Don Lindich’s Sound Advice Blog

 

Pentax K100D Digital SLR Camera

Sound Buys product review by Don Lindich

After college graduation I made my living as a professional photographer, using a Pentax 645 professional roll film camera. What I remember about it was its durabilty, never needing a repair after several years of hard professional use, and especially the gorgeous photographs it produced. For generations photographers have raved about “Pentax color”… the gorgeous, natural, and deep color produced by Pentax lenses, courtesy of their proprietary “Super Multi Coat”, or SMC lens coating. The brand has a dedicated following and it was with prior experience and a bit of anticipation that I approached the new Pentax K100D digital SLR camera.

I receive a great deal of email about digital SLRs to my Q&A column, usually mentioning a budget of under $1,000 for a camera and two lenses. When I respond I have a bit of bad news because most consumers have unrealistic expectations of what a $1,000 outfit can do. While all of the digital SLRs on the market are very good, that does not necessarily mean you will be able to get the results you want from them, especially on a budget. The two primary factors are lens quality and camera shake.

Most of the entry-level lenses sold with digital SLRs, commonly referred to as “kit lenses”, have average performance at best. Lens performance can drop from average to poor if one opts for a single lens with an extreme zoom range, such as 18-200mm. There is no free lunch, and what you gain in convenience you give up dramatically in performance when you opt for such a lens. Professional-grade lenses tend to be big, heavy, and expensive- factors most consumer photographers are not willing to accept.

Camera shake occurs when using slow shutter speeds or lenses zoomed out into the telephoto range, where most long lenses are used. Even professionals can have a hard time hand-holding a long zoom lens and getting critically-sharp results. Just a tiny bit of hand movement can fuzz the image.

Which brings us to Pentax’s new K100D camera, selling for $699 with the Pentax DA 18-55mm lens. For this review Pentax sent along their DA 50-200mm lens, retailing for $249, for a total price under $950 suggested retail- within that magical $1,000 price point for an outfit that covers wide angle to extreme telephoto.

First, a word about the lenses. Magazines such as Popular Photography have tested the Pentax lenses vs. competing kit lenses and found the Pentax lenses to be at the top of the class, delivering optical performance comparable to pro lenses, but without the pro lenses’ heavy-duty construction or low-light capabilities- or their size, weight and price tag, for that matter. All in all a great deal, and what I imagine most people are looking for.

The K100D camera body incorporates a Shake Reduction system that moves the digital sensor at the moment of exposure to compensate for camera movement. This type of system is slightly less effective than an optical system where the shake reduction is built into a specific lens, but such lenses can be very expensive. The Pentax system works very well and allows every lens you own to benefit from it. (The K100D will work with any Pentax K-Mount lens, though all of the automatic features may not be available.)

Affordable and outstanding lenses with camera-based Shake Reduction to help you make the most of them- so far so good.

The K100D uses a 6.1 megapixel sensor, a bit below some of the 8 megapixel offerings from Canon and Olympus, but comparable to the Nikon D50 and D70. While extra pixels are nice to have, in actual use the difference between 6MP and 8MP is minor and the K100D will produce excellent poster-sized prints. Power is supplied by 4 AA batteries. I recommend using Lithium batteries or a set of NiMH rechargeables.

The camera is very well finished and has a solid, reassuring feel. Controls are easy to understand and access, and the LCD display is bright, sharp and beautiful. I especially liked the thumb dial used for changing camera settings and zooming while reviewing pictures. Menus are simple and easy to understand, as are the scene modes, which tell the camera to produce optimum results in lighting conditions from sun and snow to candlelight and museums. Nice, and sure to be appreciated by those without academic knowledge of camera settings. Of course, experts have full manual controls as well.

In use the camera satisfies with its solid feel and easy-to-use controls, as the big, beautiful LCD screen makes viewing your images a joy. The images reminded me of my Pentax 645 pictures, sharp with the signature Pentax color and contrast delighting the eyes- fully professional quality, and easily obtained by anyone. Quite a bargain at under $1,000 for the complete outfit, and unmatched by anything at the price.

The only feature that seemed a bit behind the times is the autofocus system, which uses a motor built into the camera rather than the lenses. Lens-based motors tend to be a bit quieter and smoother, though the Pentax autofocus was accurate and fast and I had no issues in actual use. I also found images produced using the RAW file setting and the Pentax Photo Laboratory software to look crisper than jpgs produced from the camera, the RAW images having an extra level of clarity. It isn’t noticeable in small prints, but if you are going to make a poster it will look nicer if you set the camera to RAW and use your computer to make the jpg files for printing.

All in all, I am very enthusiastic about this camera and the lenses, and unhesitatingly recommend them. It’s all in the pictures- they look wonderful and anyone can achieve them using those wonderful lenses and the K100D body with its scene modes and Shake Reduction system. Advanced or professional photographers tend to be better served with a Canon or Nikon system due to the very wide range of camera bodies, lenses and accessories available to meet special needs, but if you are looking to get professonal-looking pictures easily and without breaking the bank, this is the system for you.

The Pentax K100D system rates 4.5 out of 5 stars- minor deductions given for 6.1 vs. 8 megapixels, the camera-based autofocus, and the difference between RAW and jpg images. The current best buy in a sub-$1,000 digital SLR outfit, and for anyone looking for the best image quality in a modestly-priced system, this is the way to go.