Which Pentax DSLR should I choose?

Posted by admin | Posted in Beginners Guide, Pentax DSLR, Pentax body | Posted on 25-04-2009-05-2008

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Congratulation on choosing a really good brand of cameras – Pentax DSLR. Now you need to decide which Pentax body you want.Let me help you decide.

Have a look at the table below, and then read my thoughts about it.

Body

Image Sensor

Shake
Reduc- tion

Dust
Removal

Orien- tation
Sensor

Battery 4x AA vs. D-LI50

Continuous
Shooting
(fps)

Weight
(g)

In Pro- duction

K20D

14.6 MP, CMOS, 1.54x

√

√

√

D-LI50

2.8

715

√

K10D

10.2 MP, CCD, 1.53x

√

√

√

D-LI50

3

710

K200D

10.2 MP, CCD, 1.53x

√

√

4x AA

2.8

630

√

K100D Super

6.1 MP, CCD, 1.53x

√

√

4x AA

2.8

570

√

K100D

6.1 MP, CCD, 1.53x

√

4x AA

2.8

560

K110D

6.1 MP, CCD, 1.53x

4x AA

2.8

485

√

K-m / K2000

10.2 MP, CCD, 1.53x

√

√

4x AA

3.5

525

√

These are the features you need to consider:

1. Image sensor – if your budget is a concern, 6MP is really enough, especially for party snaps. To make use of more mega pixels, you need to have a good lens, anyway, so if you only want the kit lens only (which is a good one; Pentax kit lens is much better than competition), don’t think that 10 MP will make a big difference – it will not. However, if you can afford it, go for 10 MP.

2. Shake reduction – very important. You will want to take a lot of photos in low light (indoors, cloudy day), so extra stability with every lens for free is a real McCoy (built in the camera with all new Pentax DSLR bodies).

3. Orientation sensor – really useful. Saves a lot of time of rotating those photos left and right. With orientation sensor your photo browser will rotate it for you automatically.

4.
Continuous shooting – the difference between 2.8 and 3.5 fps is insignificant, so it should not be the main factor while deciding. For sport photography look for cameras with 5-10 fps. Remember, that you can’t use flash in this mode as there is no flash that can charge 3 times a second, so good lighting is required (strong sunshine preferably).

5. Battery - AA batteries are good thing, especially if you run out of power, it’s easy to buy a top up. However, I have not been very happy with rechargeable AA’s performance, which I used with my compact camera. I use Lithium-ion battery with my K10D, and I’m really happy – 300-400 photos with one charge, and flash does not seem to decrease the battery life so much. Also, it charges in around 2 seconds all through the battery cycle. I have bought 2 spares, but I only needed one so far (taking more than 300 photos takes a long enough time to charge the other battery).

Optionally, you can buy a battery grip, which gives you additional battery in a slick looking add on, but also makes your camera look more professional and gives you a second release button, which is useful for vertical shots.

6.
Price - as much as you can afford, but it’s better to invest in a better lens as you are likely to buy a new camera after 2-3 years, while lenses last for 5-10 years at least.

Now make your choice!

If price is not a concern, go for K20D or K200D. However, with prices that low you should try to go for K20D – you’re not buying disposables – this will serve you for at least 3 years. If your budget is low, go for K100D with either a kit lens or with Tamron 18-250mm (for help with lens choice, please check my blog www.pentaxbody.com).

Please, do not hesitate to ask me questions on my blog.

Enjoy your Pentax experience.

Please, support me and buy from my affiliates.
Thank you
Kamil Wawrzyszko

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Wide Angle Lens Converter 52mm

Posted by admin | Posted in Pentax accessories, Pentax lenses, Reviews | Posted on 23-03-2009-05-2008

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Looking for a wide angle lens for your Pentax or Nikon DSLR?

A perfect way to transform your kit lens into wide angle lens for a quarter of the price is to get the 0.7x wide angle converter. It has 5 star reviews on Amazon UK, and for £70 it’s a real bargain. Those who bought it feel really satisfied with it claiming that the quality of photos is surprisingly high. 5 Stars

Digital King DSW Pro 0.7x Wide Angle Lens Nikon/Pentax 52mm

Please, read what the buyers thought:

I have always needed a slightly wider angle than my Pentax K10d’s 18-55mm lens was able to provide, but I was not willing to pay for a Pentax wide angle lens, which costs as much as the camera itself. So when I saw this adaptor, I went for it, and I’m pleased I did; it works very well. There is no vignetting at the corners at the widest angle, which is often a problem with such adaptors, and there is no discernible reduction in photo quality. Of course you do get ‘tombstoning’ when you take photos of buildings with the camera tilted up at an angle, but this is a normal feature of most wide-angle lens. The adaptor lens is 80mm in diameter and 15mm in thickness, as such it is larger than the barrel of the 18-55 lens, but it does not look ridiculous when attached. The adaptor lens comes with its own pouch, proper front lens cap and a rear push-on cap. Perhaps the only ‘con’ of this adaptor is that it’s attached to the camera via the 52mm filter thread and care needs to be taken when attaching it. If you intend to be constantly removing and re-attaching this lens, it could get a bit tiresome; this lens adaptor cannot really be described as ‘quickly detachable’. I myself intend to leave it on most of the time. One ‘pro’ of this adaptor-lens is that it doesn’t take up a lot of room. It will easily fit in a coat pocket or camera bag. I would not hesitate to recommend this adaptor-lens to the photographer on a budget who needs a wider angle photo, but doesn’t want to pay out hundred’s for a wide angle zoom lens.

Or another one:

Like a lot of keen using a DSLR with standard 18-55 mm (kit) lens I began to look at other (in this case wide angle) lenses and was immediately confronted with the high cost of wide angle zooms. Again like many people I was a little taken aback at the cost of the Sigma 10-20 zoom at over £300 even on Amazon.

After a lot of research on the web I came across the Digital King wide angle lens – .7X which is made in Japan and is designed specifically to work with a 18-55 kit lens. It just screws on the front like a filter.

Took the plunge and bought it through Amazon UK although it was supplied by RK Photographic. It arrived 2 days later inside a nifty pouch with draw string and protected by front and back good quality lens caps. Total cost less than £70.00 p&p free. Free 5 year guarantee.

I have to say when I took it out of the box it looked beautiful. Obviously larger in depth and diameter but still light to use. On maximum wide angle of the kit lens (18mm) it becomes a 12.6 approx wide
angle lens. The quality of image using my Nikon D40 is simply superb and I’m sure would easily meet the standards for keen amateurs. It gives a pleasing natural wide angle “distortion” when used closely to objects although less than a fish-eye would but it is still quite dramatic.

It was interesting because when I looked more closely at reviews of this lens in other web forums I was struck by how the most vehemently against this type of lens clearly had not even used one let alone owned one. This is what convinced me to buy the Digital King lens. No-one who owned one had criticized it. It seems to be a result of a certain sort of snobbery: you will only get quality by paying through the nose for it. This in my experience with this lens is complete nonsense.

Instead of paying £310 I paid less than £70.00 for a very useful wide angle – I admit that it doesn’t have the flexibility of a wide angle zoom but with a saving of £240 I’m willing to put up with that and maybe buy that Blu-ray player from Sony that I keep hankering after?

And one more:

After using two slr’s (a Canon film slr and an Olympus dslr) that employed dedicated multi-element wide-angle and telephoto converters and having been pleased with the results, I thought this converter worth trying. Happily my initial experience actually confirms all of its maker’s claims. This attachment has a single glass element specially designed to match a 18-55mm dslr kit lens at its widest setting. My converter is 52mm dia.(for a Pentax K100d) but I believe a 58mm dia. version is also available.

The performance on my camera is excellent. Perhaps not only due to careful design and manufacture but as experience suggests, the less glass added to the front of a good camera lens the better. Being lightweight and compact the convertor slips conveniently into the front pocket of my zoomster camera bag; accessories are no use unless to hand. Other plus points; there’s nothing to go wrong, all camera functions are retained. Also the chance of dust entering the camera is eliminated by using a supplementary lens rather than changing lenses.

Reasonable care is needed screwing it to the host filter ring but my converter spins on and off freely with its milled edge, black crackle barrel providing a secure finger grip. The lens appears to be coated to minimise reflections (its housing is marked MC) and the metal barrel although shallow seems to offer some shading. Toda-Seiko Ltd (Japan) have been making conversion lenses for around 20 years and for all kinds of optical equipment, something I found reassuring.

Not everyone can justify or afford an expensive prime or zoom wide-angle lens but they can enjoy the added fun and interest of creating more dynamic photos. with this converter. My example cost somewhat less than the current widely advertised UK price so do shop around.

Give yourself a bit a luxury for a tiny price. If you always thought about getting a wide angle lens but could not afford, now you can! Click the link below now:

Digital King DSW Pro 0.7x Wide Angle Lens Nikon/Pentax 52mm

Enjoy!!!

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