Pentax K100D (Body Only)

The Pentax K100D is a nice upgrade, replacing the well thought of *ist DL camera. The K100D builds on that camera, and boast improvements in focusing and stabalization.

The improvement to multi-point, cross sensors is very welcome. This should dramatically improve the general focus operation of the camera, while at the same time, the new sytem allows the user more control than the older *ist DL. [Cross type autofocus means that at that particular point, the camera can focus on both horizontal and vertical lines. Many cameras, like the Canon Rebel XT, only have one cross sensors. This K100D has 9.]

The stabalizer is the real gem here. The stabalizer will be a big benefit to anyone who does a high percentage of the shots indoors, WITH or without flash. For candid, non-flash photos, the stabalizer allows you to shoot at slower shutter speeds. That's also great for things like museums, that don't allow flash photos.

What people sometimes miss is how the stabalizer helps with flash. The flash fires fast, up to 1/10,000th of a second. But it only lights up our subject. If no other light get through, then we have cardboard cut-out subjects standing in front of a black background. At normal flash shutter speeds, we often have a background, but much is too dark. The stabalizer allows you to shoot at a slower speed without shaking the camera. This brings out more background. Additionally, more available light strikes the subject, requiring a bit less light from the flash. This makes the subject appear more "real", our goal with flash photos.

The camera construction is solid, and a bit heavier than you might think because of its metal interior. For good or bad, the camera uses 4 AA batteries. Their easy to get, NiMH rechargables are cheap, but they weigh a bit more and don't last as long as the Lithium Ion type batteries.

Pentax has a good selection of lenses, but not up there with the likes of Canon and Nikon.

The K100D stacks up very nicely due to the built-in stabalizer, multi-zone AF, construction, and large LCD. If you have a bit more money to spend, consider the Sony A100, which upgrades to 10 megapixel and Lithium Ion battery.

Pentax has released firmware update 1.01, which now allows the camera to use the new SDHC cards which should be available soon. These cards allow you to exceed the 2GB limit of SD, with 4GB cards to be the first available.

I took this camera on a trip to Europe and found it to work really, really well. The shake reduction was perfect for our visits to dimly lit museums. The flash also works well when you need it, and it doesn't overexpose your images.

The 18-55mm lens is really good for a kit lens. At 18mm, I found that I could usually get a decent picture of a building or room. It worked great for scenery too.

Since I didn't want to spend most of our trip adjusting my camera for each photograph, I usually just used Aperture Priority mode and auto focus. I feel that my photographs turned out great.

My only gripe is that I couldn't always get the camera to autofocus on what I wanted, but manually focusing is as simple as on any other SLR camera.

I would definitely recommend this camera for enthusiasts and even novices willing to learn a bit about photography.

I'm fortunate enough to work in a college A-V department, which means that I have access to some top-notch toys. We've been partial to Canon dSLRs; for the past four years I've used a 10D and a 20D. Image quality, solid build and features from those two legendary cameras put them far ahead of most competitors.

Why, then, did I turn to the Pentax K100D when I decided to buy my own dSLR earlier this year? Despite the nearly second to none image quality from Canon, I truly detest the cheap, tacky plastic feel of the Rebel line, with the Rebels' painfully shallow grip making extended use uncomfortable for my long-fingered right mitt. Rebel pricing continues to be hundreds of dollars higher than other entry level dSLRs; I didn't have a spare grand to spend on a full Rebel system, despite already owning a few EOS compatible lenses from my retired 35mm EOS SLR. After doing a lot of online research - winnowing out Nikons, the Sony Alpha (am I the only one who found the build to be appallingly cheesy?), various Olympuses - only Pentax models remained. Nostalgically recalling my beloved Pentax ME Super 35mm SLR from 25 years ago, I figured I'd give the K100D a go. The reviews were solid; sample images looked quie good; the feature set - including RAW and built-in image stabilizing - quite impressive for such a remarkable price. (The K10D, while 4MP higher in resolution, didn't justify its $500 price difference based on the test images I viewed online.) I ordered the body only and paired the K100D with a Tokina 24-200 autofocus lens (which turned out to be heavier than the K100D itself but provides extra range at the wide angle end, due to the cameras 1.5 magnification factor)

The first extended test of my K100D came on vacation to southern CA in March this year. Over the course of nearly two weeks, the camera and lens performed very well. I enjoyed the rugged feel of the K100D - the deep grip allowed me to shoot without finger cramp - and the large LCD made reviewing my images a breeze. What wasn't to like?

Namely, no 100 ISO setting; slow focusing (perhaps the Tokina lens should take the blame, but I'm not so certain); a pinging then clacky shutter which sounds cheap; unimpressive RAW images; often jaggy JPEGs at 100% viewing; the low light performance which means very noisy photos at 800 and 1600 IS0s - an area where Canon dSLR products trample Pentax like Godzilla over Tokyo - and the K100D's irritating reliance on AA batteries for power. Actually, the battery issue is a classic "mixed bag"; rechargable AAs are available almost everywhere and cost much less than dedicated batteries. Their performance in actual use - based on my experience of shooting over a few thousand images to date and editing on the run via the LCD - comes up far short when compared to the BP-511A battery packs for the 20D. Carrying a pocketful of a dozen charged AAs is a burden, too. I hope that Pentax will ditch the AAs and move on to a more powerful single battery for the K100D's eventual successor.

The last question, then, is the age old one of "Would I buy this camera again?" The answer: a solid "Maybe". There certainly is a lot to love about the K100D - it feels good in the hand; it takes a wide range of Pentax and Pentax-friendly lenses; images at 200 & 400 ISOs when taken in good light can be wonderful in color and saturation, and it's not another tacky Canon Rebel or dumbed-down Nikon. For what it is and at its price point, this little Pentax offers an attactive camera for undemanding dSLR users. More experienced shooters who are unwilling to overlook the K100D's many limitations may want to keep looking or wait for Pentax to evolve its dSLR line even further before hopping on the Pentax bus.

The Pentax K100D is a nice upgrade, replacing the well thought of *ist DL camera. The K100D builds on that camera, and boast improvements in focusing and stabalization.

The improvement to multi-point, cross sensors is very welcome. This should dramatically improve the general focus operation of the camera, while at the same time, the new sytem allows the user more control than the older *ist DL. [Cross type autofocus means that at that particular point, the camera can focus on both horizontal and vertical lines. Many cameras, like the Canon Rebel XT, only have one cross sensors. This K100D has 9.]

The stabalizer is the real gem here. The stabalizer will be a big benefit to anyone who does a high percentage of the shots indoors, WITH or without flash. For candid, non-flash photos, the stabalizer allows you to shoot at slower shutter speeds. That's also great for things like museums, that don't allow flash photos.

What people sometimes miss is how the stabalizer helps with flash. The flash fires fast, up to 1/10,000th of a second. But it only lights up our subject. If no other light get through, then we have cardboard cut-out subjects standing in front of a black background. At normal flash shutter speeds, we often have a background, but much is too dark. The stabalizer allows you to shoot at a slower speed without shaking the camera. This brings out more background. Additionally, more available light strikes the subject, requiring a bit less light from the flash. This makes the subject appear more "real", our goal with flash photos.

The 18-55 zoom is not of professional grade construction, but it is well made, and has a metal mount. It has a very nice "instant" manual focus override feature, and is packaged with the better petal style lens hood. Mechanically, it is the nicest standard kit lens from any manufacturer that adds under $200.

The camera construction is solid, and a bit heavier than you might think because of its metal interior. For good or bad, the camera uses 4 AA batteries. Their easy to get, NiMH rechargables are cheap, but they weigh a bit more and don't last as long as the Lithium Ion type batteries.

Pentax has a good selection of lenses, but not up there with the likes of Canon and Nikon.

The K100D stacks up very nicely due to the built-in stabalizer, multi-zone AF, construction, and large LCD. If you have a bit more money to spend, consider the Sony A100, which upgrades to 10 megapixel and Lithium Ion battery.

[Update early August: Pentax has released firmware update 1.01, which now allows the camera to use the new SDHC cards which should be available soon. These cards allow you to exceed the 2GB limit of SD, with 4GB cards to be the first available.]

When in the market for an entry-level DSLR, I stumbled upon the K100D and ended up getting it. I'm not sorry I did. While Pentax doesn't have the market share of Canon or Nikon, this is probably the best bang for your buck as far as entry level DSLR's go. Here are some pros and cons of this camera:

PROS:
*Excellent size--not too big, not too small. Fantastic grip and shutter-button placement.
*Very solid build. Feels much better in your hand than the Rebel XT/XTi.
*In-body IS. This, to me, is the trump card for this camera. It works, and instantly any lens you have is stabilized. Even if some people argue a lens-based IS regime is better, what good is it when you can't afford the expensive IS lenses anyway? Fact is, in-body IS works--shots taken even at 1/8 to 1/10 have a much higher hit-rate with than without it.
*Can use any Pentax lens ever made. If you're like me and are on a budget, scouring eBay for deals can be fun and educational.
*Solid kit lens. Comes with the standard 18-55 but has a metal mount and is quite good, apparently, as far as kit lenses are concerned.
*Prime lenses. I can't believe how much of a difference a fast prime lens can make, and Pentax is probably the leader with these. With an f/1.7 or so lens, you just can' believe the kind of shutter speeds you can get even in low light. 1/10 on a normal lens can easily transform into 1/50 with a fast prime. It makes a huge difference.
*AA batteries. When I was in Europe with my P&S and I fried my AA NiMH charger, the fact my camera took AA's saved my butt. You can get them anywhere in a pinch, and a small investment in some good NiMH's get excellent results with this camera.
*Comes bundled with RAW software. I'm not a huge RAW shooter, but it's nice to know it's there if I want/need it. Some cameras come with RAW capibility but no software to harness it. Not this one.

CONS:
*Weak buffer/continuous shooting mode. You only get about 4-5 continuous JPG shots. If you're like me and don't shoot sports or action much, it's not so much of a big deal. If you do, you might want to look elsewhere.
*WB a little spotty. AWB is worthless in low light, but the tungsten preset is good. But it stinks that when you pop the flash it doesn't revert to flash WB, so you have to do it manually every time. It's the little things like this where Nikon and Canon probably beat Pentax.
*Slow read/write time. It just isn't very speedy, even with a fast card.
*Exposure compensation deactivates Auto-ISO. Basically, you can select your ISO range (e.g., 200-800). But if you use +/- compensation, it turns that feature off, reverting you to 200 and forcing you to change. A little annoying.

Overall, this is a great camera. There are a few annoyances and its overall operation isn't the fastest. But the images are excellent, and the in-body IS and prime lenses are a treat. Highly recommended.