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Pentax K10D review
Dennis Hissink : March 20th 2007 - 23:30 CET
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 Pentax K10D digital SLR review : After having produced several models in the cheaper classes of digital SLR cameras, Pentax is now aiming at (semi) professional photographers. It's not a completely new market for Pentax, as they used to be one of the leading brands of camera manufacturers. Pentax has a lot of catching up to do with the digital market. They have come up with the Pentax K10D, a compact ten Megapixel DSLR camera with inbuilt image stabilisation and several interesting features. The information is processed by the new PRIME processor. The digital signal is converted with a 22 bit A/D converter. And thanks to the SAVOX VIII, the Pentax K10D is suitable for use with lenses with inbuilt ultrasonic motors.
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 Pentax K10D waterproof housing
The Pentax K10D digital SLR camera has to compete with cameras like the Canon EOS 30D and the Nikon D200, no easy task. One of their weapons in the battle is to make the Pentax K10D so sealed that rainwater and dust cannot penetrate it. The Nikon D200, however, is also water resistant. What Nikon and Canon don't have is a moving sensor. The 10 Megapixel sensor has been hung so that it can eliminate camera vibrations, allowing you to stabilise any lens. This is cheaper than having to buy lenses with image stabilisation. The vibrating sensor also shakes dust off from the lens. Dust is definitely the biggest irritant in DSLR cameras.
Pentax K10D d-SLR - Exposure programs
The Pentax K10D DSLR's exposure programs are truly unique. As well as the familiar program setting, manual exposure and aperture and shutter priority, Pentax has two more options that make use of the sensitivity, the third variable in exposure. The first is the shutter speed/aperture priority, whereby you choose the shutter speed and aperture and the camera chooses the sensitivity. The other option is the sensitivity priority. Of course the unique Hyper program is also present. You can use it to vary shutter speed or aperture quickly without having to work in the manual setting.
Pentax K10D - 2.5 inch LCD preview screen
Another clever feature in the Pentax K10D is that it not only uses the 2.5-inch screen on the rear to view pictures that have been taken, but to show previews. You can check depth of field, white balance and exposure before taking the photo for real. All this doesn't require an expensive construction. It is not quite live-view, as we know it from the Olympus E-330, but has its biggest advantages.
Pentax K10D digital SLR review
Pentax clearly doesn't like to do things by halves and has produced a digital SLR camera that will be seen as a serious competitor for the Canon EOS 30D and the Nikon D200. These two currently set the standard in this camera segment. To see if Pentax had succeeded in setting a new standard, we tried the K10D out for an extended period. You can read our findings in the following Pentax K10D digital SLR review.
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