Pentax K100D 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Shake Reduction and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens by Pentax
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Digital camera reviews of Pentax K100D 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Shake Reduction and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens
Digital camera Review: Pentax Revisited
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a wonderful camera. I have the 35mm ME Super with a selection of additional lenses. The best feature for me is the backwards compatibility for all of my lenses. They work perfectly except for the fact they are not auot-focus. Not what I wanted anyway. I moved up from a Kodak point and shoot. The end result ...an excellent level of picture quality the Kodak will never attain. The features are comparable to that of Nikon and Canon at a fraction of the cost. I don't see the need to pay for those names. I use the diffence in cost to help me justify buying another lense.Digital camera Review: Excellent first Digital SLR camera
Summary: 4 Stars
I was looking for my first digital SLR and chose this camera over the other brands (Canon Rebel/Nikon D40/80 /Sony/Olympus..) as well as Pentax's own K10D. I compared prices/features and reviews on other web-sites and the reasons for selecting the K100D were the quality and features offered for the price.
Price - The current price of around usd five hundred with the 18-55mm lens is extremely competitive compared to other cameras that are now available in this range.
Features - (a) In camera shake reduction was a big plus - helps avoid having to purchase expensive image stabilized lens of Nikon / Canon. The live view feature of the Olympus line was attractive, but the image quality reviews I read were more favorable for the Pentax than for the Olympus or the Sony.
(b) Pentax advertises the fact that the cameras are backward compatible with numerous older manual / older auto focus lenses - to a far greater degree than other competing brands. This was not a deciding factor for me as I did not anticipate wanting to buy such lenses.
(c) I searched the internet and read reviews comparing numerous cameras / lens systems and Pentax does seem to have a strong reputation for very high quality lenses at reasonable prices.
(d) as against the K10D - this camera is at least two to three hundred dollars cheaper. It has numerous shooting "modes" similar to a point and shoot camera such as portrait/action/night shorts etc.. that should help a newcomer to these type of cameras. The K10D is a higher specification camera with a lot of control options that provide experienced photographers with better control - however I, as a beginner, preferred the simpler K100d. The K100D has an ISO capability of upto ISO 3200 and is said to be a better low-light performer.
For a person like me (limited budget, new to digital photography wanting to move up from point and shoot) this camera has been a very good fit and I am happy with the purchase. Buying the 18-55mm lens together with the camera helped me learn how to use the camera. It also gave me an idea of what other lenses I would need. Subsequently, I bought a zoom lens for range greater than 55mm.
ps: a new "super" k100d is expected to be released that has the ability to use the soon to be released Pentax DA* SDM lenses. The 'super' model also has in camera dust reduction. However, I am told that in case you want to use the new lenses, the current K100D model is compatible and operates at the regular auto focus speed, without the fast focusing SDM feature. The current model is fast enough for my current skill level and I am not too concerned.
I have enjoyed my past few months with the K100D + lens and have nothing negative to report. This camera (+ lens) has been a great starting point for learning digital photography.
Digital camera Review: Best 'Bang for the Buck!'
Summary: 5 Stars
Hands down, the best dSLR your going to find for the money! Anti-Shake feature is a life-saver when not using the flash indoors. Image quality is stunning and far superior than that of equal or higher priced P&S cameras.
Look no further for a starter dSLR.
Digital camera Review: Exellent for the price
Summary: 5 Stars
I was on a very tight budget and needed a new camera ASAP, since my old fixed lens camera had a lens that became "unfixed". I had a 35mm Pentax SLR years ago and loved it. After looking around, specifically at the Nikon D40 and the Canon Rebel, I decided to go with another Pentax this time due to it's affordablity and the online reviews that I had read. I have been very pleased, but there are limitations to this camera.
First things I like:
I really love the Shake Reduction feature. Neither Nikon or Canon had this. I was skeptical that it would make much of difference, but I have found that it does help the blur when you are pushing the shutter speed to a setting a little slower than you could normally get away with without a tripod. The Shake Reduction does add weight to the camera, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I like the extra weight, I think it feels more substantial in my hand and when mounted on a tripod, it feels more steady.
I also like that it takes AA batteries. It is nice to be able to stop into any gas station and pick up new batteries if I get into a bind, plus rechargable AAs are cheap and widely available for purchase. Other things that I like, the menus in the camera are easy to maneuver once you get oriented and the screen on the back is nice and big.
I REALLY love that the camera can be turned on instantly and there is no delay when a take a photo. On my fixed lens camera, it took a couple seconds to power up and due to a delay between when I pushed the shutter and when the camera actually would get around to capturing the image, I had to try and anticipate how early to push the shutter button to get the photo I was going for. This was a source of endless frustration when photographing objects in motion, especially my children. However, I realize that this is a benefit of pretty much any DSLR and is not an advantage that is unique to the Pentax K100D.
Another nice feature is the 2 second delay. I've never had a camera with this setting before. When using this, the mirror drops out of the way as soon as you push the shutter button, but it doesn't actually take the photo until 2 seconds later. This lets any vibrations inside the camera due to moving parts settle down before the photo is actually taken. This has come in handy when taking shots that are especially vibration sensitive, for example photos we take through our telescope.
It can be as easy or as complicated to use as you want it to be. I have fun playing with all the the manual settings, but in the automatic modes, it is easy enough that my 9 and 10 year old kids can use it too. Admittedly, I had to give them a quick training session so they could understand how the autofocus works, but they got the hang of it really fast with minimal practice. The "Kids" setting is where I leave it when I turn it off, making it ready and waiting for the quick grab and click photos of my kids doing their everyday stuff.
Things I don't like:
I wish it had an ISO setting below 200. A lower setting would help reduce noise when making bigger enlargements.
I don't usually like the color I get from the auto white balance mode, particularly when I am shooting inside. I have noticed this problem to be worse when I am in a large auditorium under those big square industrial lights that give a yellowish hue. This color problem can be fixed by using the manual white balance, an easy procedure, but sometimes I forget to do this until it's too late. This is a little quirk that I am still getting used to. This is my first DSLR, and I am a very amateur photographer in training, so maybe this is to be expected with any camera -- I really have no idea.
A few words on megapixels:
6.1 is fairly low on the scale of available megapixels on new cameras today, but after doing some reading on the subject, I couldn't see spending a lot of money chasing megapixels. 6.1 is big enough for me to do a 16 x 20 enlargement, the largest size I have ever needed, and that is only needed on rare occasions. It is also big enough to let me do a fairly tight crop and print a nice 5x7 or 8x10 if I feel the need.
Summary:
OK, so yes there are better cameras out there, but you can spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on photographic equipment and still recognize that there is something better out there than what you have. I gave this camera 5 stars because for the price, I just don't think it gets any better than this. I love it.
Digital camera Review: It is a decent camera
Summary: 3 Stars
I wanted a digital SLR because the marginal cost of "film" is zero. An SLR has the advantage of WYSIWYG, in other words, you can see that the best focus is on the subject of your picture and not something else. I also have an old Pentax 35mm camera and a complement of lenses and polarizing filters and so forth, and I liked the compatibility with those items.
It takes good pictures, the colors are accurate and it has a sensitivity up to ISO 3200. I am not anyway an expert or even competent photographer, but it's a good choice if you want to reuse Pentax lenses and not spend a fortune.