RiceHigh's Pentax Blog: New 60D and D3100 Full Size Samples at DC Resource Posted

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

New 60D and D3100 Full Size Samples at DC Resource Posted

60D's: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/eos_60d-review/gallery

Taken with a EF 18-200/3.5-5.6 on the 60D, original in-camera finest JPEGs and all made with default settings, i.e., no tweaking of any and all are by the camera itself. EXIF data preserved.

D3100's: http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/nikon/d3100-review/gallery

Photos were taken with same principle and methodology, the nikkor kit lens of AF-S 18-55/3.5-5.6 VR was used.

By looking at the samples produced by both DSLRs, what I have to say is, most of those samples from the K-5 suck, no matter what kit lens is used, i.e. for both the new very expensive DA 18-135 or the supposed to be cheaper DA 18-55 WR (which is not really cheap anyway). Indeed and very frankly speaking, both the 60D and D3100 produce sharper and better images with higher resolution and less CA and purple fringing on images for very similar shooting conditions and scenes. Besides, we can see that the EF 18-200 is not bad even at wide opened, just see this indoor church example (Warning: Large File to Download).

In fact, the Canon 18-200 has a longer zoom range than that of the DA 18-135 DC, but yet as we can easily see, the images of the Canon combo are far better in IQ than most of the posted samples that we can find so far with the (US)$2,000 Pentax combo of the latest and uppest product class of theirs, this yet holds true even when the supposed to be the best samples by our Pentax president are compared with this luxury and "high-end" kit set of the Pentax latest.

Up till now, I am hugely disappointed and much upset. Indeed, I planned to buy the K-5 + DA 18-135 since its first announcement but I think there are now more than enough examples for me to make up my mind - for not wasting my money in buying this useless setup. Or even more serious, I should not have false hope(s) with Pentax anymore - I think I have had more than enough wishful thinking with Pentax and Hoya these years! >:-[

Well, some fanboys would tell me to "move on". Yes, I agree. I am really seriously considering this now. Stupid Me! :-|

Read Also:-

Ten Reasons for Thinking Twice before Decided on a K-5..

Really NO MORE HOPE WITH PENTAX (Dozen Reasons for WHY NOT PENTAX NOW)

"Film is Dead"! ;-)

The World First / Pentax First: My (Obsolete) Pentax Collection

Can Pentax DSLRs be Made Thinner?

Lens Matching with the Navy K-x

Comments (24)

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-1 Vote up Vote down

koshakas · 745 weeks ago

If you DO move on, don't abandon your blog :)

I am also considering changing brand, glad that there is still no camera i am 100% sure i want to buy. NEX has funny large kit lens, Micro 4/3 has small sensor, Sony A33 is just too dslr-like, clasic dlsrs is not an option.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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RiceHigh 110p · 745 weeks ago

Yes, for sure! :-)

+5 Vote up Vote down

Max · 745 weeks ago

please go, please go, please go!

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jlahuer · 745 weeks ago

I have been following Pentax for more than 10 years and I don't remeber a more positive valoration of their products by the industry before. All the reviews that I have read so far (paper and internet) give both the K-5 and the K-r the maximum rate in their class. Moreover, the digital medium format 645D is getting also extremely good reviews and comments.
So, if despite this unique time in Pentax digital history you still are "hugely disappointed and much upset" I don't see any reason to keep paying such a huge attention on this brand. Not a rational one, I mean.

3 replies · active 745 weeks ago

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Steve · 745 weeks ago

I for one appreciate the criticism level. I loved my k10d until the sensor became crooked and I got water in my lens ... then I got the K-7 after reading the positive dpreview.com review. I've seen frustrated and unhappy ever since, and it's a lot of money that goes into those lenses and bodies.

After getting burned so badly by the K-7, even with a major site giving it a positive review, I very much want to hear other points of view on the K5. It seems that RiceHigh is the only blog out there noting negative opinions. All the other Pentax blogs I've seen are useless from this perspective. I don't feel I can trust dpreview...maybe I can trust DxOMark this time?

+3 Vote up Vote down

illdefined · 745 weeks ago

what frustrated you about your K-7? the praise wasn't just from dpreview, it got almost universal praise from all the sites minus for its High-ISO performance. if thats the only thing that 'burned' you, then the K-5 should solve that, the rest of the camera you should know.

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Chris · 745 weeks ago

Well said. Here is one happy K7 user who just gave the K7 to his father and now misses shooting with it. My K5 has not yet arrived.
"Burned by the K7"? There are just two ways I can imagine that happens. First, Steve puts a focus on low-light photography, a weak spot in the capabilties of the K7 sensor. Or second, he liked the camera until he read the reviews (and this blog) and let THEM spoil his hobby. That would be sad.
C

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tipentax · 745 weeks ago

"Indeed and very frankly speaking, both the 60D and D3100 produce sharper and better images with higher resolution and less CA and purple fringing on images for very similar shooting conditions and scenes"

Frankly are you joking ? Have you opened the samples ? It's all blurry ... with 16 mpix it's hard time for the kit lenses or the mega zooms, that's it ...

+2 Vote up Vote down

illdefined · 745 weeks ago

Finally.

+3 Vote up Vote down

Luiz Felipe · 745 weeks ago

Well, I don't think I'd qualify as fanboy - much too old, and in over 30 years used other brands whenever I needed some detail not offered by Pentax at the time. As much as I'm interested in comments and evaluations of gear, I'm upset with reviewers that either:
a) "tweak" comments to contradict the numbers of their own tests in order to "prove" brand superiority as some popular photo magazine often did in the past (telling readers again and again how superior brand CN is) or
b) keep looking for defects and other proof that brand X is inferior to their fave. Keep looking. Continue looking. Go on looking. All the time looking not for strong points but weak. Of course, there will be some.
As I posted before, do change. And by change I mean start inspecting other brand of your choice, the ideal brand you didn't found in Pentax. I do suspect you'll never find it - IMHO there is no such thing as perfection or free lunches. But I hope you will find other brands more like you.
Farewell.

1 reply · active 745 weeks ago

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Chris · 745 weeks ago

Put perfectly, thanks for this contribution, couldn't have said it better.

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Jon · 745 weeks ago

snore

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rhermans · 745 weeks ago

Had a hard time a few weeks back before the K-5, I really was considering jumping over to the sony a55. Especially the bridge feel without the slowness was something I liked.

That feeling became even worse because the K-5 didn't appear in my neighborhood, but getting rid of some lenses would make it very hard and costly to change and get the same quality.

Now I've got the K-5 and I'm really happy that I didn't change brands.

The superhigh iso's aren't noisefree but you see an super enhancement there, and it cleans up perfectly in post processing,

the autofocus speed compared to my k20 is super.
Continuous Autofocus + focus priority + high speed shooting, gave me 25 shots in 5 seconds of a passing heron, with 2 not in focus, because I was a: no pointing at the heron, b: the heron was behind a scrub. So thats 25 dng's in 5 sec.

The DR is bigger, don't ask me how much but on low iso I can push the image about 2 stops more than with my k20 without losing detail.

Anyway I can put it, it's better.

There has been a lot of talk about the AA filter what is giving blurred jpg's. And that is something I can't understand, you can now compare the K-5 to the D7000 on dpreview, looking at the raw images the k-5 has imho at least the same detail level as the D7000. I'm looking at the raw images here because I don't want any camera setting to interfere, it's not about the camera settings but about a piece of blurring glass in front of the sensor.
So for me there is no problem there.

I think you can tell I'm happy with the K-5

2 replies · active 745 weeks ago

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ArcticExposure 45p · 745 weeks ago

I was at a meeting with my photography club last evening, and while we were just chatting I was playing with my K-5 and the old SMC Pentax-K 135mm 1:2.5 using 1/200th, f/2.5 and f/5.6 with ISO of 8000 and 5000. They both looked very smooth, with a little noise reduction, the images was amazingly clean. Simply astonishing. And the lens, which was very sharp on the K10D (according to Photozone.de) and on my K-x (I didn't get it before I had the K-x), was still very sharp on the K-5, even at f/2.5.

They made amazing stuff back then (the lens was produced between 1977 and 1985), and they still do now :)

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RiceHigh 110p · 745 weeks ago

Old primes are always marvels, no matter they were born cheap or dear. :-)

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j viviano · 745 weeks ago

"Well, some fanboys would tell me to "move on". Yes, I agree. I am really seriously considering this now. Stupid Me! :-|"

I think the people telling you to move are are rational individuals. No one should get this worked up over a camera. If you aren't happy here, move on to another brand. I would love to see what your version of a Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus blog would be. There are whole new populations out there for you to troll! Don't settle on the tiny Pentax community!

PS. Hoya would not miss you:
http://pmanewsline.com/2010/11/29/hoya-announces-...

2 replies · active 384 weeks ago

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Richard · 745 weeks ago

Interesting report, especially this bit: ..."while demand by other camera makers for lens units and camera modules were strong."
That shows confidence in the quality of Pentax by other manufacturers when they use Pentax-sourced parts in their own cameras.

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Erika · 745 weeks ago

Hoya sourced parts. Hoya is one of the main makers of the optical glass.

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David · 745 weeks ago

I sensed a great change in the force....

I vowed never to return here a few weeks back, feeling that Rice's critical had gone from constructive to just a manifestation of Jim being 'rejected' by Hoya, but just felt the urge to come back. My dream looks to be coming true ..........

Rice, we all want to help you get out this abusive relationship, so just tell us what you want for your Kx.... I am sure you wiil keep your lenses.

Ricehigh's Alpha blog or EOS blog sounds great..... Make the jump before the holidays

1 reply · active 745 weeks ago

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qwe · 745 weeks ago

it will only happen when Canon stops paying him to bash on Pentax.

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Joe · 745 weeks ago

Hi RiceHigh,

Any chance you'll give up some of your lenses (at a fair price!) to a fellow HK shooter?

3 replies · active 745 weeks ago

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RiceHigh 110p · 745 weeks ago

Possibly Not. I think I shall keep them as collection items some days later even when I do not use them anymore. In the meantime, my K-x still serves me well, for what it can be used for some applications and what it can't.

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Lurker · 745 weeks ago

So what are these 'applications'? You put too much time and effort pointing out IQ (or lack of it) but we don't see your much of your shots, except for the few you post here.

Personal viewing only? Or when you do show your photos to friends, do you explain how sharp they are at pixel level? Or how clean they are at the shadows?

-1 Vote up Vote down

RiceHigh 110p · 745 weeks ago

I am not necessary to show you or the world all of my private photos, neither for you or your beloved to walk nake in the street. For anyone who want to see a few of my photos for scenery and other types of photography, there is still a "My Photos" Tag and Label here, isn't it.

But I know personal attacks by some will follow, so I just won't bother in the end. Goodbye.

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Wednesday, December 01, 2010

New 60D and D3100 Full Size Samples at DC Resource Posted

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