Pentax K10d ??

[pixelpuffin]

I keep reading about this so called filmic look on the older ccd sensors

As a canon user I couldn’t find a older model that had the ccd

So off I went ….

It transpires that the 10mp ccd is agreed to be the pinnacle
I’ve just bought myself a 2006 boxed Pentax K10D with 2 Pentax smc zooms. The zooms are marked F which I assume indicates autofocus.

Has anybody any experience of this model. I read it was released at the same time as my canon 400D. Having just read a comparison wherein the Pentax scored a higher mark partly due to its in body stabilisation. I’m expecting to be pleasantly surprised.

[petrochemist]

Apr 23, 2023 14:23:34 GMT pixelpuffin said:

I keep reading about this so called filmic look on the older ccd sensors

As a canon user I couldn’t find a older model that had the ccd

So off I went ….

It transpires that the 10mp ccd is agreed to be the pinnacle
I’ve just bought myself a 2006 boxed Pentax K10D with 2 Pentax smc zooms. The zooms are marked F which I assume indicates autofocus.

Has anybody any experience of this model. I read it was released at the same time as my canon 400D. Having just read a comparison wherein the Pentax scored a higher mark partly due to its in body stabilisation. I’m expecting to be pleasantly surprised.

I have a K100d which was the little brother to the K10d. It's produced so lovely images and was fairly sensitive to IR, introducing me to another obsession!
As a canon user you'll find early Pentax AF very slow, but other than this I think they hold their own well against the historical competition.

The F series lenses are indeed autofocus precedeeding the FA series & later digital models.
I'd suggest adding some budget primes to your zooms, The manual focus M50/1.7 is a lovely lens - I prefer it to the later A series despite the lack of camera body aperture control (which the A series have) It's often seen for ~£30 in good condition.

[pixelpuffin]

Thanks for the reply
Considering it’s age I just hope it’s all working. As for lenses, that really does depend on what the viewfinder is like. I’ve not handled a Pentax dslr before, my last Pentax was the MX
Have to say I was pretty shocked at the prices of F50mm1.7 lenses, I expected them to be cheap but they are double the cost of what used a ef50mm 1.8 sells for.
If the viewfinder is clear I will definitely chase up a old smc 50./1.7

[petrochemist]

If I remember right the K10 has a pentaprism, rather than the pentamirror of the K100, so it should be clear

[zou]

Apr 23, 2023 16:44:50 GMT petrochemist said:

If I remember right the K10 has a pentaprism, rather than the pentamirror of the K100, so it should be clear

But still rather tiny.

[nimbus]

I tried a K100D in 2007 and really did not like it. One fairly good and cheap lens was the 28-70 f4 AL, which is constant aperture. I suppose it is somewhat filmic in it's own way.

[Ivor E Tower]

I tried a K10D out when I was looking for my first DSLR in 2006. I also tried models from Nikon and Canon, and ended up going the Nikon way (D80) with the Pentax a very close second.
My test method was to take my own SD card to the dealers (remember them??) and shoot a number of shots in the shops or just outside the doorway if they'd let me do that.

In its day the K10D was an excellent camera and I'm sure that you'll have very little to worry about with your new purchase

[pixelpuffin]

Cheers for the replies

nimbus:
Would you believe it’s actually coming with that very lens (28-70F4) plus it’s bigger brother the 70-210. I was looking at YouTube reviews and that lens came up. It stopped me in my tracks. Lenses rarely do that. The fact the photos were Jpegs sooc was a eye opener.
Have to say I’m quite excited, but wary what Father Time may have done also.

[spinno]

Pentax k10d was indeed the pinnacle of ccd. It was TIPA camera of the year, a joint development with Samsung ( GX10 and GX20 vs K10 and K20)
I had a K10 and loved it.
Only problem limited iso, but if you know that then you work within that. (I always wonder why people moan about low iso when they know that it's there)
It works well with all Pentax lenses but the newer plm lenses won't work with it.
Head over to Pentaxforums.com for K10 love and appreciation.

[nimbus]

Apr 23, 2023 19:42:55 GMT Ivor E Tower said:

I tried a K10D out when I was looking for my first DSLR in 2006. I also tried models from Nikon and Canon, and ended up going the Nikon way (D80) with the Pentax a very close second.
My test method was to take my own SD card to the dealers (remember them??) and shoot a number of shots in the shops or just outside the doorway if they'd let me do that.

In its day the K10D was an excellent camera and I'm sure that you'll have very little to worry about with your new purchase

Nikon and Pentax cameras at that time certainly had an indefinable better feel than Canon, which to me felt cheap and plasticky-nothing to do with actual performance. Nikon was imho the better way to go with superior availability of lenses, accessories and back-up compared with Pentax.

[pixelpuffin]

On the subject of limited iso…

To think only 20yrs ago most of us would be using 100, 200 or possibly 400 print films. Yes, if we were shooting B/W then we’d push to 800.
Very rarely did I exceed those speeds, and yet today we talk of 1600, 3200, 6400 !!
The mind boggles as those were considered extreme back then.

Goodness, my old EOS 600 with 28-105usm 3.5-4.5 and a 36exp roll of 400 ASA I thought I was ready for anything 😂

Without sounding like my dad, kids don’t know they’re born these days 😂😂

Edit:
I miss those simple days. I used to be so content, excited not knowing what the prints would be like.

[zou]

Adrian will know the accurate quote but in the manual of my 1930s box brownie it warns that handheld exposures at the smallest aperture WILL FAIL because they didn't anticipate faster films.

[geoffr]

Apr 24, 2023 18:55:42 GMT pixelpuffin said:

On the subject of limited iso…

To think only 20yrs ago most of us would be using 100, 200 or possibly 400 print films. Yes, if we were shooting B/W then we’d push to 800.
Very rarely did I exceed those speeds, and yet today we talk of 1600, 3200, 6400 !!
The mind boggles as those were considered extreme back then.

Goodness, my old EOS 600 with 28-105usm 3.5-4.5 and a 36exp roll of 400 ASA I thought I was ready for anything 😂

Without sounding like my dad, kids don’t know they’re born these days 😂😂

Edit:
I miss those simple days. I used to be so content, excited not knowing what the prints would be like.

Twenty years ago I was using ASA/ISO 100 slide film with a Sigma 28-70 f/2.8 lens. I thought I couldn’t afford the Nikon 28-70 f/2.8.

[gray1720]

Apr 24, 2023 19:04:53 GMT zou said:

Adrian will know the accurate quote but in the manual of my 1930s box brownie it warns that handheld exposures at the smallest aperture WILL FAIL because they didn't anticipate faster films.

Funnily enough I'm just scanning some box camera negs taken in extremely marginal light! 

[petrochemist]

Apr 24, 2023 18:55:42 GMT pixelpuffin said:

On the subject of limited iso…

To think only 20yrs ago most of us would be using 100, 200 or possibly 400 print films. Yes, if we were shooting B/W then we’d push to 800.
Very rarely did I exceed those speeds, and yet today we talk of 1600, 3200, 6400 !!
The mind boggles as those were considered extreme back then.

Goodness, my old EOS 600 with 28-105usm 3.5-4.5 and a 36exp roll of 400 ASA I thought I was ready for anything 😂

Without sounding like my dad, kids don’t know they’re born these days 😂😂

Edit:
I miss those simple days. I used to be so content, excited not knowing what the prints would be like.

I used 1000 ASA colour film back in 1985/6 (only one roll however - but it did make handheld firework shots a possibilty).

There are plenty of digital cameras these days that are usable above 50 000 ISO, my K100d rarely went above 400 iso - it's maximum was 1600 & rather noisy. It seems even my handheld IR shots where typically done at 200 iso.

Times have certainly changed.