Help with DSLR camera purchase

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

OK ... some years back I had a Pentax SLR and a few years ago upgraded to a digital P&S which has served me well. I am now looking to move up to a digital SLR and after much research have narrowed it down to three choices:
1) Canon Rebel XTi (400D)
2) Nikon D80
3) Pentax K10D

Can anyone provide any words of wisdom on any of these three models??

Bonny

 

[ukcatfan]

Do you still have any of your old lenses? If so, then I say the Pentax is a no brainer. You will probably want at least one more lens if you want wide angle though. With the ~1.5x crop factor on this level of DSLR, your widest might not be wide enough. The Pentax kit lens is an 18-55mm and it is pretty nice for a kit lens.

One thing to consider is how much you are willing to put into your system in total and if IS is something that you want. If the sky is the limit, then I would go with Canon, but if you have a budget and want IS, then Pentax is tough to beat. Just FYI, I went into my decision thinking I wanted the Canon, but landed on the K100D. The Canons at that price level just felt a little "cheap" to me. The Pentax and Nikon felt more solid and then I felt that the Pentax features just beat the Nikon. For me, the IS really works.

Good luck!

Kevin

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Thanks Kevin - yes I do have the old lenses, so I am leaning towards the Pentax myself ...

Bonny

 

[Master Mason]

Thanks Kevin - yes I do have the old lenses, so I am leaning towards the Pentax myself ...

Bonny

If you have an investment in pentax lenses, it would be tough not to go that route.

 

[Anewman]

1) Canon Rebel XTi (400D)
2) Nikon D80
3) Pentax K10D

Can anyone provide any words of wisdom on any of these three models??

Bonny

If you have "good" Pentax lenses, the choice should be automatic. But it may also depend on what you will be shooting most, if sports are involved Pentax lenses are not exactly the fastest focusing lenses around.

IMO the comparison is a little unfair. The REBEL is the entry level line of Canon DSLRs, but you are considering it with mid level lines from Pentax(actually their top of the line) and Nikon. The XTI is going for about $650 while the Nikon is $950 and Pentax $920(b4 $50 rebate). Even so it competes in IQ areas, but it lacks the IS of the Pentax and the build quality of both higher end cameras. It actually has the largest buffer when it comes to RAW images. All three shoot at 3 frames per second, but the Rebel lacks true spot metering.

 

[Groucho]

There's no rebate on the K10D as it's so new.

Also because it's so new, there are no "pro" reviews that I'm aware of. It is a highly-specced camera and has the same sensor as the D80, though, so on paper, it sounds great - I hope to pick one up next year barring any lousy reviews.

Actually, looks like PopPhoto just posted a review recently.

After running the K10D through our normal battery of tests and seeing how it performs in real-world situations we can now say with certainty: Pentax has truly arrived in the DSLR category, and the K10D is a serious player in the advanced amateur DSLR game.

Overall image quality is Excellent throughout the ISO range. Color accuracy is Excellent. Noise is exceptionally well controlled all the way through, and Resolution is excellent at all ISOs. In fact, there is less than a 5 percent drop off in resolution from ISO 100 (1925) to ISO 1600 (1845), and noise only climbs from Very Low (1.15) to Low (1.95) from lowest to highest ISO.

The K10D not only proves that Pentax belongs in the big leagues, it's an all-star player.

What's Hot
• Sensor-based shake reduction
• 22-bit processing
• 3FPS JPEG capture-to-card capacity
• Weather-tough design
• Excellent image quality at all ISOs
• Excellent fluorescent color balancing
• LCD depth of field preview function

What's Not
• Autofocus slower than competing models
• Magenta color casts in dark shadows
• Weather sealing make for slower access to battery and card
• No indication of extent of Shake Reduction

The XTi is a bit cheaper, the closest price-wise for Canon is the 30D, which I'm not very familiar with. Sony's Alpha is also in that price range and is worth checking out - but with some Pentax lenses in hand already, it really makes that the obvious choice.

 

[Anewman]

The XTi is a bit cheaper, the closest price-wise for Canon is the 30D, which I'm not very familiar with.

Many stores still have the 20D in inventory, it is $939 @Buydig/Beachcamera.
Both are 8.2 mp and shoot 5 fps so They are pretty good for fast moving sports. Biggest changes from the 20D to 30D were the introduction of spot meter and larger LCD, overall image quality seems to be the same.

 

[Anewman]

The XTi is a bit cheaper, the closest price-wise for Canon is the 30D, which I'm not very familiar with. Sony's Alpha is also in that price range and is worth checking out - but with some Pentax lenses in hand already, it really makes that the obvious choice.

Just noticed RITZ Camera currently has the Sony Alpha on sale for $699, that is over $200 less than the Nikon and Pentax. It also has in camera IS like the Pentax.

It is a buyers market.

 

[ukcatfan]

Just noticed RITZ Camera currently has the Sony Alpha on sale for $699, that is over $200 less than the Nikon and Pentax. It also has in camera IS like the Pentax.

It is a buyers market.

The only problem with Sony is that we have no idea if they will stay in the market long. They have a track record of dropping technologies that do not make it at the top. Anyone remember Beta or DAT.

Kevin

 

[Furgus]

The only problem with Sony is that we have no idea if they will stay in the market long. They have a track record of dropping technologies that do not make it at the top. Anyone remember Beta or DAT.

Kevin

Or Blue Ray.....O wait they are still pushing that

 

[Anewman]

The only problem with Sony is that we have no idea if they will stay in the market long. They have a track record of dropping technologies that do not make it at the top. Anyone remember Beta or DAT.

Kevin

While I agree, dont forget the minidisk players that my kids have.

Even if Sony dropped out, there are enough Minolta lenses around to make this a great setup.

 

[ukcatfan]

While I agree, dont forget the minidisk players that my kids have.

Even if Sony dropped out, there are enough Minolta lenses around to make this a great setup.

I forgot about the minidisk. I really thought that one would work. I guess MP3 was the last nail in that coffin. Can anyone else think of any other technologies that Sony started and then abandoned?

I am sure that there are a ton of Minolta mount lenses in the used market, but some people insist on new products.

Kevin

 

[MarkBarbieri]

They haven't abandoned memory sticks yet, but it's another case where they went proprietary for no good reason.

I'm not sure if they've given up on SACD yet, but I don't hear anyone talking about either of the relatively new high fidelity audio formats these days.

I'm pretty sure that Digital8 is officially dead now. In Sony's defense, it was an attempt to cheaply bring their 8mm/Hi-8 users into the digital realm in a way that allowed backwards compatibility with older players. It wasn't just Sony being different because they couldn't get along.

 

[Groucho]

I for one am hoping that BluRay wins out - but I'd be a lot happier if there were one standard. Or hopefully we'll have combo BluRay/HD-DVD players (like with blank DVD-Rs and DVD+Rs) and it won't matter.

I would be surprised to see Sony give up on the Alpha for a while. It's not like it's a new technology, most of it is Minolta. Sony also does quite well making CCD sensors, ask Nikon, Pentax, etc.

The PSP is certainly not abandoned, either, though UMD movies are almost there (and should be - that concept was pretty dumb from day one.)

 

[fivefordisney]

http://www.dpreview.com/

Friday, 15 December 2006
Just posted! Pentax K10D review
Just posted! Twelve days after our Pentax K100D review we have a detailed review of its bigger brother, the ten megapixel K10D. Announced just before Photokina this year the K10D garnered a lot of interest from a wide audience as a serious alternative to the 'obvious choice' of Canon or Nikon digital SLR's. The K10D brings a lot of new features to the table as well as Pentax's in-camera Shake Reduction and dust/weather seals. For just under $1000 it's pretty clear Pentax intend to make a big splash with this camera. See how it shaped up and how it compares in our review. (16:55 GMT)

 

[ukcatfan]

I gave up on Sony about 15 years ago. I spent all the money I could save on their top of the line stereo receiver. First unit had a channel die after two months. Cicuit City replaced it and then the second unit started becomming possesed by some dark evil force. It would tun itself on in the middle of the night, play only static, crank up the volume to the max, and would not turn off. It had to be unplugged to stop it. CC then allowed me to exchange it for a different brand. I chose an Onkyo and the thing still works today like it did back then. It has been downgraded to the garage stereo due to technology change, but it has lasted incredibly.

There is something about them that I just do not trust. But that is just my opinion of them. I really hope that everyone else starts using different sensors in their cameras. Just look at the Sony sensor fiasco of this time last year that continues today. Canon updated their list of affected cameras in October.

Kevin

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Sony is a big company with lots of divisions. Some do things really well and others do things poorly.

For the last two generations, they completely dominated the game console market. They are one of the top makers of both pro and amateur video cameras. Their video editing software is very good.

They don't seem to be doing too well in most areas lately. I think a lot of it has to do with investing heavily in content. Their obsession with protecting content has crippled them as an electronics company.

Oh well, there are plenty of great competitors out there.