Well, Got the K100d, FA50mm and DA40mm last week. So far, I've taken about 300 pictures. Here are some comments...
FA50 is great. So much better than the old M50... Truly great to have autofocus capability in low-light situations. The old M50 was IMPOSSIBLE to focus on the DL. Lens lookes cheaply made judging by the pics I'd seen. While the aperture ring feels AWFUL (cheap and fragile) in use, it's a non-issue as the lens sits on the A setting all the time. The rest of the lens looks and feels good. MF is nice and smooth, not at all the crappy feel of the kit lens focusing ring. Image quality if of course excellent. Focus speed is very good. DA40mm is very impressive to see. It really is tiny. F/2.8 is far too slow to use indoors. Lens cap is as annoying as everyone says it is. I've missed a few good shots because I had to sit there and unscrew the cap. Construction is good. MF feels OK. Focal length is... strange. A bit too wide for my tastes. I dunno. Using this lens makes it a challenge to get nice composition. I haven't taken many shots in my life but I have a nagging thought that I prefer telephoto. I don't know. Maybe it's a good thing... no need spend money on the FA28mm. But then, I've never been out and about with my DSLRs so I haven't had the chance to do landscape or architectural shots of any kind. Image quality has been pretty nice. So far. I don't know what I was worried about. Verdict? We'll see. AF speed is VERY QUICK (obviously) K100d.... Excellent camera. -Redesigned casing makes for a better grip. Not as good as a larger camera (right hand pinky still has nowhere to go) but the grip is slightly thicker and the redesigned profile makes it easier to hold. -Some nice usability upgrades! OK button when shooting will show ISO in the VF, slightly more customizable options in the Custom menu... I like it so far. -JPEG quality compared to the DL == No contest. I don't like to post-process. The camera's JPEGs are sharper and have very nice, punchy colors, which is what I like. No complaints! The result is that I can shoot JPEG in any situation now, whereas the DL would only give good results in certain conditions in JPEG. -Shake reduction... AWESOME. Shots as low as 1/15 of a second (with 50mm lens) and pretty much a sure bet. I've gotten sharp pics to as low as 0.3 seconds, but at that speed it's hit or miss and depends on your own hands' stability more than anything else -Battery life - about 400 shots on low-quality 2300mah NIMHs. No complaints. Batteries cost a dollar a piece. -Focus speed: Much improved. Still not that quick in low-light situations but much better than the DL. Where the DL would hunt interminably at low-light, (hunt, overshoot, hunt, overshoot, hunt, lock) the k100d will lock in more quickly (hunt, lock). Good lighting AF is much quicker than DL. Maybe the motor has been beefed up, or is simply being spun faster because the camera can keep up with it now. Multi-point AF is still as useless as ever. I think i'll set it to center-point. -Burst mode doesn't seem to be any faster than the DL. But I don't care. -Shutter (mirror slap) sounds nicer than the DL. A much more damped, high-quality sound. AF sounds nicer too. Sounds like there's less slack between gear teeth. (i don't know if the AF shaft is gear-driven, but that's what it sounds like). -Camera interface: Pretty much the same, but I've noticed images are quicker to load (playback mode). There is also a very quick fade effect when loading a new pic. Very subtle but does a lot to improve the 'feel' of the camera. Makes it appear more responsive. -LCD: Much improved. Better/deeper colors and much better viewing angle. -Pop-up flash is slightly taller. Maybe this helps with redeye. Verdict: If you have a low-end *ist-Dx series cam (basically, any pentamirror *istDx) do not hesitate... Sell it immediately while you can get some good money and upgrade to the k100d. I sold my DL body-only for $300 bucks (USD). For $435, and 50$ rebate, the K100d is a NO BRAINER. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
