I just ordered my Pentax K100D!!!

[DisneyGirl4188]

I just ordered this from beachcamera.com for $552.00 (and a $50 mail in rebate) It comes with a 18-55mm lens. I'm going to use that lens for awhile until I can decide which other lenses I want/need. I should get this in about a week.

I want to thank everyone for helping me to decide. I am sure I will be here a lot with questions since this is my first DSLR. I am so excited!!!! :banana:

[Jeanne B]

Congrats!! :thumbsup2 I have the K100 and love it. And smart move on your part to start with the kit lens.

If you selected free shipping there's still a good chance you could have it by Friday. They almost always ship FedEx the same day so depending on where you live you could have it much quicker than expected. I've always received my cameras from them in 1-2 days at the most, and that's with free shipping!!

[DisneyGirl4188]

I did get the free shipping and I live in WV (near DC) so hopefully I'll get it sooner.

[ukcatfan]

Another K100D owner here. I cannot say many bad things about it. I loved my Canon S1 IS and was amazed at just how much better the DSLR is. Feel free to ask questions.

One of the first extra lenses that you might want to consider is a 50mm prime. The new ones are great, and there are also many good used ones. I have a manual focus model that I got from KEH for about $35-40 that I really like.

Kevin

[Kies99]

Congrats! I just got my K100D from BeachCamera about a month ago and so far really love it. 99% of my pictures are so far done on the auto setting and I'm not having many issues. Still have lots to learn though.

[Shifletjl]

I want to thank everyone for helping me to decide.

Don't mean to highjack this thread, but I'm in the same situation....

I too am leaning toward the purchase of the K100D Pentax. This camera will also be my first DSLR. I want to take landscapes, sports and of course the family portraits and vacations.

What were the determining factors that lead to your decision to purchase the K100D?

Thanks, Jen

[ukcatfan]

I want to take landscapes, sports and of course the family portraits and vacations.


I love my camera, but would not want to lead you down the wrong path. How often, how serious, and what type of sports pics are there going to be taking? It can do action shots well, but there are other models that are better due to their faster and longer lasting drive modes. If it is just kids sports, then the K100D is probably fine. If it is for high school age or higher football, basketball, etc. then you might want to look at the K10D, a Canon, or Nikon. Also please note that the IS should not be used for action shots. It can actually hurt the outcome. You have to rely on shutter speed to stop the action.

For your other requirements, it would be great. Pentax has some of the best prime lenses around and they would likely work well for your needs. Also, the Pentax kit lens is called the best one around by some people. I have never tested, so I cannot guarantee that.

Kevin

[Jeanne B]

What were the determining factors that lead to your decision to purchase the K100D?

Image Stabilization in the body
Size (Rebel XT felt too small for my hands, D50 too large)
Excellent reviews for the most part
Price can't be beat IMO for a beginner dSLR user
It takes SD cards (which I already had for my Canon p&s cameras)
It uses AA batteries (easier to find AA's if the batteries die unexpectadly while on vacation compared finding a Lithium-Ion...been there, done that with my old Kodak!!)

You mentioned sports pics and I agree with Kevin although I've actually been pleased with the few sports shots I've taken (outdoors though, not inside). Here's a couple of college field hockey pics taken at the University of Maine...

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y124/jtbonin/fieldhockey1022.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y124/jtbonin/fieldhockey1032.jpg

[DisneyGirl4188]

Image Stabilization in the body
Size (Rebel XT felt too small for my hands, D50 too large)
Excellent reviews for the most part
Price can't be beat IMO for a beginner dSLR user
It takes SD cards (which I already had for my Canon p&s cameras)
It uses AA batteries (easier to find AA's if the batteries die unexpectadly while on vacation compared finding a Lithium-Ion...been there, done that with my old Kodak!!)



These are pretty much my reasons too. For me, the biggest deciding factor was the IS with a close second being the price.

[ukcatfan]

Image Stabilization in the body
Size (Rebel XT felt too small for my hands, D50 too large)
Excellent reviews for the most part
Price can't be beat IMO for a beginner dSLR user
It takes SD cards (which I already had for my Canon p&s cameras)
It uses AA batteries (easier to find AA's if the batteries die unexpectadly while on vacation compared finding a Lithium-Ion...been there, done that with my old Kodak!!)



I guess I forgot to answer that part of the question. I pretty much felt the same way. I was going to get the *ist DL b/c it was super cheap with a rebate, but I waited too long and missed out. I will add that I also felt like the Rebel series was a little on the cheapo side and I didn't like the button placement. Maybe it was bad placement in the store. It was right beside a 30D and that just put it to shame.

Kevin

[Shifletjl]

For me, the biggest deciding factor was the IS with a close second being the price.

Image Stabilization in the body is a big plus for me too. Price is nice.

You mentioned sports pics and I agree with Kevin although I've actually been pleased with the few sports shots I've taken (outdoors though, not inside). Here's a couple of college field hockey pics taken at the University of Maine...

Nice pictures. My sports photography will mostly be indoor / high school volleyball and probably gymnastics.

I love my camera, but would not want to lead you down the wrong path. How often, how serious, and what type of sports pics are there going to be taking? It can do action shots well, but there are other models that are better due to their faster and longer lasting drive modes. If it is just kids sports, then the K100D is probably fine. If it is for high school age or higher football, basketball, etc. then you might want to look at the K10D, a Canon, or Nikon. Also please note that the IS should not be used for action shots. It can actually hurt the outcome. You have to rely on shutter speed to stop the action.

For your other requirements, it would be great. Pentax has some of the best prime lenses around and they would likely work well for your needs. Also, the Pentax kit lens is called the best one around by some people. I have never tested, so I cannot guarantee that.

Kevin

What do you think? Indoor high school volleyball, will the K100D to the job? The lacrosse shots looked really good, but that is outside.

Jen

[ukcatfan]

What do you think? Indoor high school volleyball, will the K100D to the job? The lacrosse shots looked really good, but that is outside.

Jen

Hopefully 0bli0 will see this message and respond (he is in Australia and probably asleep right now). He will likely have the best advice. I will give it a try though.

For really good indoor sports, you will probably need a better than kit lens no matter what camera, so price might come into play for you. You might want to save on the body to be able to get the right lens. You can get good indoor sports shots with any DSLR. The reason the other cameras are a little better is b/c you can fire off a bunch of shots and hope one comes out. You can only do a few with the K100D before it will slow down. Focusing is also a tiny bit faster on the other brands and K10D.

Volleyball generally does not have as much motion as say basketball or hockey, so the K100D might be all you need. If you can limit yourself to a non-zoom for those shots, there are some good and relatively inexpensive prime lenses for Pentax that might work well. They usually allow a wider aperture than a zoom lens and therefore a faster shutter speed will work. You could cut down your depth of field too much if you are not careful though. You will also likely need a high ISO speed. As for the ISO speed and the noise it creates, you will see very little difference between the entry level cameras from most brands. I believe that Olympus is a little worse, but not by much. Generally 1600 is the highest you want to use. The K100D has 3200, but it is pretty bad.

Kevin

[handicap18]

For the inside sports pictures, something like an 85mm f/1.8 or a 90mm f/2.8. I don't know Pentax' lens line-up, but you'll want something around there (85mm-105mm or so) with an f/stop of 2.8 or higher is the general concensus for this type of situation. The length is going to be mostly determined on how close to the action you can get, ie: sidelines/first row or 2 vs way back in the bleechers. If you can get 1.8 that is wider, but be sure in these situations that your focus is right on as there will be no depth of field. You'll combine the wide aperture with a high ISO (800 or 1600) to be able to get fast shutter speeds (1/250th and above, depending the lighting in the venue).

[Shifletjl]

Thanks for the information everyone. I appreciate your time and expertise.

Regarding a lense for volleyball. I am considering the K100D body with kit and adding a Tamron AF25-75mm F/2.8. Would this meet my needs? I can get the camera w/kit and tamron lense for basically the same price as the K10D.

[ukcatfan]

I am not familiar with that one, but can you tell us if 75mm will get you close enough? You are covering much of the same range as the kit. Have you considered the kit and a prime or two?

Kevin

[Groucho]

Congratulations, I'm sure you'll love the camera. I'm in WDW currently with my Pentax *ist DL and I sure wish I had the K100D's IS and especially faster autofocus! (Low-light focusing is a sore spot with the DL model in particular - hadn't really bothered me much before but I admit it's frustrated me a couple times here.) IS in the body is IMHO definitely the way to go - it's very possible to get a shaky image even on a shorter lens if the lighting is low.

For Shifletjl, the only real thing that stands out on the negative side for the K100D is the continuous shooting - only you can answer how necessary that is, but I haven't found it a particularly big omission (my DL has the same capabilities in terms of cont. shooting)... the only time I've used it here at WDW is going down the hill in Splash Mountain! But some people need it for what they shoot. In that case, you need a K10D or one of those "other brands" ;) ...

In terms of lens lineup, currently the "big names" seem to have a couple more long-zoom fast lenses, but those are generally big bucks, and very big bucks if you want IS. With the IS in the body, you don't need to buy it again, so your lens purchases will cost you much less (and of course, you'll have it on all lenses), so you might be able to over look that... and Pentax will have some new long zooms coming later this year.

As for the competition, I suspect that some of those who could offer more first-hand knowledge probably aren't bothered to read this thread. :)

[Jeanne B]

Thanks for the information everyone. I appreciate your time and expertise.

Regarding a lense for volleyball. I am considering the K100D body with kit and adding a Tamron AF25-75mm F/2.8. Would this meet my needs? I can get the camera w/kit and tamron lense for basically the same price as the K10D.

This is actually a lens I've considered myself (I have it sitting in my Amazon shopping cart just as a reminder:) ). My only concern would be that it wouldn't give you enough reach unless you're going to be close to the sideline. For my field hocky pics in my previous post I was using the 50-200 and I don't have the focal length details but I was pretty close to the long end in both shots.

[Shifletjl]

I am not familiar with that one, but can you tell us if 75mm will get you close enough? You are covering much of the same range as the kit. Have you considered the kit and a prime or two?

Kevin

Your right Kevin, should I be looking for something closer to 105-125mm? The Tamron was recommended at the store. Maybe because it would be fast enough?

I am unfamiliar with prime lenses. Can you recommend a website where I could get more information?

Jen

[Shifletjl]

For my field hocky pics in my previous post I was using the 50-200 and I don't have the focal length details but I was pretty close to the long end in both shots.

Thank you. That gives me a better idea of what I should be looking for.

[Shifletjl]

...For Shifletjl, the only real thing that stands out on the negative side for the K100D is the continuous shooting - only you can answer how necessary that is, but I haven't found it a particularly big omission (my DL has the same capabilities in terms of cont. shooting)... the only time I've used it here at WDW is going down the hill in Splash Mountain! But some people need it for what they shoot. In that case, you need a K10D or one of those "other brands" ;) ...

In terms of lens lineup, currently the "big names" seem to have a couple more long-zoom fast lenses, but those are generally big bucks, and very big bucks if you want IS. With the IS in the body, you don't need to buy it again, so your lens purchases will cost you much less (and of course, you'll have it on all lenses), so you might be able to over look that... and Pentax will have some new long zooms coming later this year..... :)

Thanks, Groucho. I feel really good about my decision to go with Pentax. I will give the continuous shooting feature some consideration. Either way, I think the camera is a good fit for me, the additional lense will work itself out as I research.

What a great help you all have been. Thanks again.

[Shifletjl]

Hey Jeanne B, how is the continuous shooting feature on your K100D working for you?

[midge3426]

I just got my late Christmas gift from my husband Saturday and it is my first digital camera, the popular Pentax K1000D. I told my husband that was the digital camera that I wanted. I have had a Pentax K1000 since 1980 and I still use the camera and it works great. I am hoping the digital version works as well. Be sure and download the rebate form and send it in!

[ukcatfan]

Your right Kevin, should I be looking for something closer to 105-125mm? The Tamron was recommended at the store. Maybe because it would be fast enough?

I am unfamiliar with prime lenses. Can you recommend a website where I could get more information?

Jen

A prime lens just means that it is a fixed focal length (i.e. there is no zoom to it). They are usually better in low/tricky light situations. They are usually better b/c they do not have to make any compromises designing the lens when the zooming is removed. They normally have much wider apertures than zoom lenses that allows a quicker shutter. You do narrow your DOF with those wide open apertures though, so you have to be careful to not go too wide open for the situation.

You would have to know what focal length you need before you buy the lens. That all depends on how physically close you can get to the action. The most popular one seems to be the 50mm, but that might not be enough focal length for the sports. Somewhere in the 100s might be better. Only you can determine that. They tend to get more expensive the longer the focal length. You can find manual focus 50mm ones for $30 used, but manual focus would be tough for sports. I believe there is still a rebate on the new 50mm, but they have been hard to find.

Kevin

[Shifletjl]

A prime lens just means that it is a fixed focal length (i.e. there is no zoom to it). They are usually better in low/tricky light situations. They are usually better b/c they do not have to make any compromises designing the lens when the zooming is removed. They normally have much wider apertures than zoom lenses that allows a quicker shutter. You do narrow your DOF with those wide open apertures though, so you have to be careful to not go too wide open for the situation.

You would have to know what focal length you need before you buy the lens. That all depends on how physically close you can get to the action. The most popular one seems to be the 50mm, but that might not be enough focal length for the sports. Somewhere in the 100s might be better. Only you can determine that. They tend to get more expensive the longer the focal length. You can find manual focus 50mm ones for $30 used, but manual focus would be tough for sports. I believe there is still a rebate on the new 50mm, but they have been hard to find.

Kevin

Thanks for the help, Kevin. I will definitely look into the prime lense option before purchasing a lense.

Jen