[DennisH]

Hi, I'm new here, so take it easy!

I have narrowed my choices down to the K200D and the Nikon D60, leaning heavily toward the Pentax. Please tell me why I'm making the right decision.

Also, if I have the 200, the battery grip, and the Tamron 70-300 zoom, and the 360 external flash, I'm looking at around 4 lbs. total weight, correct? Is that a huge mistake (literally)?

[ftpaddict]

One thing to know is that you're NEVER going wrong when buying a Pentax. I have a K100D, and aside from a few extremely minor niggles, I couldn't be happier with it.

The D60 is very user friendly, but sadly quite limited if you want to get more serious with your photography. A lack of custom controls and the tiny body are definite drawbacks for me when it comes to the baby Nikon.

As for the K200D, no doubt you've done the reading already; so here's why I'd go for it:

more customizable functions

weather sealing

battery grip available

compatibility with such GEMS as the Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7 (I'd sacrifice autofocus for that kind of image quality any day)

uses AA batteries (a plus for me as a couple of Sanyo rechargeable pairs are really quite cheap, and the camera uses the same batteries as the flash. Think about it.)


Other than that, their sensors are identical, and you'll get the same level of quality if you shoot RAW with both.

Go to a store and handle them for yourself. Don't let the salesman sucker you into buying anything. Just feel them for yourself and decide which one fits your style and character best.

[Okami]

Please go to a store and try them out for yourself. I was looking a D60 for a friend the other day since he insisted on Nikon (been a Nikon film shooter for years) and compared to a k200d it's a no brainer to go for the Pentax

[DennisH]

Thanks for the reply. Finding one in a shop around here has proven to be difficult, although I did find a 110D.

The battery grip is actually very important to me, even though I'm concerned about the weight and needing 10 AA batteries charged at all times for the camera, grip, and flash.

[ftpaddict]

Thanks for the reply. Finding one in a shop around here has proven to be difficult, although I did find a 110D.

The battery grip is actually very important to me, even though I'm concerned about the weight and needing 10 AA batteries charged at all times for the camera, grip, and flash.

I don't find carrying around 8 rechargeables around at all times too cumbersome.

[dylansalt]

I held and played with the D40X quite a bit at my local store - they didn't stock Pentax.

Went to a competitor store who did and looked at the K100 (an older camera than the D40) and was simply taken aback with the build quality of the Pentax vs the Nikon.

I seriously was going to buy the Pentax K100, but a K10D was placed in my hands:-)

[brothereye]

One thing to know is that you're NEVER going wrong when buying a Pentax. I have a K100D, and aside from a few extremely minor niggles, I couldn't be happier with it.

True, my ONLY complaint about my K100D is the battery life compared to my *ist DS. Well, I wouldn't have minded a front e-Dial. But seriously that is the complete extent of what I would change on my K100D.

Go to a store and handle them for yourself. Don't let the salesman sucker you into buying anything. Just feel them for yourself and decide which one fits your style and character best.

Seriously, I use to work in a camera shop, and the manager would say anything to get customers to buy something he got a high commission on. Luckily he was never available when they came back to complain. The good part is that if possible, I would offer a refund toward what they had originally wanted to buy, and that meant he wasn't around to stop me either! The guy barely knew how to put a lens on an SLR, but he knew the commission rates on the gear back and front, he was truly sad to work with/for.

[Venturi]

Schenectady?! Wow, haven't heard that town's name in a long time.
One of my Marine buddies is/was from there and we went up for a NY visit back in '91. Nice town.

I haven't any further advice on the purchase other than try and find a local store where you can put them both in your hands - and as has been said it is really really hard to go "wrong" with Pentax. Good luck and welcome to the forums.

[ftpaddict]

True, my ONLY complaint about my K100D is the battery life compared to my *ist DS. Well, I wouldn't have minded a front e-Dial. But seriously that is the complete extent of what I would change on my K100D.

A non-issue for me. My Sanyo 2700 mAh have been going strong for over 2 weeks now. Granted, I have not taken many pictures with the K100D as of late, so anybody in for a gig or crucial bit of work would do well to keep some replacements handy.

Seriously, I use to work in a camera shop, and the manager would say anything to get customers to buy something he got a high commission on. Luckily he was never available when they came back to complain. The good part is that if possible, I would offer a refund toward what they had originally wanted to buy, and that meant he wasn't around to stop me either! The guy barely knew how to put a lens on an SLR, but he knew the commission rates on the gear back and front, he was truly sad to work with/for.

I work in a computer shop and we also sell cameras, but of the P&S variety (Canon Powershot, Nikon D40...), and we always (we as in ME, because everyone knows I know more about those cameras than anybody else working in the store) recommend the best model based on their needs and budget.

Who in their right mind would want to buy a BenQ camera?

[DennisH]

Thanks for all the responses.

If all I can get my hands on is the K110D, would that be a fair comparison, more or less, at least ergonomically?

[ftpaddict]

Thanks for all the responses.

If all I can get my hands on is the K110D, would that be a fair comparison, more or less, at least ergonomically?

Yes. Just set out with this mindset - the K200D will feel better in your hands.

[cputeq]

Personally I think the Nikon D60 offers absolutely nothing over the Pentax except a slightly higher buffer and a "ISO3200 equiv. mode" , whatever that means.

Lens selection, flash options, rental opportunities-- Yes, Nikon is the winner.

Body features, lens value - Pentax all the way (unless you want a cheap 85mm prime )


Ergonomics (for me) : K200d by a mile.

IQ : Probably equal, given appropriate lenses.

---------

Look over what focal lengths you want and how much you want to get into flash photography before deciding. The K200D is highly recommended if you don't need some of the non-Pentax focal lengths that Nikon offers.

[gingerburn]

I agree with everything everyone has said, but would add this: with a Pentax you're not like every other beggar out there whose cameras end with "-on". Be different: it's much more rewarding.

[DennisH]

It's funny, gingerburn, that exact reasoning was in my plus column for Pentax, but I thought I was being foolish.

[brothereye]

A non-issue for me. My Sanyo 2700 mAh have been going strong for over 2 weeks now. Granted, I have not taken many pictures with the K100D as of late, so anybody in for a gig or crucial bit of work would do well to keep some replacements handy.

True, I don't think it's a serious issue either, but it is one of the two things I would change on my K100D. If I could.

I work in a computer shop and we also sell cameras, but of the P&S variety (Canon Powershot, Nikon D40...), and we always (we as in ME, because everyone knows I know more about those cameras than anybody else working in the store) recommend the best model based on their needs and budget.

Who in their right mind would want to buy a BenQ camera?

My camera shop job was about 20 years ago, so it has been awhile. But I always took a couple of directions with our customers, at least the customers I interacted with.

1) If someone came in and specifically said, "I want this", I assume they had done their homework and if we had it, I rang it up in the till, and let them be on their way with the least amount of aggravation I could. We dealt with runners for pros occasionally and they had places to go and things to do. And they knew what they were supposed to buy.

2)If someone came in and asked "I'm looking for a camera", I would try to find out what they wanted it for, show them the different choices that were available, and try to help them make as informed a decision as I could. If they asked me what I recommended, I told them what I would personally buy if it was me buying it, and as importantly why I would choose that item.

As I had suspected, these strategies resulting in alot of happy customers. Some of which would deal only with me when they came in, because they felt that I was honest with them. In this case they were right. And all this was ok for me. I don't ever remember one of my customers being unhappy dealing with me.

Our manager, well that was a different story. Even if someone came in and asked specifically for something, unless it was a high commission item, he would launch into a big story about how it wasn't very good, why they should buy this other item instead, etc.