At first coup d’oeil , it ’s tempting to write off the Pentax K100D as a low - price , underpowered initiate ’s DSLR . pack a 6.1 - megapixel detector , the K100D lags a small behind the current country - of - the - artistic production in terms of firmness of purpose , while its $ 699 damage tag put it at the grim end of the entrance - storey digital SLR marketplace . But a mint of mentation lead into the K100D. The camera has a feature localize ideally suited to beginning shooters , but with a bunch of way to grow , making it a good option for intermediate photographers as well .
The K100D is small , about the same size of it as Canon ’s Digital Rebel XTi ( ) , but the K100D is better balanced than the XTi , and provides a larger handwriting adhesive friction , pee-pee it experience more stable while dart and more comfortable to bear .
For an entry - storey tv camera , the K100D does n’t skimp on user interface features . Sporting a bright 2.5 - in bottom - mounted LCD , the K100D also provides a top - mounted LCD status display – something that a lot of entry - level cameras eschew , but which is especially welcome in this market . Overall , I was very pleased with the K100D ’s design . The tv camera supply a full full complement of easily accessible controls that are wide-eyed to understand .
Unfortunately , one feature that is not up to par is the bombardment life-time . The Pentax ship with four alkaline AA battery , not rechargeable batteries . While these are gentle to put back if you run out or lose the battery , they do n’t last nearly as long as rechargeables . While comparable cameras could take at least 500 shots on a single charge , the Pentax took only 265 before buy the farm . you may , however purchase atomic number 3 or rechargeable NiMH assault and battery to interchange for the AA alkalines , if you want .
Image stabilization
The K100D features Pentax ’s own detector - base image stabilization technology , which assay to understate the effect of tv camera milk shake by moving the detector to correct for jittery hand vibrations . The advantage of a sensor - based mechanism ( as contradict to lens - based stabilization ) is that it works with any lens .
Pentax enunciate there are two stops worth of stabilization , but in my shooting I recover the tv camera ’s stabilization fell somewhere between one and one - and - a - one-half stoppage . In other give-and-take , it play , but not as well as the stabilization you get from lens - based scheme , which consistently propose three to four stops . Still , it ’s a welcome characteristic , and one that pee Pentax ’s excellent , bombastic lens of the eye selection even more likeable . And , the K100D employs its sensor - shaking engineering science as a dust remotion mechanism , always a handy addition in a tv camera with removable lenses .
Comfortable shooting
The K100D is a comfortable photographic camera to film with , thanks to its good physical design and the easiness with which you may get to indispensable shooting features . The K100D offer a full assortment of shooting modal value let in program , shutter , and aperture antecedence ; full manual ; and bulb . Scene modes are provided for specific shooting berth , but the K100D tote up extra flexibility to these features by letting you adjust ISO , white residue , and exposure recompense , something many cameras — point and shoots and SLRs — can’t do . The camera also provide an Auto Picture mode , which automatically selects one of these custom program modes after analyzing your current scene .
An 11 - peak autofocus system works well , and metering on the camera is also very near , though you wo n’t discover the K100D particularly rapid . Powering up and waking from sleep both take about a 2d , while the camera ’s burst speed maxes out at 1.5 flesh per second for JPEG images .
The K100D miss a program shift feature of speech for mechanically cycling through mutual photo ( adjusting the camera ’s aperture and shutter speed to get a certain amount of light ) , but because the camera provides a full complement of manual modes , you ’ll still have all of the manual controls you need .
Image quality
The K100D have very near pictures for a six - megapixel camera . If you do n’t think to expatiate much beyond 8 - by-10 inches , or you do a lot of zooming or cropping , then 6.1 megapixels is plenty .
The K100D shoots three levels of JPEGs , as well as sore icon for user who want more editing control . By nonpayment , the camera ’s JPEG end product is a little soft , so you might desire to conform the sharpen parameter within the photographic camera , unless you plan on sharpening images yourself with an persona editor in chief . Though the K100D offers ISOs up to 3,200 , the images get substantially noisy at ISO 800 and above .
Performance
scale of measurement = Superior , Very Good , Good , Fair , Poor
specifications
The paradigm - quality evaluation of the camera is ground upon a venire of judges ’ ruling in five family : pic , color , acuity , distorted shape , and overall . assault and battery life examiner adopt a precise hand , admit shots with and without flash bulb , until the battery dies.—Tested in junction with the PC World Test Center
Macworld’s buying advice
Because of its 6.1 - megapixel sensor , you wo n’t be able-bodied to enlarge the K100D ’s paradigm as much as you could with a higher result tv camera , but for users who want a DSLR , and all of the flexibility that it provide , the K100D is a smashing entranceway - level camera at an unmatched price . Pentax ’s wide crystalline lens survival of the fittest is made more attractive by the tv camera ’s in force oscillation reducing , while the camera ’s user interface and design make for a easy shoot . If you want a full - featured SLR with fairly innovative features , it ’s hard to tucker the price and carrying out of the K100D.
[ Ben Long is the author ofComplete Digital Photography , 3rd Edition(Charles River Books , 2004 ) . ]
