{"id":3970,"date":"2012-12-20T11:47:03","date_gmt":"2012-12-20T16:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/?p=3970"},"modified":"2017-07-05T12:01:14","modified_gmt":"2017-07-05T16:01:14","slug":"red-rugged-and-ready-camera-the-pentax-q10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dougbardwell.com\/db\/red-rugged-and-ready-camera-the-pentax-q10\/","title":{"rendered":"Red, rugged and ready camera, the Pentax Q10"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pentax<\/a>

Pentax Q10 – ready for anything<\/p><\/div>\n

I\u2019ve just completed my second hands-on review of the new breed of MILC (mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras) and I\u2019m quickly becoming a huge fan. I\u2019ve been using the Pentax Q10 for the last month and have gotten to the point of actually leaving my beloved DSLR in the case during the entire last trip.<\/p>\n

I honestly expected to find some \u201ccan\u2019t live with it\u201d limitations; but, after a week of shooting, I\u2019m sold. Oh sure, there are things I can do better with my big DSLR; but, when traveling with my wife, \u201cdiscreet\u201d and \u201cunobtrusive\u201d are two operable words. This Pentax Q10 fit in my coat\u2019s hand-warmer pocket and was unnoticeable most of the time.<\/p>\n

The camera is palm-sized but it\u2019s built like a tank. Everyone that saw it was immediately impressed with how solid it feels, despite its diminutive scale. The pop-up flash is safety tucked away, but rises as high as any concealed flash I\u2019ve ever used and that prevents red-eye. There is also a hot-shoe for a dedicated flash if that\u2019s your style.<\/p>\n

This is the first camera I\u2019ve used that uses Adobe\u2019s DNG (digital negative) format, which I think is terrific.\u00a0 Pictures are recorded up to 12.4 megapixels with a processor specifically designed to reduce noise in both 12 bit JPEG and DNG RAW files. Notice the nice black skies outside the Courtyard or the lack of noise during the very dimly lit band and choir concerts in these photos.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Band<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"choir<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"exterior<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
<\/div>\n

This definitely could be the camera for those who like to change their mind. Even after shooting, you can change the size of the photo to four different aspect ratios (1:1, 4:3, 3:2, and 16:9.) Even more amazingly, you can change DNG\u2019s to JPEG and JPEG\u2019s to DNG\u2019s, provided it\u2019s still in the buffer.<\/p>\n

Another pleasant surprise was the increased area covered by this 5-15mm lens. You can choose to shoot in 16:9, 4:3, 3:2 or 1:1 ratios which saves lots of time cropping later.<\/p>\n

I shot the following pictures of a pond and trees with the Q10 in 4:3 and then again with my Nikon D300S with a 18-270mm Tamron lens. You\u2019ll notice the width is the same using the Pentax at 5mm and the Tamron at 18mm. Actually, with the 4:3 format you\u2019ll notice how much more foreground is covered, including my shadow. When you are in a confined space and can\u2019t back up any further, you\u2019ll appreciate that additional coverage.<\/p>\n

\"Lens<\/a><\/p>\n

Lens comparison of 4:3 and 3:2 aspect ratiosYou\u2019ll be shooting full 30 fps 1080p HD video, so load up with SD cards. You can also record at 720p or VGA for smaller file sizes. See the video below for samples. One minor problem experienced was that all videos showed a 1\/1\/1970 date on them when imported into Lightroom. In LR4, just go to Metadata->Edit Capture Time and you can assign the proper date and time.<\/p>\n