[Mr Spocko]

Nikon allow manual control of the built in flash (which is good), but the downside list is painful to read.
You can't use the onboard as a master for wireless flash (only optical slaves no CLS support onboard), no HSS even with a high end flashgun (major limitation for fill flash work) No support for screw drive AF lenses, no metering on older lenses, D3200 has no bracketing options at all, diddy viewfinder, no direct buttons for WB and ISO, no DOF preview (nothing), Nikon's live view is a bit ropey being honest (no histogram), no mirror lock up either

D5200 adds very little really bar a slightly worse viewfinder (the mind boggles) it still can't do HSS or wireless, but it can do bracketing, has a basic MLU though

Both models are best avoided IMO they're flashbacks to the 90's where budget film SLR's were basic. Nikon sell them well because of the brand name, but they are quite crippled models really.

[Pepe Le Pew]

Just have him handle the K-30 then have him handle the Nikon. After handling the K-30, I couldn't believe how plasticky and cheap the Canon and Nikon cameras felt.

That's what my friends (who all own Nikon's) said when got they a feeling for my K-30

[Al_Kahollick]

Costco had a nice little bundle so I actually tried out the D3200 before I got the K30. Aside from the "cheap" feel, it only has one e-dial, I expected a slight learning curve, but found I needed to do a lot of menu diving to make changes, the lenses seemed OK for kit lenses, but images seemed overexposed and cold with inconsistent exposures / metering. Perhaps I'm just spoiled and used to holding a camera that doesn't feel like it'll break if I squeeze too tight, having 2 dials, frequently used settings at my fingertips,and that warm "film like" look of Pentax images!

[Nesster]

Both models are best avoided IMO they're flashbacks to the 90's where budget film SLR's were basic. Nikon sell them well because of the brand name, but they are quite crippled models really.

Yes, that is the painful truth. With Nikon you have to go to a D7000 to get support of screw drive lenses & metering on older ones. The D7000 is selling slightly below the K-5II

[normhead]

Just to repeat in another thread, what I always say... coming from a K-5, it's d800 or nothing, unless you want Canon's fast focusing options.

The Nikon D3200 according to IR resolves about 2500 lw/ph
A K-5 has tested at 2400 lw/ph, but the common test is comparison 2100
The K-30 resolved 2200 lw/ph

So what you've done is ad 8 MP of file size for 100 lw/ph. I know people say different but on 20x30 print, I simply don't believe you can see the difference between, those files. 20 inches/2100 lines give a resolution of .0095 inches. 20 /2500 lw/ph = .008 inches. The difference is .0003, 1.5/1000 th of an inch...sorry, I don't beleive you can see that.

A K-30 gives a line width of .009 , so one thousandth of an inch less line width than a D3200.

I noted someone posted that the human eye can see over 1/500 of an inch, or 2/thousanths, of an inch, so unfortunately, even in the article posted to support more MP equals better, he had to go to a D800 to prove his point, which is exactly what my own research has shown.

By the way, a human can see 1/600 th of an inch, from 8 inches. That for most people is not a normal viewing distance. Someone with really good isight might be able to tell the difference between a D3200 and K-5 image blown up to 20 inches by 30 inches, from a distance of 8 inches away... or they might not. My advice would be keep your file sizes down and wait for something that gives you a noticeable difference. 24 Mp doesn't seem to be it.

Before you buy your D7100, D3200, or D5200... you might want to consider the numbers as they relate to real life performance. You might get a teeny tiny little bit more, but it might not be enough to even notice. That's what I found comparing my K-5 images to D3200 images. No practical difference.

[PhotoHeron]

I handled a Nikon 3200 today the hand grip is too shallow even for my smaller hands. I rather have a camera with performance then high megapixel.It felt too plasticity for my taste. You can definitely tell that it is entry level.

[RyanW]

According to the DXOmark

Entry level folk don't know that DXOmark exists and most pros know but don't care.

Sensor performance in most modern cameras is so good that you can randomly pick a brand and have a good experience. There are so many other considerations that will impact your photography more than 1/2 stop noise one way or the other.

[RyanW]

Nikon allow manual control of the built in flash (which is good), but the downside list is painful to read.

True, the D3200 can't take full advantage of the CLS, but guess what?

TTL flash just plain works. Dig up the numerous threads on various fora about the broken TTL with Pentax and various flashes. You need a decoder ring to figure out which body works with which flash.

I would take the K-30 for a host of reasons over the Nikon that most have already mentioned, but flash is clearly a win for Nikon and if one wants a coherent flash system CLS Is about the best out there.

[IchabodCrane]

Nikon allow manual control of the built in flash (which is good), but the downside list is painful to read.
You can't use the onboard as a master for wireless flash (only optical slaves no CLS support onboard), no HSS even with a high end flashgun (major limitation for fill flash work) No support for screw drive AF lenses, no metering on older lenses, D3200 has no bracketing options at all, diddy viewfinder, no direct buttons for WB and ISO, no DOF preview (nothing), Nikon's live view is a bit ropey being honest (no histogram), no mirror lock up either

D5200 adds very little really bar a slightly worse viewfinder (the mind boggles) it still can't do HSS or wireless, but it can do bracketing, has a basic MLU though

Both models are best avoided IMO they're flashbacks to the 90's where budget film SLR's were basic. Nikon sell them well because of the brand name, but they are quite crippled models really.

In reality, Pentax allows good control of the built-in flash, too. True, you can't set it up as a manual flash but varying ambient/strobe light ratio, etc. with the built-in flash is pretty easily done on current Pentax cameras.