Please help ...Should i buy pentax k100

[kate051978]

hi guys I really want to start photography its always een a passion .My ? is this is it worth buyin the pentax k100 . Is it a gud camera and easy to use ??

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[kate051978]

anyone ????

[bhop]

Do you mean K1000? Old film camera?

edit:.. nevermind, you probably mean the K100D?

[kate051978]

no bhop yes i mean the k100d

[kate051978]

sorry bhop im new to buyin cameras i have the opportunity to purchase 1 for 200 dollars n i tryin to find out is it worth it ????

[bhop]

sorry bhop im new to buyin cameras i have the opportunity to purchase 1 for 200 dollars n i tryin to find out is it worth it ????

Well, i'm a Nikon shooter, but i'll try to help. It seems the k100d came out in 2006. That's a while by dslr standards, however, in its time it seemed to get pretty good reviews. I still have my D70 that came out around the same time and it still gives good results, so there's no reason the k100 wouldn't IMO.. you'd have some limitations that modern cameras won't have, like high iso noise, but any camera from that era would be that way. I think if it comes with a lens, then 200 is a good price. Try it out first if you can to see if you like how it feels in your hand.

[Mot]

I had the opportunity to use the K100 for about 45 minutes today. For most entry-level DSLRs I have used they have been low on dials and buttons, like the Pentaxt, but still remain fairly intuative and relatively easy to use . Unfortunately the K100 wasn't easy to use for me, I was fairly enthusiastic at first, I passed up the familiar Canon and Nikons to try the Pentax for the novelty of it.

I don't think I got more than 6 decent exposures. I think I've just about grasped exposure well enough to be able to get a correct looking image, for some reason I found this impossible with the K100. What's even more ridiculous is I was in Av so it requires no effort. I had to constantly play with the exposure bias to try and get a good exposure.

The best thing about the camera, for me, is the ability to change ISO. Using the 'info' button I managed to discover it was set at ISO 800 but I could not find any way to change it. That seems silly; on most cameras you press one button and scroll a dial. At worst you press menu and edit it through there. The K100 wasn't this simple. I spent 10 minutes trying to find a menu or sub-menu to change it. No luck. I ended up taking it to a pro photographer friend. He should have fixed it in 2 minutes. 10 minutes later we were downloading the manual of the internet, that didn't help either. We gave up in the end, I actually tore up some flash gels to use as ND filters!

I did eventually find the owner of the camera but it was too late by then. I think so long as you read the manual you'll be fine. Apart from clunky controls it functioned perfectly well.

[hefty]

I have a K100D Super(same) and it is fine for my needs. The focus is not as quick as some of the newer models. If your going to shoot sports or fast action, a newer model would sure be in order.

[DiskoJoe]

The k100 is pretty substandard by todays standards. If you get it cheap it could be an okay deal But for not much more you could get way more camera off ebay used.

[morganza]

Well, I can suggest checking online stores like Amazon. They haven't failed me so far.

[Danielj009]

If you can get it at a good price (say under $200) then it is a good camera. I have one and still use it today from time to time. In my opinion the build quality is superior to most entry level dslr's on the market. I would say the standard has dropped over time with most new cameras feeling pretty cheap in hand.

However, I am talking here of build quality only. As far as image quality goes the current fleet will walk all over the K100D. Auto focus is slow and it is only 6mp.

I still love mine and shoot with it regularly.

[ronin67]

In its time, it was a very good camera. I owned an older Model before this model (Pentax *ist DS, with a whopping 6 MP) and it took great pics. I don't know what it is, but Pentax DSLR cameras have great color saturation. Also, ever since Ricoh took over Pentax, they seemed to have revitalized the Pentax name. The new K30 is a very nice camera worth a hard look. Are you limited on funds? To me, $200 may seem a bit high for such a old DSLR. Is it in good shape? Take care and may God bless.


Ed