Been using my pentax K200D for 8 years.. advice on a new camera?

domot123 · Dec 28, 2016

Hello everyone.

This is my first post on the forums! Apologies if it is a bit long winded and also forgive me if I ask some very silly questions!

As the title suggests I am looking for advice on whether I should upgrade my camera. I was bought the pentax K200D as a birthday present when I was studying photography at college in 2008. I went through a period of about 3 years where I used it a lot then hardly used it again until around 18 months ago and since then I have massively rekindled my interest in photography. I currently am using the K200D with the 18-55mm kit lens as well as an old manual 70-300mm zoom lens I found online for about 25GBP (sorry am using a foreign keyboard that doesnt have the usual currency symbols).

Recently I have been playing around with friends cameras that are much more modern and the difference in picture quality seems very noticeable. Maybe due to the low megapixels of the k200D, I really don't know.

I have been thinking getting a new camera for a while now but recently have a bit of spare cash and am looking into it a bit more seriously.

My budget would be around 300GBP. So my question is... for this budget do you think it is worth me buying a new camera? Could I find something that is noticeably better than my current camera or is that wishful thinking for my price range? I am happy to buy second hand, infact that would be preferable for me.

I have actually found a cannon 550D (only with a month of use) being sold online for approx 325GBP that includes:

Body, 2 batteries, strap and all cables

EF50mm f/1.8 lens

EF18-55mm f/3.5-3.6 lens

EF 55-250mm f/4.5-5.6 lens

270EX II speed lite flash

I have done a quick comparison and it seems like this is a better camera although both are listed as entry level cameras. Is this something you guys would recommend going for? Or any other suggestions for cameras to look at?

Thanks!!

Derrel · Dec 28, 2016

DxO Mark's on-line comparisons will show you **sensor** performance between the Pentax, and the Canon you've found, as well as other cameras by Pentax,Sony,Canon,and Nikon. Keep in mind: since your camera was made, sensor performance has improved remarkably in the sensors made by Sony, and sold in Sony,mPentacx,and Nikon cameras being made over the past few years, as well as today,currently.

There are in some areas, lots of fine, used d-slr cameras at lowish prices. Different markets have different used price levels. A newer-made entry-level camera might be just fine for you. The 18-55 and 55-250 is a pretty common "two-lens kit" sold at many retailers, and the 50/1.8 EF-II is a common first prime lens for many people.

smoke665 · Dec 28, 2016

Or you could pickup a decent k30 or k50 body in the 250-300 range, which would get you the features (16mp), very user friendly, and your current glass would work. Have a k30 that I loved, till the auto focus went out. Still use it occasionally on manual.

domot123 · Dec 28, 2016

Derrel said:
DxO Mark's on-line comparisons will show you **sensor** performance between the Pentax, and the Canon you've found, as well as other cameras by Pentax,Sony,Canon,and Nikon. Keep in mind: since your camera was made, sensor performance has improved remarkably in the sensors made by Sony, and sold in Sony,mPentacx,and Nikon cameras being made over the past few years, as well as today,currently.

There are in some areas, lots of fine, used d-slr cameras at lowish prices. Different markets have different used price levels. A newer-made entry-level camera might be just fine for you. The 18-55 and 55-250 is a pretty common "two-lens kit" sold at many retailers, and the 50/1.8 EF-II is a common first prime lens for many people.

Thanks! Yes I'm in Bangkok and there seems to be a lot of second hand entry level cameras floating around on online second hand pages etc. So do you think this canon above would be a good option for the price?

smoke665 said:
Or you could pickup a decent k30 or k50 body in the 250-300 range, which would get you the features (16mp), very user friendly, and your current glass would work. Have a k30 that I loved, till the auto focus went out. Still use it occasionally on manual.

Thats a very good idea actually. I do quite like the interface on my camera as well. A quick comparison seems like they are both much better cameras. Would they still perform better than my camera even with the k200d kit lens and the ancient autofocus?

petrochemist · Dec 28, 2016

Absolute no problem getting an upgrade to a 2008 body in that price range. My Pentax K5 ii was under £300, and is a huge step up from the k200, and even a step up from the K50 & K30 models in many respects.

domot123 · Dec 28, 2016

Great thanks for the advice. So you think it would still be a step up even though I would be using the older lenses? They wouldn't reduce any of the benefits of using a better camera body? Sorry if that seems like a silly question

smoke665 · Dec 28, 2016

Pentax use a screw drive so the lens wouldn'the know the difference, but you would because of the cameras improved auto focus. The 18-55 hasn't changed much either

smoke665 · Dec 28, 2016

petrochemist said:
Pentax K5 ii

Another good choice. Metal vs polycarbonate body, though I think the k5 uses the Prime II image processor vs the K30's Prime M. Both offered advanced auto focus sensor.

domot123 · Dec 28, 2016

Great thanks for your help. Looks like I have some thinking to do!

Derrel · Dec 28, 2016

Canon EF mount bodies wil accept seven different legacy/current SLR mounts that I know of. This is with plain, no-glass adapters, so Infinity focus would be maintained with low-cost adapter rings. Perhaps other mounts as well. THat makes a Canon digital SLR a nice fit for occasional-use lenses, like say, m42 thread mount medium teles, or Nikkor F-mount, 55mm f/3.5 pre-AI macro lens for $30, and so on and so on. Will also accept Olympus OM-series lenses nicely (I have a neat Oly 28mm f/2.8 I use on my Canons), as well as Leica-R, and Yashica/Contax. To me, the ability of a Canon to use other systems' lenses quite easily is a strong point in its favor.

goodguy · Dec 28, 2016

In your price range I would recommend Nikon D3300
Totally modern sensor with 24MP, good low light performance and good dynamic range.

domot123 · Dec 29, 2016

Great thanks for the help everyone. My problem is I'm in Bangkok and it's a bit of a pain to get stuff shipped over here due to import fees and stuff

I have found someone nearby selling a brand new pentax k50 kit for exactly the same price as the Canon d550 set up above.. Which would you guys recommend? I like the idea of the 3 lenses with the Canon but the k50 seems like better camera and I'm quite fond of how easy my pentax is to use and have read that a Canon is a lot less intuitive