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12-15-2009, 05:07 PM   #1
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K200D -> Kx does ir worth it?

I have K200D and almost happy with it, except pretty "noise"y high ISO / low light shots.

Today, I received Kx I ordered during black friday shopping.

Now it is decision time.

Biggest advantage of K200D is weather protection. Gives piece of mind, but not a must as I am not heavy outdoor shooter.
And the second plus - I wouldn't have to deal with selling K200D, which is usually a hassle.

So, is image quality of Kx so much better then K200D to make it worth to switch?

>>>>>>>>>>>
Sorry, posted in wrong forum by accident.

Can this post be moved to the correct forum - DSLR Cames discussions, not lkenses
Posted in wrong forum


Last edited by borysr; 12-15-2009 at 05:24 PM. Reason: Posted in Wrong forum
12-15-2009, 06:49 PM   #2
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You have both cameras--why don't you try the K-x?
12-15-2009, 10:27 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by causey Quote
You have both cameras--why don't you try the K-x?
Hmmm... good idea didn't think about that.

I will.
12-15-2009, 10:35 PM   #4
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Advantage of the K-x is not just in it's better high ISO IQ. It uses newer technology, the K200D came out at the beginning of 2008 while the K-x came out in the late of 2009, almost a full 2 years apart. Which of course the K-x would have to be better in other ways too, it's got higher FPS, HD video recording, better auto focus, and probably some more other things.

But as for making the switch, if you're still happy with your K200D in comparison to today's newer cameras, then keep it. Otherwise if you're unhappy and unwilling to stick to your K200D based off today and in comparison and contrast with the newer cameras, then switch to the K-x.

From what you're saying, you're quite happy with the K200D and yet not quite as happy with it's high ISO. Now is the high ISO in the K200D still usable enough for you? Is today's new camera's increase in high ISO that significantly better, in that you will need to upgrade? If so then the K-x.

Just make sure that you are making the right decision because I know what a hassle it is to switch to new bodies all the time, I would hate to sell off my body after only 2 years of usage and waste more money to upgrade. But that's just me because I'm not that rich like some people. But overall if you are willing to to sacrifice then do so, if the amount of technological changes in the K-x outweighs the amount of technology your K200D boasts now in comparison with cost-advantage, then do so.

In the end it's really up for you to decide. We don't know how much you make, we don't know what else you buy, we don't know what your life decisions are based off of. Just ask yourself: Do you use high ISO enough that you will need it? Is the amount of high ISO pictures you take really that bad to you? Or is the majority of the images coming out of your K200D in higher ISO's good enough for you? Or do you just want the K-x just because you want a new camera, and is not necessarily going to improve what you take in terms of cost and the money you will lose?


Last edited by LeDave; 12-15-2009 at 10:48 PM.
12-15-2009, 10:38 PM   #5
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Moved to DSLR forum.
12-15-2009, 11:23 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by LeDave Quote
Advantage of the K-x is not just in it's better high ISO IQ. It uses newer technology, the K200D came out at the beginning of 2008 while . . .
Or is the majority of the images coming out of your K200D in higher ISO's good enough for you? Or do you just want the K-x just because you want a new camera, and is not necessarily going to improve what you take in terms of cost and the money you will lose?
I am not rich either and would hate to switch camera body after 1 year of use,
but ... My kids do some indoors sports - gymnastics (no flashes allowed during competition or practice) and soccer (outdoor is fine, but indoor light is not really good).
So far, I was not able to get decent pictures with K200D in these lighting conditions. (May be it is just me, not the camera) but anyway

I guess, I have both cameras on hands now, I will give Kx a try next weekend for indoor game and see if I get what I want from it.
12-16-2009, 04:51 AM   #7
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I too was having trouble getting good shots in bad light with the K200D. I made the switch from K200D to Kx and am totally happy. To my eyes, ISO 6400 on the Kx is as good (or bad) as 1600 on K200D. So far I'm finding ISO 3200 shots useable and I dont yet have a fancy noise reduction program (Noise Ninja or the like).

Sure, weathersealing would be nice but pretty much everything else is improved on the Kx. I don't really miss the top LCD and I'm psyched about the smaller size & weight. To me, AF seems to be a little better in low light as I really only use center point. Dynamic Range is improved, which is great because you can spot meter set exposure for the brighter areas of the frame and trust that you can pull out lots of detail in the shadows in PP.

The K200D is still a great camera that many people would love to own. Keep it as a backup for your outdoor sports in bad weather (and get a WR lens), or you shouldn't have any problem selling it. Mine sold in about 2 days on Gumtree (Craigslist equivilent here in UK).

But even the Kx is no replacement for fast glass. If you are shooting from the bleachers across the gym floor, you should be looking into a DA* 50-135 F2.8 or one of the 70-200 F2.8's (Sigma & Tamron).

12-16-2009, 05:05 AM   #8
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I've seen quite a few complaints about K-X's low ISO output. More recently, Andras said this:

"-IQ: mixed bag- somehow the low iso (200) pictures lack the WOW factor I somtimes have with my K200D-the RAW files usually look much much better than the RAW converted Jpegs-maybe my fault-but that's my first impression. Dynamic range looks very good as well as HIGH iso! WOOOW!!!"

This comment isn't singular. Given the other qualities of the K200D and the fact that I shoot mostly in daylight, I've decided not to buy the K-X. I might get a lens instead.
12-16-2009, 06:16 AM   #9
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if you shoot sports - i'd take a k-X - for AF and high iso (800-3200),speed. meanwhile the low ISO result is not so bad...
12-16-2009, 11:18 AM   #10
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That is what I needed - input from people who owned both of the cameras!

As I am not using camera to make any money, just memories and my budget would not allowme to keep both cameras as well as get expensive long&fast lenses (may be later but not now).

Selling Pentax equipment on craigslist is probably not as easy as Gumtree People in US prefer better advertised Nikon/Cannon/Sony, but that is the hassle I will have to go through...

I have question though about missing top LCD.
Is back LCD is bright/contrast enough to use it in bright sun?
That was a big issue with compact cameras without viewfinder- you couldn't see pretty much anything in the sun.
12-16-2009, 12:27 PM   #11
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Selling it on here or eBay is actually a lot quicker than selling on Craigslist, I stopped selling camera stuff on Craigslist.
12-16-2009, 12:37 PM   #12
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I only have the K100D and now the K-x.

For me the upgrade was worth it.

The K100D was/is no slouch when it comes to high ISO - its only marginal one is ISO3200 - where it becomes quite ugly - but I found I was using it more and more.

The K-x ISO3200 certainly was a lot better than the K100D (Jpg)
and the K-x ISO6400 was about as bad/good as the K100D at ISO3200.

Although it is not the K200D - in terms of IQ I think it's about roughly the same - the K200D does very well to its max ISO1600 - it does not have ISO3200 - and although one can push the ISO1600 there has to be some degradation.

Whereas the K-x ISO3200 is about the same quality as the K200D ISO1600 - it can be argued either way - but it is close - enough not to make that much practical difference.

So it depends on how much you would use ISO3200 -
for me it was well worth it.

Comparing K200D ISO1600 with K-x ISO3200:
shadow noise -


detail -


face -


textural details -



ISO200 comparison -

cloth patches -


Macbeth chart -


face -


textural details -


Pentax K200D is more punchy because:
from dpReview:
" The K200D's color response was very similar to that of previous Pentax digital SLR's. The image output in the default 'Bright' image tone is quite highly saturated (vivid), as can also be seen earlier in this review. Switching to the Natural tone calms color saturation to more typical levels (compared to other digital SLRs). "

whereas the K-x default bright setting appears to be more muted
and much more in line with other dSLRs' default setting.
12-16-2009, 02:39 PM   #13
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The interesting thing (for me) is the following: the k200d images are more 3D looking and punchy in the lower iso range and become flat at high iso while the K-x seems to produce images in the opposite way-pictures start to live in the high iso territory while the the low iso ones doesn't look very exciting. However dynamic range is obvious. Here is this sample from today-greyish overcast and fresh snow dominating-iso200 DA16-45



iso2500 FA50 f2 1/30-this is a huge improvement! And not only high iso quality but AF performance.



So far my conclusion-the k200d is excellent in the lower iso range while the K-x is high iso champion-I'll use them both depending on the situation. It's not a replacement-they are a good kit together.

Andras
12-16-2009, 03:10 PM   #14
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Please don't forget that some programs, like Noiseware Community Edition, provide noise reduction at no cost. Just download from the Imagenomics site. You won't get all the functions of the full program but the freeware version works well.

I liked it well enough to buy it but there's really no reason to pay if the freeware works for you. No cost to try!
12-23-2009, 09:20 AM   #15
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Finally got some inoor soccer pictures.
Really, really impressed with K-X performance.
I was never able to get anything like these with my K200D

It will hurt to part with my old buddy...

(No editing just resized and converted to jpg)
Attached Images
     

Last edited by borysr; 12-23-2009 at 09:23 AM. Reason: typo
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