[lostkj233]

I wonder why trolls always seem to type so often, yet never really get a complete grasp of the English language?

What the hell are you smoking? I guess thats why you can't see sharpness in pics.

[joakimfors]

They don't existThe K10d I had couldn't even track a cat walking across the yard in AFC mode. The XTi in Ai servo mode can track and lock focus on moving objects up to 20 mph.

Huh? Flickr: Search

[AGW]

If your cheap, buy Pentax. If you can afford lenses with IS, buy Canon or Nikon

Wow, that's pretty harsh.

I was willing to pay up to 2 grand for a camera and a lens.

I was able to find everything I needed in a Pentax for a little less than 900. I had enough left over to buy another lens. And still have a few bucks left over to take the wife out to dinner.

I don't call that cheap, I call it smart. Especially the part about taking the wife out to dinner after spending all that money on a camera. I never ate a lens, but no matter what it cost, I'm betting that prime rib was better

Al

[Edward B.]

If I was an action shooter I wouldn't recommend the K200D. It has a small, 4-shot buffer, and (with a fast SD card) slows to about 1 shot per second when the buffer is full. I love my K200D, but it has its limitations.

I understand it has a small buffer. I'm not talking about shooting Allen Iverson for Sports Illustrated or anything. I'm talking high school sports.

Whenever I shot sports in the past, I always took one shot at a time.

That is - I zeroed in on the subject, focused, released the shutter once. Repeated.

Unless I'm complete bonehead (which is very possible, ), my understanding is that I should be able to accomplish this with the 200D.

Am I wrong?

You can tell from the few sports pictures I have on my Flickr account that I'm not expecting miracles.

[Edward B.]

Huh? Flickr: Search

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, about 10 pages of those are pretty awful football shots. I know football is hard to shoot, especially during evening games, but, man, that doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

[joakimfors]

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, about 10 pages of those are pretty awful football shots. I know football is hard to shoot, especially during evening games, but, man, that doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

Well, it depends a lot on how people tag their photos... Flickr haven't implemented any image analysis yet that can determine if it's an action shot or not, and I just did a quick search. On the K200D camera page, on Flickr, they have an action category also.

[Stratman]

Does your hatred for Canon have anything to do with being banned over on the Canon site? I thought you were using an XTi? Now your back to the DS. If your cheap, buy Pentax. If you can afford lenses with IS, buy Canon or Nikon.

If you have a Canon, why are you here? Go to the Canon forum, and brag about how much extra you spend on stabilized lenses, they'll appreciate it over there I'm sure......

Anyway, here are some action shots I took with my K110D, and a Takumar F Zoom 28-80 in May of 07. If i remember correctly, I used AF on all of these shots, and most of them came out pretty well.... I would think that the K200D would be an improvement over the K110D.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77145824@N00/sets/72157603530433039/ <----click

[Canada_Rockies]

And here is a "Rusty Blades" shot

[pentaxmz]

RiceHigh has a personal vendetta against Pentax for some reason, and seizes every opportunity to bash them. Do not base your purchase on anything he says about Pentax.. Handle several cameras in your price range, and go from there.

With all due respect, that is quite an inflamitory statement to make and I might add, quite incorrect. The site is full of factual information, both positive and negative. But bottom-line it is always unbiased and factual. I challenge you to point out any grossly inaccurate postings.

Quite simply, the Ricehigh blog is the greatest advocate Pentax has if they wish to listen and make their products first rate!

Does it turn away potential Pentax owners, yes I am sure it does! But at least the blog tells the truth about both the great attributes and the flaws in all Pentax products.

What is it with the 'average' Pentax owner's "I don't want to hear any negative, let's just talk about how nice my camera is" attitudes!

Do Canon owners talk like this too? Or is this just a defence mechanism brought on due to purchasing a camera from the company with the least DSLR market share?

The reason why I am a Pentax owner is because I own several of the best 35 mm cameras ever built, namely, the Pentax MZ-S! This is both my opinion and the opinion of many of the world's experts! It was the last SLR made by Pentax that they can be truly proud of! I had invested 1000's of dollars in PK type lenses which made it very expensive to switch to Canon. That is why I now own a K20D.

Anyhow, I really don't care what camera someone owns. The important question is, what can one do with the equipment they own.

So to the original poster, unless you have special requirements... it really doesn't matter whether you buy the 200D or Canon Rebel Xsi. They are both beginner DSLRs and they are both fairly well liked. There are pros/cons for both... but I personally believe more pixels is almost always better. That makes the Canon the better choice on that criteria alone (FYI 12mp is about 2mp short of approaching 35mm ISO 100 film resolution by most measurements).

Some words of advice... consider your upgrade path. Assuming you will purchase additional lenses, you outgrow your first DSLR, and because lenses are proprietary, you are somewhat 'locking' yourself into a brand (unless money is no object ).

Finally, (speaking of lenses) when you do purchase additional lenses, buy for life! Don't cheap out! Buy the best you can afford, even if it means one lens instead of two.

[Stratman]

Think what you will, but there are MANY people on here that will agree with me about RH

[pentaxmz]

ricehigh seems to be a person who tries to fix the facts to meet his already decided conclusion that pentax cameras have many problems. His agenda seems to be very clear: to bash pentax at every opportunity, but to do so w/ a veil of objectivity.
.....

In regards to your original question, my 2 cents would boil down to this: image stabilization and value. Both cams will take great pictures most of the time, but in times when you're taking indoor shots or pics when light is fading, image stabilization will help you out a lot since your pictures will be sharper at slower shutter speeds. And instead of having to spend extra to get image stabilization in every lens, with Pentax you only have to buy it once, and every lens you put on it will benefit from a stablized body. That's what I call value... an investment that keeps giving back.

Wow!
Is there anyone in this forum that appreciates the Ricehigh blog?

Canon's image stabilization philosophy is different from Pentax; it is that simple!

It is arguable whether one is better than the other. There are many pros (better and more famous than any of us) that will tell you that Canon's implementation is superior! Personally, I really don't care how IS is done. I've been successful without the aid of IS for over 20 years (or so).

To the original poster, if IS is important to have on legacy lenses then by all means buy into Pentax technology.

[pentaxmz]

Think what you will, but there are MANY people on here that will agree with me about RH

That doesn't make it right or correct. Anyhow the argument for or against is rather moot. Often people believe what they want, regardless of the facts.

But I am curious, rather then making blanket statements about Ricehigh, are you able to quote an example where Ricehigh where blatantly lied or mislead? That is what the 'hate' is about, isn't it? Just trying to understand the rampant animosity toward the blog.

[pentaxmz]

You don't need it with a 50mm.

I do. I shot much of an event recently with an FA50, almost at 1/30 & 1/15 sec shutter speeds. I could not have gotten good results without the IS. I'm sure glad it's there!

I don't mean to stir the flames and I don't ever want to get into a 'who's camera is better debate' but I have to agree with the other poster. You shouldn't need IS on a 50mm.

Gary, where were you 20 years ago? IS was Star Trek fantasy back then! Unless you are (unfortunately) unsteady, you shouldn't need IS at 1/30 on a 50mm lens and I know I normally won't have problems even at 1/15 sec. I will post a new thread later (as soon as my darn battery is charged) about this topic. If I see a difference with/without... I will admit I am wrong.

[pentaxmz]

> Originally Posted by johnsherwood View Post
>
> 1. Build quality is unmatched in the same price range vs Nikon/Canon/Oly
> 2. IS ( Image Stabilization/Shake Reduction ) for EVERY LENS YOU EVER OWN.
> 3. Glass..........take some shots with an m42 50 super tak thats 40 years old
> plus/looks like its been through the wars/weighs a pound ( okay not quite )
> that you bought at a pawn shop for $15.........then print that image and
> celebrate the backwards compatibility wonder that is Pentax.........

You make some great points. I just wanted to add that manual focusing some lenses can be a real pain since the factory focusing screen isn't really setup for that. With an aftermarket one though, yes, you can score some amazing lenses and use them easily!

As for price range, new it's definitely unbeatable. But used, the older XXD Canons are amazing deals.

I agree, John's points were good if those attributes are important to a new owner.

I just wanted to make a point about your manual focusing statement. Yes, it is true that the focusing screen is not designed for manual lenses but you do receive audible feedback (beep) when the manual lens is in focus.

On the K20D, the focusing screen is changeable to a more manual focus friendly screen but I don't think this is possible on the K200D.

BTW, is anyone else having a problem where +multiquote doesn't always work?

[pentaxmz]

....

I'll restrict my comments here to just one kind of on-topic remark: the shot of the swimmer is a classic example of why people say Pentax underexposes. No way would a Pentax camera have chosen that exposure. I totally understand *why* Pentax would have chosen a darker exposure (protect all those highlights on the white markers, also aim for an overall average of a little darker than 18% gray like the textbooks say). And I also totally understand why most people (myself included) would nevertheless *prefer* the exposure you got (blown highlights and all). In Pentax-land, you simply expect to need exposure compensation to get that shot, and you learn when and how to do that.

.....

Hi Marc, I was trying to refrain from commenting on a completely off-topic posting (not because the author doesn't own a Pentax but because it was a new/different topic - I guess I've been guilty of same ).

Anyhow, I think your initial point was unfair. To be fair, I can assure you that any camera will allow over exposure if you tell it. I am surprised that you would initially think that the swimming photo was taken with 0EV. Canon's metering would never make such a mistake just as one expects from any Pentax. My immediate reaction to many of the photos was that the photographer was using manual mode or had an EV with probably 1 to 1 1/2 stops too high. Some are perfectly exposed by composition needs some work. Flames 2 is one of the better photos (IMHO).

Marc, I also have to disagree with you (just my opinion and experience) about using EV. One of my FF lenses absolutely needs and EV adjustment of 2 full stops in order to get an accurate reading. I am not sure why this is but I can assure you that 0 EV is way underexposed!