Nikon D-40 vs Pentax K100

[Big Bully]

I am looking to buy a digital camera and these are the two I am looking at. Does anyone have any experience with either of these camera's. Or have a better suggestion?
Oh by the way, I am new here, and I hope I can feel at home on this forum.

 

[Garbz]

Without any real knowledge on either product I was always under the impression that the K100D was more on par with the D70? I could be wrong though.

 

[Big Bully]

Without any real knowledge on either product I was always under the impression that the K100D was more on par with the D70? I could be wrong though.

Price wise I think that the Nikon D-40 and the Pentax K100D are similar. I am not sure about feature or photo quality wise.
What camera do you use and do you recomend?

 

[Don Simon]

Depends what you want really. Personally I believe the K100d offers "more camera" for the money. With regard to what Garbz said, the K100d is probably more comparable to a D50 (whereas the K10d might be somewhere near the D80 leaning towards the D200). The only weakness the K100d it has a small buffer, so if you wanted to shoot continuously until the card is full then the D40 would be better. That doesn't matter to me, it may to you.

People will be quick to point out that a camera is only part of a system, including lenses, flashes etc. The range of Nikon and Nikon-compatible lenses is larger, and more widely available - if you suddenly decide you need a certain lens you will usually be able to wander into a shop and buy one for Nikon, whereas an equivalent for Pentax may require ordering and in some cases a wait. This depends on whereabouts in the world you are. But actually if you want anything from the current range of "DA" lenses designed for the digital sensor, there should really be no problem getting lenses. Also if you start worrying about lens availability, remember that the K100d will work with any Pentax lens, the D40 will have no or limited functionality (e.g. no autofocus) with several Nikon lenses. It's simplistic to say one is a better system. As for flash, Nikon's flash system is generally considered to be better than almost everyone else's, though Pentax's is effective.

In terms of image quality (assuming comparable lenses) I expect there would be no difference at all between the two... both use the same sensor and by now both companies have probably worked out how to get the best out of it.

There's no right or wrong, it depends on your priorities and preferences. Best advice I can give is to consider exactly what you're looking for in a camera and in a system, consider which would fit your needs best... oh and go to a shop and play with them both!

 

[Big Bully]

Depends what you want really. Personally I believe the K100d offers "more camera" for the money. The only weakness is it has a small buffer, so if you wanted to shoot continuously until the card is full then the D40 would be better. That doesn't matter to me, it may to you.

People will be quick to point out that a camera is only part of a system, including lenses, flashes etc. The range of Nikon and Nikon-compatible lenses is larger, and more widely available - if you suddenly decide you need a certain lens you will usually be able to wander into a shop and buy one for Nikon, whereas an equivalent for Pentax may require ordering and in some cases a wait. This depends on whereabouts in the world you are. But actually if you want anything from the current range of "DA" lenses designed for the digital sensor, there should really be no problem getting lenses. Also if you start worrying about lens availability, remember that the K100d will work with any Pentax lens, the D40 will have no or limited functionality (e.g. no autofocus) with several Nikon lenses. As for flash, Nikon's flash system is generally considered the best, though Pentax's is effective.

In terms of image quality (assuming comparable lenses) I expect there would be no difference at all between the two... both use the same sensor and by now both companies have probably worked out how to get the best out of it.

There's no right or wrong, it depends on your priorities and preferences. Best advice I can give is to consider exactly what you're looking for in a camera and in a system, consider which would fit your needs best... oh and go to a shop and play with them both!

What is a DA lense? I don't know much about lenses. The only one I have played with is the 35mm-80mm? I think that is the right one. Do different lenses do different things?
I typically shoot in low light settings and action shots at the same time. Like my avatar.

 

[Don Simon]

DA is simply Pentax's designation for lenses designed specifically for their digital cameras. Nikon's equivalents are called DX.

Different lenses all do the same thing, however they do it in different ways. Different focal lengths will produce different angles of view, and different maximum apertures will allow in different amounts of light which will affect the depth of field as well as the shutter speeds which can be used to obtain correct exposure.

For low-light shots you probably want the largest aperture you can get. Preferably f/2.8 or larger (a larger aperture is actually indicated by a smaller f-number). For action shots of that kind, where you may not be able to move around and are tracking moving vehicles, you may also want a zoom... unfortunately a zoom with an f/2.8 aperture generally costs quite a bit.