[agsy]

I have never considered a pancake lens. Are there any advantages besides they are thin?

Well if you get really hungry...just kidding .

[sagiboy]

Canon metering and focus is better. Also Canon is Made In Japan.

[elho_cid]

Canon metering and focus is better. Also Canon is Made In Japan.

Tell this to my girlfriend. She hs persistent problems with focus and metering on her Canon. I mean no camera is flawless. Only some Pentax owners seem to assume that their is the worst. Not true at all.

[agsy]

If you ask me, I'd pick Pentax. The fact that you can use older lenses and have in body SR it's awesome. If you get the two lens combo (18-55 & 55-300), you are pretty much all set. Maybe pick up some old fast glass later.

Good luck whichever system you pick.

[GrinMode]

Canon metering and focus is better. Also Canon is Made In Japan.

IMHO any auto thingy only gets one so far. I've seen Canon AF fail (low end models) and overexpose often in bright sunlight.

You learn to use any gear to get the most of it, and cope in its shortcomings.

I have nothing against any brand. May statement above is how I view them.

Of course one has personal preference that sways decision to use one gear over the other. I chose Pentax. Since the OP is asking in a Pentax forum, I won't be surprised if majority says Pentax.

And i have to say that as far as I've seen, members here are very objective when giving advice.

I OBJECT, I OBJECT, I OBJECT. . Ok I'm kidding here

[GerryL]

It is your choice only in the end. Click this link for very nice summary of main differences:
Canon 550D vs Pentax K-r

IMO the K-r is better for stills, 550D has edge in video applications. Both will be proabably good enough for a beginner and neither is good enough for me.

I love it how, even if the Pentax has more advantages over the Canon, the Canon still wins in points.
If you look closely however, it would seem that the points is tipped over to Canon's favor by the testers including a ridiculous "popularity" category which of course gives the Pentax points a plunging low and the Canon pulling it's overall scores up!
If one eliminates the "popularity" category then the scores would be very slim at (Canon) 62 vs 60 (Pentax).
They also cheated on the lens availability category giving the Canon the points when in fact the Pentax can use it's legacy lenses.
I say this comparison article is crap when you can clearly see how they try to give more points to Canon just to make it win!
...and oh yeah, for every feature advantage that Canon has over Pentax, they give a 100 score but if you look at the "image stabilization" category, they give only Pentax an 80 instead of a 100! I say biased..biased..biased review!

[twitch]

The score is useless, but the rest of the info is helpful. It's pretty clear where the strengths of the 2 cameras lie when you read each of the differences. For Canon it's video features and a slightly smaller body (which surprised me); for Pentax it's all around still image quality with higher IQ & better DR.

[pinholecam]

Snapsort is a really crappy site put I don't know why ppl keep using it. IMO, its no more than a brochure compilation. No real test shots, no real reviewer usage.

550D is a pretty good camera at 'entry level'. High amt of megapix if cropping is important. Very poor plastic build though. Seems like Canon has relegated this model to really low end of their line of cameras in terms of build.
Good access to some cheap plastic primes 35/1.8; 50/1.8; 85/1.8 if the TS is looking for these.
Arguably better AF. I've tried it, but never made a comparison.
Overall, still a very nice camera for the money and performance.


The Kr has better ISO performance, but less megapix if cropping is necessary.
Nicer build than the 550D and nice features :
1. Compatibility to old lenses (cheap and good lenses)
2. WB and picture modes preview and saving
3. In camera SR
4. In camera HDR

[elho_cid]

Cheap plastic 35mm? Only Pentax does that. Canon one is quite expensive for what it does.

[zose]

pentax k-r e Tamron 28-75 2.8....... eccezionale!

[Rondec]

Cheap plastic 35mm? Only Pentax does that. Canon one is quite expensive for what it does.

I think he is thinking of the Nikon 35 f1.8. Canon does have a 35mm f2, which is a little over a hundred dollars more than the Pentax 35mm f2.4. Nikon's 35mm f1.8 does run around 200 dollars and is a nice lens from what I've seen (my brother owns one).

[SaikouShadou]

a friend of mine has a 550D bit old now since the 650D is out. I reckon get the K-r, in-body shake reduction is a win. in the end your choice.

[starbase218]

If you ask me, I'd pick Pentax. The fact that you can use older lenses and have in body SR it's awesome. If you get the two lens combo (18-55 & 55-300), you are pretty much all set. Maybe pick up some old fast glass later.

Good luck whichever system you pick.

Older lenses are exclusively manual-focus though, and thus for me pretty useless for street/candid photography. Once I've focussed, the moment has passed. I like the feel of older Pentax glass, but the lack of autofocus just makes the application so much more difficult.

[Deimos]

Older lenses are exclusively manual-focus though, and thus for me pretty useless for street/candid photography. Once I've focussed, the moment has passed. I like the feel of older Pentax glass, but the lack of autofocus just makes the application so much more difficult.

There are tons of older film AF lenses

[karlito]

there is nothing good about the pentax k-r, the pictures are average at best, the video is horrendous!!! its a waste of money, you would be better off envesting in a cannon 600d.. a lot of people say the pentax kr has a lot of features, which is true, but at the end of the day it fails ingiving good video or photos