(another) New dSLR… Pentax K10D
Yesterday the UPS man delivered my early Christmas present to myself, a spanking new Pentax K10D.The decision to upgrade my Pentax *istDL to the new “semi-pro” (whatever that means exactly) K10D resulted from consideration of my normal subject matter, night photography and exploration shoots. For night photography, I’m looking for the benefit of the lower noise of a 100 ISO setting. For exploration, there is the possibility that the Shake Reduction feature may allow me to hand hold more shots in the generally poor lit abandoned spaces, hopefully making me more mobile. I would also assume that the weather proofing of the K10D might be helpful in dusty or damp situations.
The size and comfort of the *istDL was a big part of my decision to buy that camera. For comparison, the K10D is just a bit bigger than the *istDL, but it’s still not as bulky as the Cannon and Nikons I handled.
The only trade off I found so far (I mean besides the $600 some dollar price difference that is) in moving to the K10D from the *istDL is the loss of faster ISO speeds. The K10D ranges from 100 ISO to 1600 ISO. The *istDL, 200 ISO to 3200 ISO. But for what I usually shoot, I’ll trade the high end for a little more low end. I’ve also heard the noise pattern on the K10D is more pleasant. I’ll test that out later on some night shots.
The K10D has eleven selectable focus points to the *istDL’s single center focus. The K10D also sports PRImE (Pentax Real Image Engine) which makes noticeable difference in image quality and color.
So how about some sample picks with the new camera. We just suffered through a massive ice and snow storm so I can’t go snap pics of the same flowers I shot with the old camera. Instead, I’ve got some shots from the backyard on ice!
Something else I gained, 4.1MP (*istDL 6.1MP, K10D 10.2MP)! So this:
is a full size detail (cropped but not resized) portion of this photo:
oh, and yes I also changed the design/layout of this blog. I’m now using the Sandbox theme’s Spartan skin. Nice and minimal.
