[calicojack]

If you have to use 1600 it's not all that bad, <snip>This is one of the very, very few ISO 1600 shots I have taken.

Very nice example of 1600 from the K10D. Nothing objectionable there.

I have a K10D as well. I bought my wife a K200D. The two biggest differences I see are the lack of the second wheel on the 200 and the improved onboard flash of the 200.
Brian

[Marc Sabatella]

For spec's info, you can go here :
Pentax K D-Series Digital Bodies

Good link - I use that site for lens info a lot, but never think of it for info on bodies. I tend to just look at the announcement, preview, or review on dpreview.

Iso 1600 might look a little cleaner on the K200. Depends how old the model K10 is.

The reputation of the K10D for having sub-par high ISO is based on several factors, some of which did apparently improve over the life of the product (ie, late models better than earlier). But apparently, the main source of the difference is that the K10D achieves high ISO through its 22-bit ADC - a very unusual approach - whereas the K200D is more like other cameras and uses an analog amplifier in front of a standard lower-bit-count ADC.

Anyhow, I haven't been able to compare directly, but most people who have done direct comparisons report the K10D is *worse* than the 6MP cameras for high ISO noise, but the K200D is in my own tests (and those of others) *better* than the 6MP cameras.

Realistically, that's the only out-and-out advantage of the k200D over the K10D. If you happen to prefer smaller/lighter cameras and/or AA batteries, those are also advantages for the K200D. But in pretty much all other respects, the K10D is the better camera - better viewfinder, larger buffer, more controls, etc.

Still, for the way I use the camera, none of the extra buttons or dials of the K10D would have much value to me. I don't ever change metering mode, or AF point selection mode, or any of the other things the K10D makes easier. With one exception - changing ISO. The OK-button-plus-wheel method of the K10D is really only thing I still envy, but I tend to to just change ISO when entering or leaving building, so even that is no big deal to me.

[ecoronin]

I like the small compact size of the K200 but like the baterys of K10. External controls are nice but D40 dosent have most controls, so I guess I could live. The K200 and K10 are about the same price. The on the D40 I only go up to 800 iso. I wish I could get better but dont need it

[res3567]

K10 is a different league.
I bought a k20D mainly because of the lacking of the second wheel on the body and the wheels on the grip on k200. And in fact it's much more than that.
From what I hear, K10 is such a nice camera, very similar to k20

That is because the K20D is an "upgrade" to the K10D based on the same platform.

[Jonson PL]

The reputation of the K10D for having sub-par high ISO is based on several factors, some of which did apparently improve over the life of the product (ie, late models better than earlier). But apparently, the main source of the difference is that the K10D achieves high ISO through its 22-bit ADC - a very unusual approach - whereas the K200D is more like other cameras and uses an analog amplifier in front of a standard lower-bit-count ADC.

Anyhow, I haven't been able to compare directly, but most people who have done direct comparisons report the K10D is *worse* than the 6MP cameras for high ISO noise, but the K200D is in my own tests (and those of others) *better* than the 6MP cameras.

Realistically, that's the only out-and-out advantage of the k200D over the K10D. If you happen to prefer smaller/lighter cameras and/or AA batteries, those are also advantages for the K200D. But in pretty much all other respects, the K10D is the better camera - better viewfinder, larger buffer, more controls, etc.

Still, for the way I use the camera, none of the extra buttons or dials of the K10D would have much value to me. I don't ever change metering mode, or AF point selection mode, or any of the other things the K10D makes easier. With one exception - changing ISO. The OK-button-plus-wheel method of the K10D is really only thing I still envy, but I tend to to just change ISO when entering or leaving building, so even that is no big deal to me.

Thanks for your info, Marc.
Always a pleasure reading your informative posts.

I'm looking into some Pentax film SLRs, so using Boz site a lot

[Mr. B]

I was in that same dilemma about 7 months ago.
I tried them both but bought a K10.
I liked the grip and the slightly bigger screen on the K200 (didn't do high ISO comparison because I rarely need it), but decided for the K10 because of the 2nd wheel, more body controls, nice big viewfinder (great not just for MF but for everything )
The K200 is really nice, but K10 was simply better for me. I'd make the same choice today