Pentax K200D

sully20 · May 7, 2008

I am new to this forum but am seeking some suggestions on a new camera. I have never purchased more than your standard $300 point and shoot digital camera, but am looking to purchase something which I can begin to experiment with more options.

I will be shooting all types of shots, and my intrest in photography is strictly from a hobby standpoint.

Does anyone have any experience with the Pentax K200D camera. From what I have learned, they are fairly user friendly for the beginner, but have enough manual settings to be able to expand my options once I get the hang of the basics. I also liked the stabilizer which is built into the body, it seems it will save some money down the road on lenses.

What does everybody think? Is this a good option for a beginnner? Any input or advice would be appreciated before I go dump $1000 on a camera and accessories.

CPayton · May 7, 2008

Yes, the K200D would be an excellent choice as a beginner DSLR. I've had a K100D for a little over a year now and have been very pleased with it. The K200D is very similar in build to the K100D but also has many of the advanced features of the K10D and has been getting very good reviews. Here's a link the the Pentax Forums where you can get a lot of good info on all things Pentax.

http://www.pentaxforums.com/

MRivera · May 7, 2008

+1 I have the K100D I am very happy with it... I am a beginner and my camera is very user friendly and light.

deudeu · May 7, 2008

Before you go and spend your money you should know that you are investing in more than just a body.

The quality and diversity of the lenses available should be taken into consideration.

I personnally didn't look at that before buying my camera and i think that i was quite lucky to buy a samsung (pentax and samsung make the same cameras).

If you just want to make a hobby out of your camera, i think that you will be quite happy with this one.
Pentax has been making lenses that you can use on this camera for over 30years. As a result, you can find a lot of cheap used lenses.

Now, just a little advice. If you know that you are going to be a little serious about photography, skip the kit and buy a body only with a sigma 17-70mm.

RubyMagic · May 8, 2008

Even though the Sigma isnt nearly as good as the Tamron...

sully20 · May 9, 2008

Thanks for the advice. I have talked to the local photography shop where I live and they directed me toward Tamron lenses. There seem to be several made for Pentax bodies so as I start to expand there should be plenty of options.

What are your opinions about purchasing a camera from an online dealer. I don't like the idea of taking business away from a small scale camera shop, but a savings of a couple hundred dollars is hard to pass up. It would also be nice to have the shop as a source for questions which I will inevitably have. I guess I could go in there and see if they will price match and at least give them the option of my business before I purchased online.

RubyMagic · May 10, 2008

Dont ask a local business to price match. They just cant do it. They dont purchase enough stock to compete with an online retailer. I suggest giving them up to 15% more than B&H's price. Its always nice to have a local camera shop know you by name. TRUST ME. Eventually they might even end up giving you lower prices than whats on the web.

The tamron 17-50 2.8 is fantastic. Go for it.

ThePup · May 10, 2008

RubyMagic said:
Dont ask a local business to price match. They just cant do it. They dont purchase enough stock to compete with an online retailer. I suggest giving them up to 15% more than B&H's price. Its always nice to have a local camera shop know you by name. TRUST ME. Eventually they might even end up giving you lower prices than whats on the web.

I Don't know about the US, but here in Aus, when you're talking Pentax gear, the local guys can come very close to the online prices. From what my local store said, the importer here gives the local guys every opportunity to match online places. Whether this is just the .au importer, or Pentax in general, I don't know. For my K10D + 17-70, they came to within 60 bucks of the online price, which is under 5%!

You're right in that it's nice to have a local place you know by name... I had some initial teething troubles with my purchase (read - 3 new bodies), which would have taken weeks, if not months to sort out online. As I'd purchased locally, it was very easy to take the bodies in for instant exchange. Well worth the extra purchase price to go local if things go wrong.