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: Great Camera, Great Images for novice or expert
Summary: 5 Stars
After whats seems months and months of research into a DSLR, I had my sights on this camera and a D40 from Nikon(The Canon lower end cameras were such chinsy little plastic pieces I took them out of consideration). Side by side, the Nikon's images looked really great and sharp directly from the camera's auto function, and because this camera would also be used by my wife, I thought that would be nice, since she is not as much of an enthusiast as I am. I enjoy manually adjusting settings.
I did online comparisons on every single review website out there. I liked the Pentax's natural looking color tones. Some people say they are too warm. I like this as opposed to the colder images of the other camera. The D40 seems like a very reliable brand family to enter and since they are so popular it would be good to fit in with everyone else on the streets shooting away. I still wasn't sure until going into a store to look at each one side by side. I started with the D40. It felt good, the menu looks good, the manual focus part of the lens felt like a toy. And it was very lightweight.
I picked up the K100D and the feeling was a lot different. The camera has a nice bit of weight to it. The finish and the exterior is really nice. It feels and looks like more of a professional camera than a consumer/entry/beginner level DSLR unlike the D40 (even worse--the XT/XTI) I looked through the viewfinder and felt right at home, starting to take pictures and lost my focus on trying to inspect the camera for purchasing. Some people complain about autofocus noise, shutter noise, or the autofocus hunting in the dark. I feel that there are some who's hearing is extremly sensitive or they are shooting primarily in libraries and churches. After working with this camera, the auto focus is fast. If it misses focus (maybe 1 out of 10 times)you press the button again and it always finds it right away. You wasted maybe 1 second. All point and shoot cameras I had before were MUCH worse in this category. If you are into manual focusing I do not think it is actually possible to be physically fast than if you went with auto focus.
Images look really balanced right out of the camera. Not as sharp as the D40, but this is ONLY because of a difference in processing style. I have read about Pentax's imaging philosophy and for me it really makes sense. The in camera processing is not heavy-handed. They are going for a more film-like appearance. This means lighting which casts a warm hue takes a warm hue in the image rather than always looking like cool white fluorescent lighting. The images just looks more natural. The same for the ISO settings which are not over laden with noise reduction. Yes you get grain at 1600 ISO (as with every camera) but the grain is actually more film like. Detail is not missing like the other's happy processing engines. For these reasons, I would say the K100D seems more like an photo enthusiast's camera, the D40 seems more like its designed as point and shoot DSLR.
I think that this camera is good for the whole range of people who want to shoot. I'm happy with this purchase for sure.
Digital camera Review: Great Camera, Great Pictures
Summary: 5 Stars
I received my Pentax today, and so far it's been very easy to use. The shake reduction feature works great. The camera doesn't come with a SD memory card though, so be sure to order one! That was fine with me since the small storage on the SD cards that come with most new cameras is not enough. Luckily I ordered a 2 GB SD card with the camera. It's built very well; very high quality. The K100D should be at the top of your list if you're looking to get into the DSLR world.Digital camera Review: Great Entry Level DSLR - Look At K200D - Recommended
Summary: 5 Stars
We have used the "Pentax K100D" for almost two years now and have been very pleased with the ease of use, quality of images, and great selection of accessories. One of the biggest selling points was the compatibility with my large collection of "K-Mount" lenses and macro photography equipment from my ME-Super 35mm days.
The K100D is a fairly small DLSR and is great for people with smaller hands (like my wife).
I really like that the anti-shake is built into the camera, allowing all of my old lenses to take advantage of the feature!
The 18-55mm lens that was paired with the camera is very good quality and worth the extra money.
Be advised, there is a newer Pentax camera out, the Pentax K200D 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens that replaces this model and could be worth a look.
Overall, recommended!
Digital camera Review: Great Entry-level DSLR - Excellent Features and Affordable
Summary: 5 Stars
Having grown up using Pentax SLR Cameras and Lenses I was very intrigued by the K100D and the ability to reuse some of my K mount lenses. I am extremely impressed so far with image quality, the built-in flash (no red eye problems so far) and the almost instantaneous shutter of the camera. Having been oppressed for so long by the compact digital cameras I have reinvigorated my love of photography and can't wait to explore the many features of the K100D. The auto-focus has been very good so far with just one occasion where it didn't seem to adjust properly, but that also could have been operator error.Digital camera Review: Great camera with useful shake reduction
Summary: 5 Stars
I took this camera on a trip to Europe and found it to work really, really well. The shake reduction was perfect for our visits to dimly lit museums. The flash also works well when you need it, and it doesn't overexpose your images.
The 18-55mm lens is really good for a kit lens. At 18mm, I found that I could usually get a decent picture of a building or room. It worked great for scenery too.
Since I didn't want to spend most of our trip adjusting my camera for each photograph, I usually just used Aperture Priority mode and auto focus. I feel that my photographs turned out great.
My only gripe is that I couldn't always get the camera to autofocus on what I wanted, but manually focusing is as simple as on any other SLR camera.
I would definitely recommend this camera for enthusiasts and even novices willing to learn a bit about photography.