camera, and by default are given 25% USM as a capture sharpening in Photoshop.

I wouldn't worry about it, just use the camera and learn to get the best out of it. After all when a replacement comes out there will be another one in the wings following that. How long can you wait?

Same with any computer product... buy now and be happy. There will always be "something better, faster, stronger" around the corner.

[-edit] Argh! beaten to it... I gotta stop eating lunch while typing. [/-edit]

There are rumors of some new lenses (DA* or something) coming this winter, spring, summer, er, um fall?? Actually the lenses themselves are fact. The arrival date is pure fiction.
A new K10D flavor is fiction at the moment. Any hopes that a reliable date could be attached to vaporware is a case of setting one's self up for failure.



FYI, I have used the bright mode with sharpening to full on the K10D... it was way too much. Had to dial back down. maybe it would have been useful for printing directly from SD card at a kiosk, but for any post production work it was just too much. Pentax made the right decision in thier decision in this area... (as stated many, many times).

I think I know the man you speak of - his name begins with P, right

I think actually it has been raised independently and by working photographers (who incidentally shoot almost exclusively in RAW so negating the problem), not only by pixel-peeping bench-testers. It has to be said that the overall handling and innovative feature set puts the K10D well ahead of it's competitors and this for me is enough. I would just like to know if there is any credence to this K10D'S' story before buying. If Jpeg softness is not correctable within the camera's parameters which has been suggested it is a pity, no getting away from it.

Anyway I don't want to drag this point out, as you say it's been done to death.

EDIT: @ Johnriley & amoringello, you're both right of course; it's pointless waiting indefinitely for improvements as there is always going to be something even better round the corner, a sure way to set yourself up for disappointment.

I suppose my question is whether anyone here has can put dirt to the speculation that there really is a K10Ds in the works and is it's release date going to be anytime soon? If so then it makes sense to hold off a couple of months, no?

At risk of asking a dumb question, what precisely does "soft" mean?

The reason I ask is that the terms "soft" and "sharp" seem to be used by different people in different ways.

For instance, Pete's notorious lion picture was allegedly super-sharp, yet as Matt explained this was more to do with the post-capture processing than anything else. And again, my unsharpened pineapple picture was described by someone as out-of-focus (though Matt confirmed my view that it wasn't).

The "sharpness" that people seem to be arguing about seems to me to be much more about contrast than about sharpness - I've always interpreted sharpness to be about detail resolution, which you wouldn't expect to be improved by any sharpening process - either the detail is there, or it isn't, and artificially enhancing the contrast at the edges, while giving the appearance of crispness, does not put any more in, and of course, can take some out.

So is there a right and wrong definition? There certainly seems to be a lot of confusion, which suggests to me that our terminology could be ...

... I nearly said "sharpened up" there, but that would be too contrived, so I won't

What's being discussed here is something that was initially raised in Phil Askleys infamous review where he apparently identified a 'flaw' in the way the K10D processes it's JPEGs - something specific to black edge sharpness that cannot be corrected for by adjusting the in camera processing parameters (ie sharpness levels), the overall effect being a global softening of the picture and so some loss of detail, basically not as 'punchy' as the Nikon 200D for example which uses the same sensor - but it's probably fixable I'd imagine in PP treatment

Ah, you've hit the nail on the proverbial head.

Sharpness can be enhanced by increasing edge contrast. You can observe for yourself how sharpening works by magnifying a part of an image on screen and observing at pixel-level what happens when you switch a USM effect on and off. The various settings in USM define howmuch and over how large an area, etc. the effect applies.

Soft means less sharpness.

Now definition will define the amount of deatail in an image, but how sharply that definition is recorded is another matter. German lenses traditionally had relatively low contrast but very high definition or detail. Japanese lenses came along with masses of gorgeous contrast but lower definition. Guess which won?

I was worried about the camera club judge who looked at my medium format on a tripod fine grain film shot and said "It doesn't look very sharp..." This was just after he told us about his smeary eye drops. I digress.

It may make sense. And emotionally it makes a lot of sense. Logically, not so much.
I bought my K10D in January knowing that some really nice lenses would be out by the end of the month. I did not buy any other lenses and sat back with my old large range zoom lenses (not bad for what they are intended to do, but not exactly capable of producing saleable items in my own opinion.)
So I waited... Then came March, I was getting itchy to buy the 16-45 or other good lens in the mean time, but those new lenses were "just around the corner", so I waited again. Ditto in June, and July. I now have no worthy lens. I am producing images that are of questionable quality and here I again wait on a hint that the new lenses will be out in one to two weeks.... maybe a month... well two at most.

The frustration is enough to make me switch brands.

Basically, if it ain't for sale, don't put yourself in a situation where you simply wait "a couple of months". Life is too short and it will pass you by.

Ok, supplementary dumb question, if I may.

How can a lens be responsible for contrast without definition, or vice versa?

To further muddy the waters I believe quite a lot of the speculation is attributed to a Samsung exec's comments earlier this year. So even if it is true no guarantees on the Pentax version I guess.

Apparently this was suggested more recently by somebody close to Pentax. I'll See I can dig up the source

Hehe

Sound advice

From the rumour-mill:

http://www.photozone.de/active/forum/ShowMessage?ID=108615421463974872146397486A

So, I believe the "roadmap" is as follows...

K1D - PMA show 2008 announcement, on the market September 2008. 12 - 16Mp APS-C sensor (no, it is not a Sony!). 4fps. 1/8000 shutter, 1/250 flash sync, new autofocus and metering system. Similar price as Nikon D200.

K5D - Fall 2007 release (PMA Paris, Sepember?). New AF and metering, or similar system as the K10D? Probably same sensor as K1D. Price as EOS 30D.
K10D Super - Fall 2007 release. Improved performance, added features, basically the same body. Price unchanged or slightly lowered.
K50D - Fall 2007 release. 10Mp in a body similar to K100D, larger buffer and improved performance, but still pentamirror viewfinder.
K100D Super - Fall 2007 release (announced now).

K100D Super and K10D super will end their production run in spring 2008, and the K5D and K50D will then get lower prices so they effectively replaces the K10D and K100D. A new low-end model (K200D?) and low-end semi-pro (K20D?) will hit the market in fall 2008.
So, pentax will release two-three new DSLR's each fall - in time for christmas shopping.

Supplementary discussion here: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1036&thread=23803996