My lover, you have returned
November 4th, 2006,Popular Photography preview of the Pentax K10D
Another total distraction from the work I have yet to begin this afternoon. Pentax is finally getting back up in step with the big boys. The K10D has several features which I’m quite excited by; ISO 100, bulb setting, cable release (as well as remote sensors front and back), but most importantly: 10 MP Raw in DNG! Let’s here it for a company looking to help create a Digital Raw Standard!
Even more things I’m excited about: The camera has a auto-focus format selector switch (you can choose auto-focus priorities with a flick of the finger), and one-touch button to switch between JPEG and RAW formats! This means I can snap informal candids to my heart’s content and if I see a quality shot, I can flip to RAW without breaking stride.
Two dials, one front and back, will also help me make the shots I want without needing to break stride. They’ve tossed out all those amateur shooting modes which have never done what they claimed to do.
Weather-proofed to withstand average weather conditions, and packaged with a sensor-cleaning package that lets you take care of dust issues on the go, it also comes with a larger LCD that is packed with lots of useful information. Fully compatible with all its older, manual lenses, which is another nod to the tradition which first convinced the man I inherited my Pentax legacy from.
The new battery, according to the handful of reviews I’ve seen, trades the convienence of AA batteries for faster, more accurate and intelligent auto-focusing.
Bottom line: I’m very excited by this, and can’t wait for the December release date. Well, my pocketbook can, but every other part of me can’t. I’ll be keeping an eye on this and looking for opportunities to see prints from the K10D in person.