[smidsy]

Hei Guys,
Thinking about going DSLR - getting sick of paying $200 for a digi camera that lasts 3 months.
I can get a deal with this body and Sigma 18-50mm & 70-300mm lenses for $650.

The k200 is an extra $200 with only one lens, and the only differences I can see are 10.2 instead of 6.1 megapixel and an extra .2inch on the screen.

My question are, would you miss the extra pixels if you're never going to enlarge beyond 10x8. Also, what lense mount does the K100 use, is it a common one or something odd ball like the MZ60.

What I'm looking for is a decent budget DSLR that will last 2 or 3 years at least with moderate use, and this is the only thing that (to me) looks decent within my budget.

Opinions & thoughts please.
Cheers
Paul

[Atomac]

Hi Smidsy,

I am in Perth too and I went down the K200D route as it was a later model and it seemed to have a few features that the K100D didn't.

However, if I had seen a deal on the K100D Super like that I would have been sorely tempted as to buy those lenses new would be almost the cost of the body, from what I have researched.

I think the K100D is a good camera I never imagined that the 6.1 megapixels was going to be a problem, although I am not certain of resolution required for 10x8 prints.

Oh, and I bought my K200D from JB HiFi for $674 including 4 GB card, bag and rechargable batteries.

[axl]

there are few more improvements to K200D other than more mpx and bigger screen. F.e. weathersealing, more adjustments controls (more steps in saturation, sharpness, contrast. extra image tones...) but...
on the other side. K100D is great, I know because I have two... If you don't want humongeous prints, 6 mpx will be Ok. And extra lens is always handy...
tough call though....

[Marc Sabatella]

Lens mount is the standard Pentax "K" mount, been in use for decades. Pentax makes a ncie selection of lenses, many (but not all) Sigma, Tamron, & Tokina lenses available for Pentax too, and a *huge* assortment of used lenses available. My wife and I use 30-year old manual focus lenses on our DSLR's (her K100D, me K200D) all the time. Definitely not "oddball", although your typical mall camera shop might not stock much.

Differences betwene K200D & K100D - more megapixels and bigger screen, sure, but that's not really particualrly important. Weathersealing is the main one they sell you on. Other nice upgrades from 100 to 200 include the fact that the K200D automatically rotates images shot vertically, that RAW files are compressed, a somewhat improved menu layout that makes most common settings only a couple of button pushes away, and some other improvements.

One thing to be aware of - the original K100D did not have SDM focusing capability, meaning some of the newer lenses *will not autofocus* on it. You need the K100D "Super" for SDM support (the K200D and all other models newer than the K100D have it already, no "Super" needed). At this point, I wouldn't be sinking money into a Pentax camera without SDM unless it's a *great* deal.

[SpecialK]

At this point, I wouldn't be sinking money into a Pentax camera without SDM unless it's a *great* deal.

The SDM variety of lenses seem to be relatively expensive. I'm not sure someone would be investing in them specifically for a K100D, though obviously they would be handy to have when the body is finally upgraded.

That being said, I would be careful about what exact lenses do come with that deal. Sigma makes at least 2 versions of the 70-300, one non-APO for about $139 US, and the much-prefered APO version, about $200 US. Not sure if there is much difference between the Sigma 18-50 and Pentax 18-55 kit lenses.

[bonovox]

If you can find a k10d for a good price (quite possible since it has been repalced by the k20d), I would choose that over the k200d.

If you're willing to go the second-hand route, a k10d body can be had for under US$450

[Marc Sabatella]

The SDM variety of lenses seem to be relatively expensive.

Thus far, yes. But who knows what the situation will be like in a few years. And that 17-70 is one I imagien a lot of people *will* be buying.

Not sure if there is much difference between the Sigma 18-50 and Pentax 18-55 kit lenses.

I've never seen the Sigma, but have heard nothing but terrible things about it.

[nobbsie]

I've been using the K100D for nearly a year now and it really is a great camera for a first SLR. Make sure you get the Super version so you'll have compatibility with HSM for the future.

The Sigma 18-50 f/3.5-5.6 kit lens is very average, I replaced it pretty quickly with the Sigma 17-70. If you can find a kit with the Pentax 18-55 I'd go with that to begin with. Consumer telephotos are a bit of a mixed bag, some a great value for money, others can be a bit disappointing, do some research first on the forums before picking one.

If you have more than a passing interest in photography the K10D might be a better choice. The learning curve might be a bit steeper but you'll get a better viewfinder and you'll spend less time in the menus changing settings (ISO, AF modes and metering modes being the ones that come to mind). I'm personally looking to upgrade to the K20D at the end of the year, mostly for the above reasons.

[garth1948]

Your MZ60 lenses will work perfectly on the K100D, K200D etc.
The Pentax K lens mount has been around since the seventies.

[smidsy]

Hei Guys,
Thanks for all the advice.
I ended up going for it - it seems worth it just for the lenses, but realistically it's going to be quite a while before I can afford more than this so this will do me nicely for a year or two.

The camera came from Dick Smith at Innaloo, they have the last 3 (2 now) in WA - an added bonus is that it's advertised on the website as the K100D, but it's actually the K100D Super.
Cheers

[RiceHigh]

6M = 3000 x 2000 but each pixel is not an individual one - they are Baylor arranged:-

R G R G R
G B G B G

Four complete logical pixels above but they are re-used.

So, even for the 14.6MP K20D which has a resolution about 1600 lines per picture height. Thus, if you print just 8 x 10, you have 8 inches to share these 1600 dots. Hence, each inch you can have 200 dots only, which is surely not enough.

Higher quality prints should at least have 300 dots per inch (dpi) or even 600, which roughly we need at least a 13MP and 20MP DSLR to get such resolution, for just a larger 10 X 14" 12R print!

Even if you are to view a 6MP image against 12MP image on just a typical 1280 x 1024 LCD monitor, I guarantee that you can see a difference.

Forget about those old DSLR, get new ones which are update and just cheap right now!

[Oldschool]

As opposed to some people (see above post), I use my camera to take pictures. I have the
K100D and it's great. The Super is a little better only because it support SDM. Don't worry about pixel counts, 6MP is plenty to print up to 10X12 (and possibly larger). Enjoy your camera and show us your work.

[garth1948]

The relatively few images you print at 10 X 14 in (A4) are not inspected with a magnifying glass nor are they viewed against your eye.
6 mp is perfectly capable of producing a professional quality print at this size.
10 and 14 mp becomes important when cropping images or printing to A3 and beyond.

I still use my K100D as a backup to the K20D.

I will say it again, we are making images that are pleasurable to look at (art), not technical drawings that are zoomed in to see detail.

[Marc Sabatella]

Your MZ60 lenses will work perfectly on the K100D, K200D etc.

Hmm, I didn't recognize the name MZ60 when the OP mentioned it as an "oddball mount". So now I looked it up, and just to be clear - there is nothing really "oddball" about the MZ-60. It's standard K-mount. I suppose that might seem oddball to someone who only knows Canon or Nikon, but in the Pentax world, that's basically all there has been for decades now.

The only slight odd thing about the MZ-60 from from I can tell is that it was one of the earliest Pentax cameras to feature the "crippled" version of the mount that cannot read the aperture ring directly but requires an "A" setting or the use of stop-down metering. And indeed, all Pentax DSLR's have the same deal. If you want to use a lens with an aperture ring but that lacks an "A" position, you need to hit a button to get the camera to stop down momentarily to take a meter reading. Not a huge problem, but not as convenient as with lenses more recent (eg, within the last *20* years instead of the last *30*).

[offertonhatter]

Paul,

If you are looking for a good budget DSLR, at an excellent price, search for an *istDS. It has the same resulution as the K100D, but the advantage of the Pentaprism rather than the cheaper and darker Pentamirror. As it is about 4+ years old, it willbe a bargain.
I got mine in 2004 brand new, and although I have the K10D as well, it is still a great camera. In fact I produced and sold a number of A3 prints from this camera, at 72dpi, and they are excellent (why I sold some :-) ) So, ignore RH above, and search for a DS, it will be cheap, and still be a cracker.