Just finished reading LRY's review of the K10D and I am frothing at the mouth to get one... :cryin: but, it's going to be quite a while before I do. However, In the review, I didn't see anything about the light meter.

My ist DL's meter is located such that in almost any kind of light, I have to shade the eyepiece to be able to see it and it's a little difficult to adjust while shading and trying to hold the camera and watch the shot (frequently missing the moment), and it makes it very difficult in changing light situations.

Where is the light meter on the K10D? On the ist DL, it is located in the lower right hand corner, almost off screen, in very tiny print.

Also, If I am just too dumb to figure out how to change the view on my DL, I'd appreciate any suggestions...

Ken

There's a representation of the 10K viewfinder status bar on this page.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxk10d/page3.asp

I haven't had my camera out in the light yet so I don't know yet whether I'll have a problem seeing the status bar in the viewfinder. I do like the way the aperture and shutter controls work in conjunction with it though.

I can't find anything in my manual about changing the brightness of the status bar, but I haven't been through it thoroughly yet. The 10K manual calls the meter the "EV bar".
You could probably ask at the pentax customer support if there is some way of changing the brightness of the status bar.
http://www.pentaximaging.com/customer_care/contact_customer_service

Do you hold the camera firmly against your eyebrow when you are shooting?
Do you have the eycup on your camera? perhaps there is a larger aftermarket eyecup that would fit the camera and provide more shielding from the light. Ask the customer support if other eyecups would fit on that camera.
Can you wear a hat or cap that would shield the viewfinder? I know that the visor of a ball cap irritates me when I'm shooting but maybe a floppy boonie hat might help.

Thanx Chunk...good suggestions, I'll ck out the dpreview..

My eyecup kept falling off and I haven't replaced it, but even when I use Kims DL, with eyecup, I can't see it. I can read the majority of the status bar ok, it's just the location of the light meter I think that is the biggest problem for me (lower right corner), and the fact that, "no" I don't have my eye right on the VF. I guess I'll have to invest in a new one, or just suffer with it until I can afford the 10D...hehehe...
Again, thanx for the info and suggestions.

Ken

Ken,

After reading your post and the replies, I don't know if this helps you much really, but my face is smashed against the back of any camera because my eye is as close as possible to the viewfinder. (I wish I had a screen cover like the D80, but I guess a shirt sleeve does the trick too.)

Film camera users remember the days of bright, clear viewfinders that you didn't have to strain to see through. The K10D has a nice viewfinder. A welcome change for the better if you ask me and it was one of the reasons I bought the K10D for myself before Photo John got a hold of a review unit for PhotographyReview.

As for the light meter, well I guess you'll find out! It's fairly accurate too which is a nice thing.

HTH,
Larry

Thanx Larry, I looked at the link Chunk put up and I really like the VF and status bar. Much better than my DL. I also like the fact that when I can finally afford one, my experience with the DL will lessen my learning curve tremendously. Thats very important to me. Plus my lenses will easily fit either camera. :-)
Again, Thx,
Ken

Ken, I had the K10D out in the bright sunlight with heavy snow (had to use a 2 stop exposure compensation) and had trouble reading that status bar. I found it was easier to use the screen on top of the camera even though it meant removing my eye from the viewfinder.

I don't see that varying the brightness of the display is possible but it would be a really good feature to have on a camera. It seems like the designers could easily automate it since the camera knows how bright it is around it.

Thanx Chunk...maybe benjikan will read this and forward it to Pentax for us....hehe...
Ken