But as the lens has no aperture ring they'd have no way to control the aperture - so they'd be shooting at f/22-32 all the time, not ideal...

Better to buy Pentax in the first place.

Dan

Hi Downswood,

Are there lenses in particular that you'd like to see? i.e. what do you feel you're missing with Pentax that you'd consider changing systems for?

I've got a full range of focal lengths from 10mm through to 300mm, mostly Pentax, some Sigma, one Tamron. I don't see the lens choice as a problem at all, but obviously it depends on what you want. Admittedly, large aperture, long focal length lenses are harder to come by, but they are made by independents if you want to buy new or secondhand (I've got a Tamron 300/2.8 ), and Pentax ones can be found secondhand (and probably new if you hunt for them, someone else here would be able to advise you on that).

Also, the Pentax 10-17mm fisheye zoom is unique, and is the envy of many other system users, to the extent that I saw one Canon user say they'd buy the K100D just so they could use this lens.

Let us know what you feel is lacking, and we'll try to advise the best remedy. Several on here have in depth knowledge of the lens range, and as there is 40 years worth to choose from, there's bound to be something to fit.

Dan

I just had a look at their review of the Canon 400D (Rebel XTi) and was interested to see that according to their measurements, the K10D has less noise than the Canon, at all ISOs.

And, at 1600 ISO, the noise is less than the D80, which according to PopPhoto is the benchmark camera for good noise handling. At other ISOs it was the same (100 and 200), or slightly higher (400) - 800 is the anomally, as the D80 has very aggresive noise reduction at this point apparently.

From what I can see, the frame rate of the Pentax is higher than either the Canon or Nikon, with unlimited jpegs as opposed to limited numbers for the C&N. I don't know how customisable the C&N are, but obviously there are all the choices with the K10D about what command dial does what in the different exposure modes (of course, you only get one wheel with the Canon too). In camera RAW processing, did I mention that? Oh, and DNGs.

No contest really, surely?

Dan

I did, wished I hadn't - makes you wonder why 'Rice High' has a Pentax at all, let alone having a DS, moaning about it, then getting a K100D, and moaning about that too!

Twit.

Dan

Hi Joshua,

I'm guessing you mean that you've zoomed in on the image, and you get the 'busy' message for a while. On my AMD 2400+ with 1Gb RAM it takes about 6 seconds to update when I make a sharpness adjustment. Is that the sort of 'chugging' you get?

I use Capture One, and the changes are practically instantaneous with this - I guess it's the same with Silkypix too. I noticed a big difference in image quality when I went from Pentax Lab 2 to Capture One, and it's quicker to use too. Matt and several others here have apparently found a similar jump in quality going from C1 to Silkypix 3, but I couldn't get on with it. Of course, you do have to pay for both of these.

Dan

I'm guessing the surface of the CCD could also make a difference - the coating perhaps, and almost certainly the thickness of the filter in front of the photo-sites.

But I think the main cause is purely the fact that we look at images like never before - when we had slides we looked at them through loupes, and projected them on screen 6 foot across (and looked at them from 10 feet away). But now we see each pixel when we look at the images at 100%, magnifications far higher than we would have looked at slides or prints.

I think the CA was always there, but we just weren't seeing it to the extent we are today because the majority of us weren't looking. 10mp images show even greater magnification.

I know digital sensors have their own issues with light falling at oblique angles etc, but I know that when I first got scans of my slides done, I was surprised at the amount of CA evident. And I know that what I've said above oversimplifies things, but you get my drift at least, hopefully.

Dan

I was looking at a forum the other day where they were debating whether the Samsung would be a better choice if you could get it for a few quid less. I downloaded the GX10 manual, and noticed that although there appears to be a cover over the battery grip connectors, there was no mention of it (unlike on page 17 of the K10D manual), and a grip wasn't mentioned in the list of accessories (page 214 of the K10D). I wonder if they're releasing their own version of this.

I'd still buy a Pentax.

Unless it saved me a good couple of hundred.

Dan

Peter,

Just noticed your signature includes "glass from 12mm to 600mm", so how is your monster of a lens? Had a decent chance to try it, or are you waited for the K10 with Anti-Shake?

Dan

Hang on, who's the one that's moved to Spain to get away from all that?

Dan

But you wouldn't necessarily want the support to be halfway along the lens anyway - remember you're hanging a D off the back of it too, so that will act as a counterbalance. I think you're best to wait until you have the lens, then attached your camera and then see where the point of balance is. You may find the Manfrotto gadget is long enough.

Dan