Which Pentax DSLR should I choose?
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 |
Dust |
Orien- tation |
Battery 4x AA vs. D-LI50 |
Continuous |
Weight |
In Pro- duction |
|
14.6 MP, CMOS, 1.54x |
√ |
√ |
√ |
D-LI50 |
2.8 |
715 |
√ |
|
|
10.2 MP, CCD, 1.53x |
√ |
√ |
√ |
D-LI50 |
3 |
710 |
||
|
10.2 MP, CCD, 1.53x |
√ |
√ |
4x AA |
2.8 |
630 |
√ |
||
|
6.1 MP, CCD, 1.53x |
√ |
√ |
4x AA |
2.8 |
570 |
√ |
||
|
6.1 MP, CCD, 1.53x |
√ |
4x AA |
2.8 |
560 |
||||
|
6.1 MP, CCD, 1.53x |
4x AA |
2.8 |
485 |
√ |
||||
|
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!
Enjoy your Pentax experience.
The new Pentax 645D will help all of us, even if you don’t buy one.
Hi Pentaxian friends.
Pentax announced the resurrection of the Medium Format 645D SLR and had mock ups displayed at the Photo Imaging Expo (PIE) in Tokyo in March. Although I will probably never have enough disposable income to purchase one, this move will benefit all of us. The price is speculated to be approximately $10.000 for a sensor around 30MP. That’s a fair price to pay if you are a Professional photographer.
The Medium Format is dominated by just a few companies: Hasselblad, Mamiya, the new upcoming Leica S2, all at prices ranging from $20,000 to $50,000. If Pentax actually produce the 645D and sells it in the $10,000 range, they will once again be the innovators and leaders they once were. Forget the full frame DSLRs, they will by-pass that format all together and go the the top of the line, medium format with 30MP plus. They already have a full line of medium format autofocus lenses. The sensor ratio will be more usable and prints in the 8″ x 10″, 11″ x 14″, and 16″ x 20″ will be easily made without much cropping at all. For us, that use the English measurement system, these sizes are standard and frames already made are found everywhere.
The benefits for all of us will be that Pentax will produce a Professional DSLR, and a Medium Format size at that. They will be up there with the Hasselblads, Mamiyas and a few other brands. The word will get around that Pentax has a Medium Format Pro-Level DSLR and that many of the top Pros are using it. The entry-level photographers will buy entry-level Pentax DSLRs, emulating the Pros. They have done that with the Nikon and Canon brands for a while now.
In the real world, Pentax will have better image quality than the full-frame DSLRs, just like it was during the film era. Photographers all over the world will live happily thereafter! Pentax will sell more cameras, they will make more money with the APS-C and Medium Format cameras, they will have more R & D money, they will come up with better cameras, and the circle will be unbroken again.
Hey…don’t laugh, it might just happen that way!
Thank you for reading,
Yvon Bourque
Found at: http://pentaxdslrs.blogspot.com/2009/04/new-pentax-645d-will-help-all-of-us.html
Pentax DA 15mm f/4 ED Limited lens arrived today.
.
.
Hi Pentaxian friends.
I received my Pentax DA 15mm f/4 ED Limited lens. What a beautiful little lens. I like big lenses and big cameras, but lately, I have been so impressed with the Pentax Limited lenses, that I got to have the whole series. I still like big cameras and lenses when I go for a planned photo shoot, but for traveling, I am now favoring the Limited lenses with either the K2000 or the K200D without the handgrip.
The Pentax prime lenses have a very good reputation.
I will test the lens in the coming days and will report my impressions on this blog.
Thank you for reading,
Yvon Bourque
Found at: http://pentaxdslrs.blogspot.com/2009/04/pentax-da-15mm-f4-ed-limited-lens.html
Pentax K20D Titanium Limited Edition launched
Pentax has announced the new K20D limited edition Titanium Colour Premium kit in Japan.
Similarly to the Pentax K-m Olive limited edition, there will only be 1,000 of the specially coloured kits made, with availability slated for October this year.
The kit will be made up of Pentax’s flagship 14.6 megapixel K20D DSLR camera and a D-BG2 vertical grip, both in titanium colour.
Pricing is still yet to be confirmed,
Pricing is to be confirmed, and it is unclear whether this limited-edition kit will be sold anywhere outside Japan.
Pentax K20D beats competition
10 Reasons why you should buy a Pentax DSLR:
1. Built in anti shake (so it works with any lens, and lenses are cheaper)
2. Weather seals (you can shoot in the rain and not worry about leaks)
3. Well designed camera control (all keys placed in the right place) and top view LCD panel
|
4.Sturdy and professionally looking body
5. Dedicated RAW key
6. Back and front dials (allow to change various settings just by turning them left or right – brilliant and so easy to use)
7. Unique to Pentax sensitivity priority (quickly turn the dial to change ISO)
8. Unique to Pentax Hyper Program (switching between shutter and aperture priority with one move of a dial – how ingenious!)
9. Compatibility with all Pentax lenses
10. Constant on-screen zoom on playback (when you move from one photo to another the zoom stays as you just set it – irreplaceable for comparing details in two adjacent photos) plus “Compare” option in K20D
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|
 |
| Screen 1: Control right-hand image Front dial selects a different image Rear dial magnifies Controller moves around the image OK selects Screen 2 |
Screen 1 zoomed in on a detail. Both left and right images can be the same, allowing a split view with two different zoom levels. |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Screen 2: Control both images Rear dial magnifies both images Controller moves around both images OK selects Screen 3 |
Screen 3: Control left-hand image Front dial selects a different image Rear dial magnifies Controller moves around the image OK selects Screen 1 |
All competition in the same price range (and much more expensive as well) are not even close to that vast range of options. You can also highly customize it using the dials, which are placed just under your finger tips in a very convenient location – brilliant idea. You can use them (depending on program and your personal settings) to change aperture, shutter speed, ISO, EV compensation, number of exposures etc. or in play-back mode you can use it to zoom in and out or to move to the next photo without changing the zoom.
With the release of K20D Pentax stepped into the market of high end DSLR’s, where it’s unbeatable by similarly priced competition. As a successor of highly acclaimed K10D it inherits all of its functions and builds on them adding so much more. I have had K10D for two years already, and I’m so grateful that I did not buy Canon 400D. Pentax is so much better. It looks more professional and solid, it has weather seals, nicer menu and anti-shake. With my Pentax body I use Tamron 18-250mm and Tamron 70-300mm – both brilliant lenses, and at $140 / £110 for the latter one, it can’t go any better.
Please, read the whole professional review of Pentax K20D at:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxk20d/
Please, support me by buying from my affiliates.
Cheers
Kamil
