Pentax UK is asking that K10D owners in Europe check their plug cable for a possible defect (detailed below and at this page) and is offering to replace the cable at no charge. This is for the K10D and certain Optio cameras sold in the UK and Europe from November 2006 to October 2007. This does not apply to U.S., Asian, or Australian cameras.

From Pentax UK:

As a responsible manufacturer, PENTAX take the safety and quality of the products we sell very seriously and we spend a considerable amount of time and effort ensuring that the products we sell meet all relevant regulations and standards.

In addition, we monitor the performance of the products that we have sold very closely to ensure that we identify any issues that may affect their safety, quality or fitness for purpose.

IMPORTANT SAFETY WARNING

We have been made aware that some of the 3-pin plug cords provided with some of our cameras after 17th November '06 may reveal a manufacturing defect under certain conditions.

ITEM: 3-pin plug cord PL09593


Turn off at the mains before unplugging affected cables.

IDENTIFICATION: The plug cord is one of four types that were supplied with some Pentax Optio A20, Optio L20, Optio S7, Optio T20, Optio W20 and K10D cameras. To identify the cable in question hold the cable by the end with the 3-pins. Turn the pins to

...

At home in my storage room, which is a tiny little room in our miniature apartment in Brooklyn, most of my camera gear sits clean and organized in milky plastic boxes I bought at Ikea a few years ago. I like to keep things orderly and well cared for when I'm not using them, if only so that if we ever move to a bigger space everything is all ready to go. My tripods and light stands are in a special durable nylon zipper bag, and the smaller items like extra lens caps, cloths, blowers, and flash cables are kept in transparent art supply tote cases. But aside from all this, I have one special waterproof camera bag, a Domke Dri-Safe Pouch, where I keep the stuff I'm most likely to use any given day. I call this my "go bag." Padded inside with a protective wrap for cushioning, it's just big enough for a flash gun and a large camera, but light enough to throw on my shoulder or inside a messenger bag. The camera that gets the coveted go bag position is the one I want to use most, not necessarily the one that's the most expensive.

For the last six months I've been using a Pentax K10D as the camera in my go bag. A lot has already been written about this camera, and I highly recommend Bruce Robbins' or Carl Weese's blog and the K10D Book. My own...

Mike at The Online Photographer assembled a list of cameras on sale now (no soon-to-be-shipping models are included) he thinks are worth recommending for the fall 2007 season. And the K10D lands at number one. The K10D has been a pet camera at T.O.P. all year, with Carl Weese's extended posting on his use of the K10D and various Limited lenses throughout the year, as well as really glowing reviews. Now in this latest summary, Mike makes his point that the camera is really deserving the hype:

"Pretty much the camera with the mostest at the moment for the serious amateur and artist. Solid performance in the 10-megapixel DSLR class, a viewfinder to rival the D80/D200's, in-the-body Shake Reduction (I've almost lost track of what everyone calls theirs—image stabilization, essentially), not too terribly big or small, weatherproof, and very favorably priced—and it's got peerless lens compatibility, which is just plain fun. You can get modern AF zooms, a decent selection of independent-maker optics, tiny pancake AF primes, or you can mount manual-focus lenses going all the way back (with the proper adapter) to M42 screwmount, for heaven's sake."

Considering that the camera can be found for around $850 and it still has more features than any other DSLR in that league (including the budget Olympus), it's a well-deserved kudos from the T.O.P. team.

Links: T.O.P. Ten New Camera Recommendations

Carl Weese has posted another look at the Pentax 31mm Limited at T.O.P., this time exploring the ambidextrous possibilities of using it as a normal lens (it's a 47mm APS-C equivalent) for both wide-angle and tele-photo framing. I think I have to agree with Carl that I appreciate a slightly wider field of view than what is typically considered normal (50mm), and a 24mm lens on a APS-C sensors (roughly the 35mm equivalent of a 36mm lens) is also the sweet spot for me. As an aside, I'm glad that Carl is recovering well from his recent illness. As another aside, I'd like to think that photo above was taken at Dunder-Mifflin. (Link)

Jens has recently updated his Pentax Flash Technique page with more info on the *ist DS's internal pop-up flash with a cool flash reach table you can print out. His webpage is a great resource for information on Pentax DSLR internal flashes and P-TTL flash. (Link)


And one of Japan's most popular Pentax bloggers, Pochi, has been using a K10D Grand Prix Edition for the last little while. It's only cosmetically different from the typical K10D, but it's obviously inspired him to take some great shots, including some outstanding work done with just the Click to continue reading "Saturday Tidbits: FA 31mm Limited, K10D Grand Prix, etc."

Written by admin on July 28th, 2007 with no comments.
Read more articles on K10D and Flashes and Lenses and Sigma and Pentax and Camera Review.