K10D battery is actually Minolta
According to PDML user Thibault Massart aka Thibouille (you can reach him at DPreview forums as well), Pentax K10D proprietary Lithium battery is actually widely available (and cheaper - priced around $20 USD) Minolta NP-400.
Shel, a rep at the Pentax booth at Photokina told me (and was not supposed to so I won’t say his/her name) that those batteries for the K10D are the same as Minolta **-400. Don’t remind the first letters but according to the quick search I did on google they may be NP-400 which you should be able to find easily (and cheaper) than from Pentax.
November 4th, 2006 at 2:34 am
[…] Impact branded battery for upcoming Pentax K10D DSLR camera is now available at B&H for $19.95 (thanks to DPreview user manual_focus for information). This battery looks exactly like Minolta NP-400 clones. So the rumor is confirmed. […]
December 28th, 2006 at 9:34 am
The Minolta NP-400 is the same battery you can purchase 3 for £13.49 from digitalpremium on EBAY and they are 1750 mAh
February 1st, 2007 at 12:50 pm
I just recieved a copy of the notice Pentax sent to dealers in Canada regarding Minolta and after market batteries (Counterfeit Battery for the Pentax K10D, dated January 18, 2007, Ref. No.: S07-001).
The notice indicates possible problems with the lower priced batteries that may damage the camera.
Can anyone shed more light on the notice from Pentax? Is the notice just a market ploy by them in order to get the consumer to buy from Pentax?
February 1st, 2007 at 5:40 pm
You can find the same notice in almost every user manual. Yes, some of the cheapo third-party batteries are lower quality, but if you use well-known and respectful brand, it’s nothing to worry about.
April 15th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
I will not buy a camera that uses a proprietary battery. What was wrong with Lith/ion AA’s?
July 30th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I’ve owned two Pentax cameras, the previous had the Lith/Ions.
Although I do not like propietary batteries, I really don’t mind it in the K10. I find that these batteries last a lot longer than the lithium ones. I’d rather have this set up as is. My two cents.
November 23rd, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Not quite true that Minolta NP-400 == Pentax LI50. The Minolta (according to B&H) is 1500 mAh, whereas my Pentax LI50 is 1620 mAh.