I posted this in another thread but it bears repeating in this one if you are annoyed by inconsistent reviews:

I've just emailed DP Review with a query. Looking at their test reports of the Nikon D80, the Canon D400, and the Pentax K10D, all were "highly recommended". The slight inconsistency is that the Pentax alone was listed as "Highly recommended (just)", implying that it barely scraped home.

Oddly, the scores came in as follows:
Nikon D80 - 53 points
Pentax K10D - 52 points
Canon D400 - 50.5 points

The Canon was "Highly recommended" without a murmer and the Pentax (with a higher score) only just made it into the same category as its lower scoring rival.

Its premature to say anything more at this stage as I am awaiting an explanation.

As a footnote, DP Review have not replied so far (three days and counting).

I would like to have a custom setting that allowed the RAW switch to just give me RAW or JPEG rather than JPEG alone or RAW & JPEG. I'm not suggesting Pentax ditches the RAW & JPEG option, just add the third choice please via custom functions of RAW or JPEG alone when toggling the switch.

I would also like a multiple exposure setting that did not impose any limits. With the LX I was able to disengage the film winding mechanism and keep cycling the shutter with a motor drive for sequences of 100 or more exposures.

I read a study many years ago regarding lens sharpness which might have some bearing on this discussion. It emerged that images that seemed sharper often appear so due to relatively high contrast. This apparent sharpness sacrifices sublety of tone. When placed next to an image produced by a higher quality lens it may appear better until it becomes clear how much gradation of tone has been lost.

I get the feeling we are moving down the same path with the criticism of "soft" images produced by the K10D (and the *istD). I dislike any system that sharpens an image without giving me the option to decide first. If I've understood the debate correctly, this is not an option presented to users of some other camera marques.

I have been using the K10 almost exclusively in DNG (RAW) mode with Adobe RGB as the colour space. Opening the image in Photoshop gives a blizzard of options (including sharpening). Alternatively unsharp mask or Photoshop's smart sharpen gives additional scope. Even without Photoshop (as a previous post commented), you can apply sharpening to a jpeg in the camera. The significant point is that Pentax have given the photographer the choice of sharpening or not, rather than imposing it.

On some more general points I have found the image stabiliser works more or less as advertised when used sensibly. The gradation of tone I can get from images with the K10D is superior to anything I have used before. Also, much to my surprise - and contradicting a point in an otherwise generally favourable review elsewhere - I can get about 3 frames per sec up to the capacity of the card. One reviewer said it delivered 3 fps until the buffer was full and then dropped to 1 fps. I get 3 fps at best jpeg quality continuously with a 2GB Extreme III card. Perhaps the reviewer's SD card wasn't up to it. It is worth keeping in mind that the camera can only be as fast as the card allows.

I have been using Pentax for almost thirty years from ME/MXs, LXs, *istD, and now the K10D. There have been times when I have wanted to shake Pentax by the lapels because of the way they seemed embarrassed whenever they produced another wonderful product beautifully designed and thought out and failed to promote it effectively. The fiasco over deliveries of the K10D has been another example of this. I hope the merger with Hoya does something to address these problems without sacrificing the unique and thoughtful design approach this company has taken during my last three decades with them.

I tested the Pentax Remote Assistant for controlling the camera (updated to the most recent version) from a PC on my K10D. Initially some functions were disabled (shutter release from PC for example), but I managed to take one photo using the camera's controls. After this the K10D locked up completely. When I disconnected it from the PC (being careful to release it properly via Windows) it was still locked up. Switching it off made no difference. With the camera switched off it continued to show "PC" in the LCD display and did not function when switched on again. Eventually I had to remove the battery. The K10D was OK after that.

I won't be touching this software again until/unless Pentax release a version that supports the K10D.

I've just emailed DP Review with a query. Looking at their test reports of the Nikon D80, the Canon D400, and the Pentax K10D, all were "highly recommended". The slight inconsistency is that the Pentax alone was listed as "Highly recommended (just)", implying that it barely scraped home.

Oddly, the scores came in as follows:
Nikon D80 - 53 points
Pentax K10D - 52 points
Canon D400 - 50.5 points

The Canon was "Highly recommended" without a murmer and the Pentax (with a higher score) only just made it into the same category as its lower scoring rival.

Its premature to say anything more at this stage as I am awaiting an explanation.

$200 is extortionate for a spare battery. I bought one from a fairly mainstream supplier in the UK for about $93 and it has been advertised at the same price by other UK suppliers I trust. I have ordered the battery grip from a US supplier for about $150. If anyone wants $400 for battery and grip they are trying to con you.

The price of the battery even at more reasonable rates may seem a lot more than you are used to paying for AAs, but keep in mind the K10D has higher voltage requirements than Pentax's 6MP cameras and the battery does last a lot longer than AAs between charges.