Pentax K100D Super Review
Review Date: April 24th 2007
Author: Gavin Stoker
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were captured using the [6M] 3008 x 2000
pixels, ***Best JPEG setting, producing a file that is between
2-3Mb.
Noise
The Pentax K100D Super has 5 ISO settings
from 200-3200. The Pentax K100D Super handles noise more
than adequately given its unpretentious status. Though results
at maximum
ISO 3200 show visible grain, they're certainly not throwaway.
Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for
each ISO setting.
Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop.
The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop.
The out-of-the camera images at the default setting are a
little soft and benefit from some further sharpening in a
program like Adobe Photoshop. Alternatively you can change
the in-camera sharpening level if you don't like the default
results.
Chromatic Aberrations
As the Pentax K100D Super is a digital SLR, it's the 18-55mm kit lens that determines
the amount of chromatic aberrations, not the camera body.
There was some very limited purple fringing present around
the edges of the frame in particularly high-contrast situations,
but overall performance was excellent. Here
are some 100% crops which show the typical chromatic aberrations
that you can expect:
Macro
As the Pentax K100D Super is a digital SLR,
it's the 18-55mm kit lens that determines how close you can
get to the subject, not the camera body. The first image
shows
how
close
you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash
card). The second image is a 100% crop.
Flash
The flash settings on the Pentax K100D Super
are Auto, Flash-On, Flash-Off, Red-eye reduction. These shots
of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
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Auto
Flash - Telephoto (82mm) |
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And here are some portrait shots.
As you can see, neither the Flash On setting or the Red-eye
reduction option caused any amount of red-eye.
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Flash
On (100% Crop) |
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Red-eye reduction (100% Crop) |
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Night Shot
The Pentax K100D Super's maximum shutter
speed is 30 seconds and there's also a Bulb mode for really
long exposures, which is great news if you're interested
in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter
speed of 1/6 second, aperture of f/4 at ISO 800. I've included
a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.
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Night
Shot (100% Crop) |
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Overall Image Quality
Most of us are never going to be shooting with a billboard or even online agency
syndication of our shots in mind, and for that reason the
vast majority will find the K100D Super's six megapixels
more than sufficient. I'd wager you'd be hard pressed to
tell the difference in output between this and most of the
10 megapixel consumer DSLRs knocking around. Under 'normal'
daylight conditions and of course with the 18-55mm kit lens
attached the K100D Super delivers colour-rich, well-saturated
images,
though this can be further boosted in camera if desired. There's
some barrel distortion and edge softness when shooting at
maximum wide angle with the
kit lens, but this is no better or worse than you'd expect
from an amateur model. It also handles noise more than adequately
given its unpretentious status. Though results at maximum
ISO 3200 show visible grain, they're certainly not throwaway,
and while white balance accuracy can vary from shot to shot,
it's largely 'on the money' and reliable. Exposure
is also evenly and considerately handled, and although there's
loss of highlight detail and
the occasional burnt out area if shooting in particularly
sun-drenched conditions, it's only to the degree you'd expect.
Portraits offer just the right degree of softness to be flattering
without losing detail to any extent. Overall an impressive
showing from the Pentax that goes some way to justifying
its 'Super' suffix.
 PhotographyBLOG
is a member of the DIWA
organisation. Our test results for the Pentax K100D Super have been submitted to DIWA
for comparison with test results for different samples of
the same camera model supplied by other DIWA
member sites.
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