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Reviews (6)
26 March 2012
Decent camera, but there are better alternatives these days
It's a decent beginner's DSLR, lightweight, good image quality when shooting RAW (JPEG looks a bit over-processed). Takes pretty much any lens, including fully manual M42s (with an adapter), but be aware that KAF3 lenses with the AF driven by a motor in the lens rather than the screw drive in the body will NOT autofocus on it - you need a K10D, K20D, K7 or K5 to use them. Big (not like baby Canons) and bright viewfinder, which can actually be used for manual focusing. AF performance is ok, but nothing to write home about.
What it really lacks is in-body image stabilization, in that sense K100 is a better option - not much more expensive, pretty much the same in everything else.
AA batteries is a curse and a blessing at the same time. It's a blessing that you can find them at a buck store in the middle of nowhere. It's a curse that NiMH don't last very long because of the memory effect they suffer from - I wish Pentax used 6 of AAA instead of 4 AAs - would allow for a deeper discharge before the camera stops working. If you can get Li-ion CR-V3s instead, get them, otherwise, at least get a smart charger that discharges the NiMH batteries fully before charging them.
IQ: as I said, shoot RAW and it's decent. JPEG looses quite a bit of detail, so always use high quality and tune down sharpness a notch. Also the default setting for Saturation looks a bit too aggressive.
At this point, if you want a cheap Pentax, go up to at least K100D and get an in-body image stabilization, or spend another $200 and get a K20D. Otherwise, Nikon D70 or something similar might be a better alternative unless you have a lot of old Pentax glass - similar sensor, similar features, you can also use M42 glass, but the selection of lenses for Nikon is bigger, especially aftermarket - you get Tokina, Zeiss, more choices from Sigma and Tamron. When it came out, it was a great camera at a great price point, but today there are better alternatives.
26 March 2012
An excellent semi-pro DSLR
2 of 2 found this helpful In terms of value for money this is probably one of the best Pentax bodies you can buy today and one of the best semi-pro DSLRs overall and I think it's the best so far in terms of ergonomics. All features that require quick access have dedicated buttons/switches. I like it even more than the newer K-7 and K-5 in this sense.
Feature-wise everything is there except video, but not everybody needs video in an SLR. In-body image stabilization is good, works with any lens, unlike Canon and Nikon that have it in-lens. Lens compatibility is the best in the industry - this is a KAF3 mount, so any lens starting with the M42 screw mount would work fine, including the new lenses with hyper-sonic auto-focus motors. I do recommend getting a battery grip for it as well - it fits in your hand better with it, plus you can put an extra battery into it.
The body is weather-sealed and very rugged and can take a lot of abuse. The viewfinder is large and bright and is perfectly usable for manual focusing.
Image quality is good to excellent, on an 8x11" print up to ISO-1600 it's virtually indistinguishable from lower ISO settings in terms of noise. ISO 3200 is still perfectly usable. While K-5 is definitely better in terms of IQ, this is still a very solid performer and in many situations the difference is too vague to be of concern.
Auto-exposure is correct most of the time. Auto white balance is good in daylight, but tends to produce slightly yellow images in artificial light, which is easy to correct in Photoshop. Auto-focus is as good as any, even in low light.
The only thing I could fault this camera for is somewhat low continuous shooting rate - whether this important or not depends on what you shoot.
The camera has a unique shooting mode where you set the exposure time and aperture and it adjusts the ISO - can be convenient.
Battery life is excellent and they seem to last a long time.
For under $500 this would definitely be one of the best DSLRs one could buy - absolutely recommended.
13 September 2016
Next to impossible to get all air bubbles out
Small air bubbles are really hard to get out, especially at the edges. Other than that, a decent product, although i feel those tempered glass ones work better.
After just a couple of days in the pocket with nothing else but the phone there the screen protector is all scratched.