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05-28-2008, 06:58 AM   #1
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k10d and k200d...i know i know, but please read

I know I know this has been asked hundreds of times but this is a specific question.

I have the opportunity to buy a brand new K10d on clearance from a local store for 639 without a kit lens. I also have the opportunity to buy the k200d for 588 or so on that amazon and rebate deal WITH the kit lens.

I am a total newb to SLRS and this will be my first.

Should I go for the k10d or the k200d? I like the viewfinder of the k10d a lot better...but i don't know how much I will miss the portait,sports,etc, modes in the k10d.

Thanks!

05-28-2008, 07:11 AM   #2
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I would get the K200D. It is newer camera and comes with kit lens which is pretty good. This setup will get you started with photography in no time. K10D is very good camera but if you think you will need the scene modes, then you are better off with K200D. There is always option to upgrade later, but I doubt you will outgrow K200D soon as it still has manual, program, Av, Tv modes and better JPEG at high ISO.
05-28-2008, 07:11 AM   #3
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I think only you are going to be able to answer questions such as these. I am a total newb but I have never even used those scene modes. Having an extra dial on the body would be pretty valuable to me as well. That said, the K200D is arguably better at low-light/high ISO. I would probably go for the K10 personally speaking, but my needs and desires are probably different than yours. You can't go wrong either way.
05-28-2008, 07:19 AM   #4
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I'd go for the K10D for the pentaprism and extra dial, illuminated LCD and better grip. (despite having small hands, I think the chunky grip of the K10D is a lot better)

05-28-2008, 07:33 AM   #5
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you are NOT gonna find the answer here. They are both good cameras, and you have two different deals at your hand right now: more pro, better K10D costing more but no lens OR newer and costing less including good kit lens K200D.


your choice.
05-28-2008, 10:23 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by TangentReq Quote
I know I know this has been asked hundreds of times but this is a specific question.



Should I go for the k10d or the k200d? I like the viewfinder of the k10d a lot better...but i don't know how much I will miss the portait,sports,etc, modes in the k10d.

Thanks!
I would go for the K10D - you have to compare K200 to the K100D super.
K10D is in another league!

You will not miss anything with the K10D!


Kjell
05-28-2008, 11:28 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by fullkoll Quote
I would go for the K10D - you have to compare K200 to the K100D super.
K10D is in another league!

You will not miss anything with the K10D!


Kjell
That's funny. The K200D is FAR closer to the K10D than it is to the K100D.....performance wise.

05-28-2008, 11:41 AM   #8
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I have a K10D and K100D and I do not have a K200D for comparison, so take whatever I might say in that context.

The cameras are so similar (and if I may say it, excellent from my experience with the K10D) that you won't be far wrong with either.

Some features that might be important to you:

-Do you anticipate wanting the ability to do in-camera multiple exposures, and if you do, does the K200D have a multiple-exposure mode? It's not strictly necessary, since you can composite images later in an image editor, but I've found it to be a very convenient K10D feature on the odd occasion when I've wanted it.

-Do you anticipate wanting the convenience the additional controls of the K10D provide over navigating menus? I frequently use the meter-mode selector dial, af-point selector dial and enjoy the convenience they provide over navigating the menu system, in addition to having a handy front e-dial.

-Do you anticipate using the ir remote as a handy remote release when you want to minimize jiggling the camera while it's on a tripod? It sure is nice to be able to just stand behind the tripod normally and point the remote at the BACK of the camera where the REAR FACING ir sensor is to trigger the shutter.

-Do you plan to shoot mostly JPEGs and do minimal post-processing? In this case you will probably want the K200D, from what I've read it produces better JPEGs in general than the K10D.

-Do you expect to depend on the auto-white balance setting to set white-balance for you? Again, from what I've read the K200D is better than the K10D at selecting a good white balance setting.

-Build and construction. This is a hard thing to quantify, and very personal. Some people want something that is made of metal and weighs 6 pounds, others want a flyweight that they can forget about. Since I started out in the early '80s with 35mm film (a K1000 actually), I probably lean more toward the solid build group, but I can still appreciate something light and handy. For me, the K100D was a pretty big jump upwards in build quality over the canon digital rebels and the nikon d40 that I have handled. The K10D was another big jump upward over the K100D. My first digital camera was a canon digital rebel and I owned an eos 10D for awhile when I had canon kit, so pretty big difference there. The eos 10D had a good solid feel to it and for me at least the K10D feels at least as solid, maybe more so. Having said that, build and construction are not only subjective, I think that most of the time they don't REALLY matter. I mean does it really make a difference if the image quality is good? Probably not.

Some of the features I've listed may matter more or less (or not at all) to you. You might consider some of them incidental, I might consider them important, and someone else might consider them critical.

None of this means that I don't like my K100D, far from it, but I like my K10D more, even if you allow for the other differences between the cameras. Would I like a K200D? I expect so, and much of the time, I probably wouldn't notice the differences between the K200D and K10D. Mostly the feature differences are things that I discovered that I really appreciated after having them for a little while. I can do without them most of the time, but they sure can be nice.

The great thing is that you have two really good models to pick from. The bad thing is that you have two really good models to pick from.
05-28-2008, 12:35 PM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by brothereye Quote
I have a K10D and K100D and I do not have a K200D for comparison, so take whatever I might say in that context.

The great thing is that you have two really good models to pick from. The bad thing is that you have two really good models to pick from.
Well put and I totally agree!
I also have both the K10D and K100D Super and love them both - in different ways

In my opinion the crusual question is: JPG or RAW?
Since the K200D has a much improved jpg-engine that would probably be your best alternative if you are a "jpg-man".

If you only shoot RAW (as I do) K10D is probably the best chose.

Kjell
05-28-2008, 12:45 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by TangentReq Quote
I know I know this has been asked hundreds of times but this is a specific question.

I have the opportunity to buy a brand new K10d on clearance from a local store for 639 without a kit lens. I also have the opportunity to buy the k200d for 588 or so on that amazon and rebate deal WITH the kit lens.

I am a total newb to SLRS and this will be my first.

Should I go for the k10d or the k200d? I like the viewfinder of the k10d a lot better...but i don't know how much I will miss the portait,sports,etc, modes in the k10d.

Thanks!
Get the K200D. They have improved the electronics since the introduction of the K10D over a year and a half ago.

Ben
05-28-2008, 01:17 PM   #11
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I haven't used the K200D, so can't really comment on it (although many folks on this site claim that it is a great camera), but I do love my K10D (and my previous *Ist DS).

Great suggestions in previous posts that may help you. The only thing that I would add is....choose the one that feels the best in your hands. If it's not comfortable to use you are not likely to use it as often as you should.

c[_]
05-28-2008, 02:05 PM   #12
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At those prices I would choose the k200d.

Realistically they are practically the same camera when shot in raw mode, but with different ideas on the control setup. the k10d is more pro oriented and the k200d comes with all the newbie friendly modes.

Unless you're dying for the 2nd e-dial on the k10d, buy the k200d and enjoy the savings and kit lens.
05-28-2008, 02:33 PM   #13
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There are lots of arguments for both cameras, all valid.
So it's up to you, TangentReq, to make up your mind what features you really want (ie scene modes and some improvement on JPG shooting & maybe high ISO shooting on the K200D, or 2 e-dials, see-in-the-dark LCD and highly customisable interface on the K10D).

Have a feel of both in store and see what's best for you.
All the best in making that decision...
05-28-2008, 05:45 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ash Quote
There are lots of arguments for both cameras, all valid.
So it's up to you, TangentReq, to make up your mind what features you really want (ie scene modes and some improvement on JPG shooting & maybe high ISO shooting on the K200D, or 2 e-dials, see-in-the-dark LCD and highly customisable interface on the K10D).

Have a feel of both in store and see what's best for you.
All the best in making that decision...
So i ended up buying the K10d today, and took some pictures. It was a display unit but they said it has been behind glass the whole time. I get it home and after taking some pictures I see that it has actually been used before as I found the pic count to be 150 and pics on the data card are of people outside of the store....sooo not sure if I am going to return it or not.

In anycase...I took some pictures today and would like to post them but I am having a hard time doing it smoothly. the .raw files actually appear to be .pef files, and i installed UFraw on gimp to edit them and save them but can't quite figure it out or the best way to do it. Any help is appreciated!
05-28-2008, 06:28 PM   #15
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To share the RAW files you will have to convert them to JPG first. You can do this using the Silkypix software that came with the camera (I hope you got everything in the box!). If you are using Linux (GIMP isn't as popular on Windows or the Mac) I'm not sure how you'll do the conversions if the plug-in you mentioned isn't working.

The incredible flexibility you get shooting RAW far outweighs the amount of time it takes to "process" (convert) the files to JPG for sharing--especially if you get your hands on software like Lightroom or Aperture.

By the way, .PEF is the proprietary Pentax RAW format. The K10D can also shoot RAW files as .DNG which are an open RAW format. I find the .PEF files are better quality and smaller too.
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