[wll]

I had a K10D and sold it to purchase the K20D, a very nice machine. Sometime later I purchased a K200D as I wanted AA battery capability and a smaller camera footprint for an all around carry camera.

So far I've been VERY, VERY impressed with the K200D. It is very well made, and the images are outstanding and I think the images are better than the K10D !

Am I being overly enthusiastic or do you folks that have the K200D feel the same way?

The ONLY thing about the K200D is that I wish it was a better high ISO performer, but I use this camera mostly as a walk around and not a concert machine so it doesn't matter much.


wll

[GLXLR]

I had a K10D and sold it to purchase the K20D, a very nice machine. Sometime later I purchased a K200D as I wanted AA battery capability and a smaller camera footprint for an all around carry camera.

So far I've been VERY, VERY impressed with the K200D. It is very well made, and the images are outstanding and I think the images are better than the K10D !

Am I being overly enthusiastic or do you folks that have the K200D feel the same way?

The ONLY thing about the K200D is that I wish it was a better high ISO performer, but I use this camera mostly as a walk around and not a concert machine so it doesn't matter much.


wll

The images seem better b/c the default settings on the K200D are cranked up where as the K10D is rather muted. Same sensor though. In reality though, it basically is a K10D with a smaller view finder, larger screen, and uses AA batteries.

[arpaagent]

I had a K200D before recently upgrading to a K-7. I will still keep the K200D, as it is still an awesome camera, although the K-7 wins hands down (not surprising considering the cost difference). The main things that I found lacking in the K200D were AF speed and consistency in low light,high ISO noise (I usually try to stay ISO400 or less), and the small viewfinder. Other than that, the camera rocks! It's great to slap a small MF prime on the front and make some nice photos.

The photos out of my K-7 are not strikingly better than those out of the K200D under decent lighting conditions, so long as very quick AF is not required.

-Jim

[Marc Sabatella]

I agree! Except I *do* use it for concert photography, all the time. It beats my old 6MP *istDS for this - comparing images at the same size, the K200D gives me my choice of less noise for the same level of detail, or more detail for the same level of noise. From what I've seen, the K20D is somewhat better, but not a whole stop better as is sometimes claimed. It's difficult to compare because so much depends on the specific scene, the lighting, and the exposure, but when I see comparisons that attempt to match these, the differences are surprisingly small. And the K200D has some advantages over the K20D, too, such as better metering with manual lenses (which is very important to me). I also like the smaller size and the use of AA batteries, although I recognize that others have the opposite preferences.

But for whatever reason, a lot of people didn't "get" the K200D when it came out; some still don't. Too big and expensive for the entry level class, not feature-rich enough for the "prosumer" class (whatever that is). The way I see it, though, the K200D pretty much nailed the very large middle ground between those classes. It's main problem, in fact, is that there was so little in that class to compare it to - it pretty much had the field to itself. It actually would have benefited, I think, from competition in that class, because as it was, people would tend to look below or above it.

Anyhow, a couple of recent concert images (ISO 1600):

K200D, M135/3.5:


K200D, M100/2.8:

[eva2000]

Yeah K200D is excellent my first DSLR used for past 14months before getting K-7. You spot on with K200D it isn't that great for high ISO once past 800 ISO especially now compared to K-7. But size, weight and power/battery life are excellent on K200D - 4x Powerex 2700mah full charge last 1,100-1,300 photos per charge for me with 30-40% flash used!

[muraii]

It beats my old 6MP *istDS for this - comparing images at the same size, the K200D gives me my choice of less noise for the same level of detail, or more detail for the same level of noise.

...

Anyhow, a couple of recent concert images (ISO 1600):

For the sake of discussion, that blows our D40 out of the water, noise-wise.

Daniel

[causey]

Now that the K20D is so cheap, I thought of selling my K200D. After intense pondering, runs through reviews and examination of photos, I decided there was really no point in doing that. But I guess it largely depends on what people want to do with the camera. Focus might be slower (which sometimes is annoying) and ISO capability lower than that of K20D; however, given that I mainly take travel photos, these factors aren't essential.

[kristoffon]

I had a K200D before my current K20D and it truly was a great camera. The only reason I upgraded was its memory buffer which only fit 3 raw images and takes 10s or so to clear and therefore extremely annoying. Weren't for that I'd probably still be very happy and satisfied with mine.

[GaryM]

I had a K200D before my current K20D and it truly was a great camera. The only reason I upgraded was its memory buffer which only fit 3 raw images and takes 10s or so to clear and therefore extremely annoying. Weren't for that I'd probably still be very happy and satisfied with mine.

Strange, my K200D clears the buffer much faster - I just tested it and it took less than 4 seconds to clear 3 RAW files. What kind of SD card were you using?

[kent]

I am using k200d-it is a great camera!
Event though its iso performance is not a stellar, it is possible to use 1250 iso. The biggest complain is small buffer. Mines take 5 raw (continuous shooting ) images and then clears buffer for a while. I guess I should get one of these fast SD

[yeatzee]

Well sign me up for the "I love my k200d" club!

I dont mind the AF as I shoot in manual focus 99.9% of the time (thank you split focusing screen!!). Its ISO performance is ok, and usually I dont mind it unless im pixel peeping My only complaint noise wise is the noise on its base ISO's (100-200). Personally I think there should be little to NO noise in the 100-200 ISO range but unless im pixel peeping like i said you can't notice it.

As for ergonomics, without the battery grip its not the best (I have big hands and fingers) but with the battery grip its perfect! Considering the price of them I suggest everyone that has a K200d to buy a battery grip, you wont be sorry!

Im still debating if a k20d is really an improvement worth $600 which could be spent on nice glass (like the FA 43mm)..... if i ever end up getting a new body I will never sell the K200d for sure though.....

[MoiVous]

Yep - love my K200D as well!

Great camera!

• Build is incredibly solid compared to the Canikons at this level - and weather proof as a bonus
• Feels good in the hand - the grip is very good. My hands aren't small but I have no problem.
• shooting speed is fast enough for my needs (I don't shoot action stuff)
• AF is ok - though I've put an OME-53 on to help with manual focus. I still prefer manual to auto focus for some odd reason
• Menus are clear and functional
• Very intuitive to use - better than any camera from the others I tried when researching (C/N/O made little sense to me)
• Like Mark, wll, and eva2000 I think those rechargeable AAs are a bonus - others may disagree. Get Eneloop class batteries and its fine.
• Value for money - I couldn't justify the extra AUD$600 for K20D either, and the Minister for Finance would have given me grief too
• Size is almost perfect IMHO - put an FA50 f1.4 on it and its quite discrete and not heavy in the hand. With one of those pancakes, it would be even smaller
• those Green and AV+/- buttons are in just the right place!

Downsides - really minor for an entry level (cough cough) camera

• viewfinder is smaller/dimmer than film - so what APS-C dSLR is better? I've got to get around to changing to a split/microprism screen in my viewfinder soon.
• would love to reprogram the RAW button to something else as I shoot RAW+ all the time anyway

BTW, this thread should be in the K200D review section - all this analysis of this impressive camera!

Cheers

[snofox]

I agree totally. The K200D is an awesome camera. I just picked up a K20D today, but there is no way I am getting rid of the K200D! My three SMC Taks are going to live on it.

BTW, Marc, that shot of the gal singer taken with a 135 mm/3.5 manual lens is terrific. I look forward to having my copy of that lens living on that camera.

[rawr]

...

Anyhow, a couple of recent concert images (ISO 1600):

Great photos Marc.

A question though, and I apologise in advance if it is too basic: how do you inject your name into the copyright field in the EXIF for your photos?

I know the K7 can do that in camera, but out of camera do you have a tool for that? Also does that software allow batch processing of files?

[ogl]

K200D is MY camera. I can say that it's very good till ISO1000-1250.
Better than K10D. All my lenses are in focus.
I'd like to see a bigger buffer, but it's not very important.
I think that K200D is the best Pentax camera in terms of picture's IQ.
Better than *ist, K10D, K-m and K20D. IMO.

Flowers - you can find full-sized photos here
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