Pentax K-m camera

Are you frustrated with the limitations of your compact camera and have £400 to spend on a new one? Then Pentax’s entry-level 10-megapixel K-m digital SLR, which comes bundled with an 18-55mm lens, is worth further investigation.

Lightweight, despite its knock-resistant stainless steel chassis and the four AA batteries required to power it, this Pentax is compact for its class – if not as small as Panasonic’s competing G1.

The K-m has large and clearly marked controls, a rounded grip, dedicated help button, and an Auto Picture mode. The latter automatically adjusts the camera's settings to achieve the best results for whatever subject you’re pointing it at.

With more or less instantaneous power-up and no noticeable shutter lag, the K-m responds rapidly to each button press, letting the user concentrate on the business of taking photos.

As well as pop-up flash, it boasts a hot-shoe adapter to add a separate flashgun if more lighting is required, as well as a 2.7in screen displaying essential shooting information on the rear. Unfortunately the same screen can’t be used for composing images (known as Live View): that’s left to the optical viewfinder directly above.

The auto-focus system and a capture speed of 3.5 frames per second are adequate if nothing special. It does include light sensitivity up to ISO3200 for shooting in very low light, as well as a pair of very useful features not always found at this level: built-in image stabilisation to combat camera shake and dust prevention to stop spots on your shots.

Regular JPEG or Raw images can be saved to SD memory cards. As with previous generations of Pentax SLRs, colours were bright and well-saturated and the kit lens delivered a pleasingly high degree of detail, with noise not a problem up until ISO1600.

There was slight purple fringing between areas of high contrast, though it was only noticeable when zooming in, and the camera had a tendency to under-expose. The latter is easily rectified in any image editor however.

A good performer under most conditions, user-friendly features and an attractive price make the frill-free Pentax K-m a winner for those making the jump up from a point-and-shoot camera.