Gear Change

For a long time now I've been very pleased with my K100D. Compact in size, easy intuitive controls, in-body Shake Reduction and a sensor that can produce nice beautiful images are just some of the compelling reasons why I love this camera. Sure its 6.1 megapixel sensor has been overshadowed by newer cameras with a larger megapixel count but to me the punchy jpeg images straight from camera is still impressive. The image of the betel nuts illustrates this, taken with the FA 50mm f/1.4.



The image of the horses were also taken with the FA 50mm and is a good example of the delicate shades of colour the camera is capable of capturing. These were taken during a short family holiday in Penang, Malaysia.





While on holiday, I had a K10D waiting for me back home. A great camera in terms of build quality but it's taking me a while to re-orientate and familiarise with the new controls. Here's an image taken with the K10D with the Voigtlander 125mm of the common comfort food, potato chips!



Well I thought I'd be happy with the K100D but after a recent quick test of the new Pentax K20D with the new DA* 200mm f/2.8, I was blown away by the SDM focusing. As luck would have it I happen to have a friend who had a pretty new K100D Super for sale. As you know, the K100D Super is an upgrade over the K100D with the provision for SDM support, has the dust removal system like the K10D and support for SDHC memory cards. I reckon the future is going to be SDM and the up coming DA 17-70mm f/4 with SDM is a zoom that looks promising because of the very versatile focal range.

A quick phone call and it was in my hands the next day. Almost immediately I put my trusty K100D for sale and I certainly didn't wait too long before I had a ready buyer, a Nikon user who wanted to find out the benefits of in-body Pentax's Shake Reduction first hand. Well I can say he was suitably impressed when testing it with the kit lens.

I decided to take a last series of pictures with the K100D and it is fitting that it captures the two cameras that has replaced it. The K100D Super has the FA 28-70mm f/4 and the K10D has the FA 20-35mm f/4. Image taken with the DFA 100mm Macro.