Entry Level Bang for the buck: Pentax K200D
Cheekygeek
Registered Users Posts: 20 Big grins
I realize that this is somewhat of a "religious" issue and if you have invested in lenses of a certain mount, you want to stay there. But if you do not have a lens inventory and are getting into a DSLR for the first time, it really appears to me that the Pentax K200D gives you FAR AND AWAY the most bang for the buck.
Here are the features that the K200D has that are important to me. Most of them are not found on ANY OTHER comparable camera from other mfg:
I'm not interested in Live View, so missing that "feature" is not at all important to me. The biggest downside to the camera is the three-frames per second burst can only take 4-5 pics before buffer needs to clear. This probably won't effect me, but might be a problem for some users. I also wish it had it's Big Brother K20D's pentaprism instead of the "pentamirror", as it is supposed to be slightly dimmer. But for the money, I'd still go for the K200D over the comparably priced Canon and Nikon models. Sorta sad that Pentax DSLRs don't get more attention, cause it looks like they are really succeeding at providing a lot for the money.
Here are the features that the K200D has that are important to me. Most of them are not found on ANY OTHER comparable camera from other mfg:
- Stainless steel chassis. I *hate* the lightweight plastic feel of the Rebels.
- Weather-resistant seals. This is a big deal to me, as part of what I will be doing is shooting weather in "Tornado Alley" (the Pentax DA lenses are also weather-sealed)
- Shake resistance built into the BODY, not the lenses (nice considering that you then get shake resistance even with the K-mount lenses [and screwmount with adapter] you can use on it)
- Spot metering - unavailable in any other entry-level camera
- A kit lens that you don't have to be embarrassed over (and the original has even been improved in the II version)
- Stainless steel lens mount (others are plastic in this critical area).
- 11 point auto-focus (others are 7)
- AA battery over proprietary design (and the ability to even shoot with Alkalines in a pinch)
- Ergonomics: not only how it feels in you hand, but control layout. I like the RAW button, for instance.
I'm not interested in Live View, so missing that "feature" is not at all important to me. The biggest downside to the camera is the three-frames per second burst can only take 4-5 pics before buffer needs to clear. This probably won't effect me, but might be a problem for some users. I also wish it had it's Big Brother K20D's pentaprism instead of the "pentamirror", as it is supposed to be slightly dimmer. But for the money, I'd still go for the K200D over the comparably priced Canon and Nikon models. Sorta sad that Pentax DSLRs don't get more attention, cause it looks like they are really succeeding at providing a lot for the money.
My opinions are free. And worth every penny.
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