Just received my new Kr, bought in the US with the great help of Larry Colen. Really interesting camera, that will be completely tested (again) in the next few days.
First impressions: Smaller than I expected, feels great in my hands, like the weight and the feel. Somehow the Ds feels better built - power and DOF preview switch in particular, but other details as well. Slightly smaller viewfinder than my Ds', something I consider important. Bright image, hope to get used to it soon. Not so great control set IMHO - in order to get DOF preview I had to customize the green button, still wondering at the consequences. The very big LCD really makes the difference, but for my taste it's a bit of a nuisance getting it on while I have the camera at eye level, even when I change camera mode. Will try other settings soon - maybe this will not remain a problem. Of course live view is a very useful tool. Louder than the Ds - still a nice sound, and I'm not into stealth photo. Can't object to the vibration/ slap of shutter and mirror so far, more tests to perform. AF feels faster than the Ds, even in light levels that won't trigger the AF light in the Kr. Of course those other testers had it right... :-) AF in video is so-so for the first moment - not good but useful enough. Video quality looks very, very good - without proper operator training. First results look very ok - won't get posted as I didn't get a proper model release. Second batch should be made soon, with greater care and control - and posted. I really don't expect to get better results from a very capable but much older Ds. Unless we count pics lost due my aging eyes vs. the smaller finder. Something I already knew from Larry's tests, but had to see for myself: the camera at 12600 beats the Ds at 3200... and I already felt the Ds as very interesting at 3200. Really impressive... Two particular points of interest - the flash is behaving as it should, with no signs of failure, and the rear wheel looks happy to change the camera's settings without problems. Looks like the problems solved themselves - bad contacts probably. Again, my Thanks (capital) to mr. Colen for the purchase, test and first evaluation of the Kr. I'd be still using the Ds without his help. Thanks!!! Luiz Felipe luiz.felipe at techmit.com.br http://www.techmit.com.br/luizfelipe -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
