[USCdeacon]

hello all I've been lurking the forums for a few weeks now and can't wait until I can contribute - but for now, I still don't have a camera! I'm a college student and I'm still saving up for a K100D (seems to be the best bang for the buck on a dSLR - if anyone can suggest other cameras for around the same price range, please do!)

Anyways, these are the deals I've found so far and needed help choosing a retailer to buy from:

Butterflyphoto has the K100d w/18-55mm Lens Kit for $552.00 = $50 rebate = $502.00
Butterfly Photo

Beachcamera / Buydig had the same exact kit for around $530 - 50 = $480.00
No link since they're out of stock at the time of this post (their Customer Support said that they'll be getting in a new shipment soon). But between Beach Camera and Butterflyphoto, Beach Camera seems to be the obvious retailer to buy from.

Here's where my decision gets a bit harder:

B&H offers what seems to be the same package for about the same price, and since I've read them to be a more reputable retailer, it almost seems to me like a nobrainer to buy from them:

Pentax K100D Digital Camera Kit with Pentax SMCP-DA 18-55mm AL AF Lens

They also offer a more expensive kit that comes with a SanDisk ULTRA II 2gig SD Card:

Pentax K100D Digital Camera with Pentax 18-55mm Lens and Sandisk 2GB Ultra II SD Card

The inclusion of the SD card, lens hood and other small goodies makes the latter package the best out of the bunch. I'm only worried that I'll be getting a poorer quality strap or even worse a different (worse) lens.

I'm new to dSLR photography, so any advice in comparison of the different packages/kits/offers listed above would really help me out - I'll be purchasing this sometime from mid to late March, so all feedback until then will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance - if you have any questions, please post and I'll do my best to clarify.


Excited about shooting outside the Nikon & Canon bubble!

God bless,
Jon

[Tom Brown]

I don't see any extra goodies in the last package except the 2GB SD card.

There is only 1 model of DA 18-55mm lens so there's nothing for them to substitute there. That lens comes with a lens hood so you can expect to get from any vendor. The K100D/18-55mm kits are all the same. The kit is put together by Pentax, not the vendor. In the last case, they are adding the SD card to round it out a bit.

[USCdeacon]

so I'm paying about $50 more just for a 2 gig SD card?

[Tom Brown]

Yes, but that's about the going rate for that card.

2GB Ultra II CompactFlash Card (SanDisk-SDCFH2048901) - PriceGrabber.com

[chedoy]

The K100D isn't a fast camera as far as buzzing off a dozen shots in a row, so it works just as well with cheaper 2G SD cards. You can probably find something for 20 bucks after rebate at Office Max, Office Depot, Frys, etc. I've seen 1G cards for $5 after rebate.

LOL. On my K100D, I took the cheapest shipping (up to a week) instead of paying $20 extra for 2 day delivery. It still came in 2 days via Fedex.

Don't forget to budget for batteries and a charger.

[USCdeacon]

thanks for all your help guys - I'll be sure to post my final "gear list" (which will undoubtedly be short for some time!) when I order everything.

Thanks again - love knowing that there's such an awesome forum for Pentax users

God bless,
Jon

[NaClH2O]

Hi Jon, just one point, others have covered every thing else. I would have absolutely no qualms about ordering from Beach. They have as good a reputation as B&H, it's just that B&H is much much larger so it (usually) has a greater stock of lenses and such and it therefore better known. IIRC Beach is actually a little better in their shipping policies.

NaCl(thought you might like to know)H2O

[trog100]

"The K100D isn't a fast camera as far as buzzing off a dozen shots in a row, so it works just as well with cheaper 2G SD cards."

it will "buzz" of a dozen shots twice as fast with a fast card as a with slow one.. he he he.. so it dosnt work just as well with a slow card.. it works at half the speed..

trog

[USCdeacon]

Beach is about $20 cheaper overall, so I'll probably end up ordering for them (if they get the K100's back in stock on time) - thanks for the heads up NaClH2O

And Trog - every bit of info is appreciated - thanks dude!

[rprii]

Beach is about $20 cheaper overall, so I'll probably end up ordering for them (if they get the K100's back in stock on time) - thanks for the heads up NaClH2O

And Trog - every bit of info is appreciated - thanks dude!

I have dealt with both and, quite frankly, I would have to save a h*ll of a lot more than $20 to ever again deal with Beach! I would definitely advise that you go with B&H. However, do not buy the "package" . . . a case of the dealer taking a small profit on the camera and trying to make up overpriced accessories.

Here is a great site to buy sd cards . . .
SD Cards - TheMemStore - SD Cards, SD Card, Secure Digital Card Compact Flash Card Memory Stick Card MultiMedia Card SD Cards xD - Picture Card EZ-Drive JetFlash 2A JetFlash USB 110 JetFlash USB 120 JetFlash V series Mini Spin USB Drive Super Stick O

Hope this helps . . .

Took the attached with my *istDS . . . not as fast in continuous mode mode as my K10D but very adequate . . . as a starter, you should be very happy with the K100D.

Fight On!!

[trog100]

the other usefull info is shooting raw will cripple your k100 from a sports machinegun point of view.. shooting jpegs will make it accepably fast with a decent card..

trog

[Technosavant]

I bought my K100D from Beach- no worries, and I am pleased as can be with the transaction.

For the SD card, I bought a Corsair 2GB SD card from Newegg for a bit over $30, and it works great:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR 2GB Secure Digital (SD) Flash Card - Retail

As for batteries, you can buy some rechargeables (I bought some NiMH ones), but if I had it to do again, I probably would have just bought a big pack of lithium AAs from Sam's Club- they last longer than the NiMH, don't leak power over time, and aren't horribly expensive.