Camera Labs

This is my first post on the Camera Labs forum. I have read some Camera Labs reviews and some posts. The Camera Labs website is a great source of information.

I have been saving to by a DSLR for sometime now. I think a Pentax would be the option for me. The new Pentax K7 look like a great camera. I think that I will go with the K7. This will be my first DSLR. I want to get something decent the first time, because it will have to last a couple of years before I start to look into buying a new camera.

One of the reasons for going the Pentax route is that there are a lot of old Pentax lenses available on eBay at affordable prices. It appear that their are more Pentax K mount lenses for sale that any other brand. I may be wrong with that statement. My idea is to buy cheap second-hand lenses and play and to explore different type of photos.

I have one question about buying a camera. Has anybody brought a camera through the online camera shops? ie http://www.camera-warehouse.com.au/default.asp or http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/. The reason for looking into buying online is that I am in the Australian Outback. ± 600km from a city with a decent camera shop. The problem come with servicing the camera or what if it becomes faulty.

Any advice and thoughts please.

Thanks
Willie

if you are now entering the dslr world i wouldn't recommend a flagship model...pentax k200d(which i plan to buy) would be a great choice. it has all the advanced modes that are being used by a higher-end model, it's weather sealed and does have scene option which is helpful for a newbie...

this is my opinion but in the end it's your choice.(be sure to test each dslr before you buy it)

1. the K-7 IS the flagship model
2. the K200D isn't

The K-7 hasn't been released yet but it is expected to come out around early July or the end of June.

_________________
Samsung GX-10, , SA 18-55mm
Canon 5D Mark II, 40D, EF 17-40mm f/4 L, EF 24-105mm L IS, EF 50mm f/1.4

www.flickr.com/glxlr

GLXLR - The K-7 is being advertised as available here in Sydney.

Quote: DCW Site: - "The Pentax K-7 is available in the following lens kits..."

> Body only - Oz$1,539.00 (US$1,230.00, approx.)

> With Kit Lens Sigma 18-50mm Oz$1,649.00 (US$1,320.00, approx)

Site: > www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/category149_1.htm <

Dave.

Hey Willie...
Welcome to Cameralabs.
I live in the country as well,just not quite as far out as you,I'm only 2hrs away.
I thought about buying online but would much prefer having someone face to face IF there was a problem so made the 2hr trip.
6hrs though thats a fair jaunt.
I don't think you'll be disappointed with Pentax.
Looking fwd to some pics from you...hopefully wildlife pics

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Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-55mm,Pentax 50-200mm,Sigma 17-70mm,Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 50-500mm

gxlr
gxlr
gxlr...

i didn't say that pentax k200d is a flagship model...

willie said he wanted to buy the k-7

i told him that i wouldn't recommend a flagship model to a newbie

INSTEAD(...) get the k200d

got it????????

Hi Willie, I can vouch for DCW as I've bought from them before. I believe they have a physical store in Sydney if you prefer to collect in person.

Wish they did an affiliate scheme though so people could support us by shopping through them!

How can a model be a flagSHIP if it hasn't left the dock yet?

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Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-55mm,Pentax 50-200mm,Sigma 17-70mm,Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 50-500mm

kpr.... that's a very good question.

Well it has already gotten its first award, yet it hasn't been released yet either. http://nedbunnell.blogspot.com/2009/06/ ... award.html Doesn't mean the K-7 can't be the flagship.

_________________
Samsung GX-10, , SA 18-55mm
Canon 5D Mark II, 40D, EF 17-40mm f/4 L, EF 24-105mm L IS, EF 50mm f/1.4

www.flickr.com/glxlr

With 14.6 MP camera your pictures will be much larger which means that any fault that cheaper third party lenses will be more noticeable in your pictures.

You might want to check this out before you buy cheap lenses on ebay

http://www.pentaxforums.com/lensreviews/index.php

http://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/

And I am giving you advice from my own experience. Lenses are much more important than the camera for image quality.

Bonjour Willie,

I agree with Nelepi about the lenses.

Pentax has currently three major families of lenses for digital cameras:

• DA : standard range, value oriented (good quality for a nice price)
• DA Limited : top range, fixed lenses with top quality (and very high price)
• DA Star : high range, with SDM focus system, weather-resistant and dust-resistant, and fixed aperture for zoom (great quality). SDM stands for Supersonic Direct-drive Motor, a built-in motor, which brings faster and quieter focusing.

I started with the *ist DL (6 M pixels) bundled with the DA 18-55mm and 50-200mm lenses. When I switched for the K10D, the great image quality of the sensor (10 M pixels) deserved better quality of lenses. So I quietly changed my DA lenses for the DA* ones.

I really felt the difference of image quality between the DA 18-55mm and DA* 16-50mm, and between the DA 50-200mm and the DA* 50-135mm. The fixed aperture (f/2.8 for the DA* 16-50mm and the DA* 50-135mm, and f/4 for the DA* 60-250mm) brings unique flexibility in poor light conditions and amazing depth of field opportunities.

Please feel free to read my User Reviews

• Pentax DA* 16-50mm f2.8 ED/AL (IF) SDM User Review
• Pentax DA* 50-135mm f2.8 ED (IF) SDM User Review
• Pentax DA* 60-250mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM User Review

If you plan to buy a K-7, I strongly suggest you to consider DA* lenses to take the best out of your camera.

Pay special attention to the bundles Pentax offers, camera plus lens(es): they're great deals You can save up to a couple of hundred dollars with the bundle compared with separate purchases of camera and lens(es).

The K-7 seems very promising. The K10D and K20D were broadly acclaimed, and K-7 brings the legacy of former models. I haven't decided yet wether I would update my K10D, first for an obvious reason of cost, and then for the learning curve. I'm just starting fully trusting my K10D after a couple of years of use. There are still some features I haven't explored yet

_________________
--- rei_vilo
Pentax K-5 + BG4 + DA* 16-50 + DA* 50-135 + DA* 60-250 + AF-540FGZ
reivilophotography.weebly.com

Hi Everybody!!

Thanks for all the info and links to reviews of lenses.

Currently the plan is to buy a camera in August. We will make a weekend of it and go to a coastal city to buy a camera. I can save a couple of dollars buying online, but it is to risky and I could end up spending more that I started out to spend

The reason for choosing the K7 is that it is a brand new camera. My first choice was the K20D, but i would rather spend a few dollars extra and get the latest Pentax. I also don't want to buy something that I will have to replace in two years time. If I buy something now, it will have to last a couple of years before I can invest in a camera again.

I am planning to buy the new lenses that was released with the K7. Its the DA 18-55mm and DA 50-200mm. The DA* lenses is a bit expensive at this stage.

I understand that you can loose a few dollars if you go the eBay way to buy second-hand lenses. But might get a something that is worth it's money their also.

Thanks for all the info, I still have a lot of reading and thinking to do before I buy something.

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Going nowhere slowly

Bonjour Willie,

The nice thing with dSLR is the versatility of lenses: you could start with standard DA 18-55mm and 50-200mm kit and then upgrade later on with up-to-scale lenses, as I did

The K-7 was announced along with two new lenses, the DA 18-55MM F3.5-5.6 AL WR and the DA 50-200MM F4-5.6 ED WR. WR stands for Water Resistant

One great feature of the K-7 is the dust and water sealing. Thus, it makes sense to select water-resistant lenses.

So check the 18-55mm and 50-200mm lenses bundled with the K-7 are WR

_________________
--- rei_vilo
Pentax K-5 + BG4 + DA* 16-50 + DA* 50-135 + DA* 60-250 + AF-540FGZ
reivilophotography.weebly.com

Willie - Gordon's right about the "real storefronts". There aren't any in Brizzy, but the Sydney one - when you come to visit us - is a large, Bright Purple building, at 174 Canterbury Rd, Canterbury. About 5 minutes walk from Canterbury Station, if you're not driving. (Plenty of parking-space in the side-streets if you are.)

The Melbourne shop is at 367 High St, Northcote, for folk in that area.

I have no connections whatever with DCW, other than as a customer.

Dave.