Entry Level DSLR Advice for Beginner

[Don Simon]

What about the Pentax K100D? As mentioned in another thread I have 3 K mount lenses from a film SLR that are compatible. Is the Pentax such a downgrade from Nikon D40 that I should toss the lenses?

Huh? Wha? Say what now? :stun:

There are folks who will say that it's better to go for a Nikon system because of their larger range and availability of lenses and accessories, ability to hire etc... and I'm not going to debate that here... but is the Pentax K100D a downgrade from the Nikon D40?

Well, the D40 won't work with several of Nikon's own lenses.
The Pentax K100D on the other hand lets you use every lens Pentax ever made for their 35mm cameras, with metering. It has 11-point autofocus, depth-of-field preview, LCD display on top, mirror lock-up, and in-body shake-reduction... none of which the D40 has. So unless you consider any of those things a downgrade, then I'd say no
I'm not saying you should buy a Pentax instead of a Nikon. I'm just saying the K100d as a camera looks to be better than a D40. I'll second the advice given by others here and say if you're after an entry-level Nikon, look at the D50 rather than the D40. And if you have Pentax lenses already, the K100d is definitely an option.

 

[odway]

18-200MM not a good lens? Hell Ill take it off your hands then.

Hahaha, no that's not what I meant! I mean, after doing some reading I learned that zoom lenses like that tend to compramise picture quality, especially at the extreme ends. The only kits I'd seen here were the Nikkor 18-55 and the Tamron 18-200 and I had actually wanted to get the 18-55 kit so that I could slowly work at getting a set of key primes and some smaller zooms. Not complaining at all about the 18-200 (especially as we are travelling, it should be really convenient!) it just wasn't originally an option for me ($) but in the end it was the only kit I could get my hands on. I'm really looking forward to going and picking it up in a few days!

 

[250Gimp]

If you are still looking for info on which lense to buy check out this sight

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/

It has great reviews on most brands of lenses.

By the way, I own a Canon Rebel Xt and really like it!

Merry Xmas