Camera Labs

Thanks for the warm welcome, Gordon.

I have yet to experience any rain on the camera, but I am the father of an active 3 year old, so it has seen some bumps and bruises, as well as many trips to the sandbox, etc... I will let you know about the weather sealing when it gets tested naturally - I don't really want to risk my investment needlessly!

As to your other questions, I REALLY like the weight. Having had the opportunity to use a Canon 30D, I found the heft of this camera really instilled confidence. It FEELS like it can handle anything. I like the AA batteries for 2 reasons: as I said, I come from a point and shoot background, and I had some good NiMH batteries already, and I just bought some Imedion batteries (kind of like eneloops) for the new camera, and have yet to run out of juice. The second is that I like the idea of being able to pick up spares easily, "just in case". As I said, battery life seems quite good, so it has yet to happen, but it is nice to know I could if I had to.

I'll keep you informed of any interesting things that come up, and will post some pix when I find something worthy!

Cheers,

David

Basically,the k200d can handle any older FA lenses and DA*-s as well,right?

_________________
Gear: Nikon D80, 18-105mm, 35mm F/1.8, 85mm F/1.8, SB-600
Visit my work here

I love my k200d, I just wish Pentax had kept the 3200 ISO setting like the k100d had but I guess having the higher quality 100 ISO makes up for it. BTW Gordon, you need to wear more colorful shirts in your reviews, B/W just doesn't cut it when your talking colors and photography LOL

Barry in Dallas

Yup.

It can handle any K-mount lenses ever produced, but the older they get, the more becomes manual. A helpful guide I found was:
http://www.mosphotos.com/PentaxLensCompatibility.html

Cheers,

David

Dear all,
I would like to post three questions:

1) After comparing Sony A350 to Pentax K200D (using two windows side by side with Camera Labs reviews), using the indoor (Church - from your web site) at ISO 1600, I can see that the image from K200D is brighter and with less highlight clipping than the one from Sony A350. The dark areas are brighter and with less highlight clipping. Can I conclude that this Pentax has a wider dynamic range than A350? How can I have a dynamic range comparison between both?

2) According to your review, K200D doesn't have Live View. OK, but can I use the Optical viewfinder for sports shooting? Is there any lag, or time delay, from pressing the shooter button and the recorded image?

3) What is the brand of that lens used in this review (18-250mm)? Is Pentax or Tamron?

Best regards,

_________________
Rubens F. Moreno
(Executive Manager for A&V)
São Paulo - Brazil

Hi Rubens, welcome to the cameralabs forums!

1: What you're mostoly seeing there is the effect of different exposures and image processing (not to mention variations in lighting as they were taken on different days), although the K200D's larger photosites would suggest an ability to enjoy a higher dynamic range than the A350.

2: The optical viewfinders of DSLRs are normally much preferrable to Live View for action shooting as there's no lag on the view itself, and you also get to use the camera's main AF system, whereas in Live View (A300 and A350 excepted), the AF is normally much slower. As for time delay, the K200D is pretty quick.

3: The lens used was a Pentax 18-250mm - see the features or results pages of the review: http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Penta ... lens.shtml

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Penta ... ults.shtml

Gordon

Dear Gordon,

Thanks for the answer.
Do the Affiliate Stores at the site ship to Brazil?

Regards,

_________________
Rubens F. Moreno
(Executive Manager for A&V)
São Paulo - Brazil

Hi Rubens, I believe B&H ships internationally... although obviously when ordering from a store abroad, you'll possibly incur tax when it arrives at your customs.

Thanks!

Gordon

Hello Gordon,

Thanks for the support and information.
Regards,

_________________
Rubens F. Moreno
(Executive Manager for A&V)
São Paulo - Brazil

Pentax k200d owner here myself. I really like the build quality of this camera. Where other entry-level cameras feel, well entry-level, the k200d really feels solid like the higher end prosumer models. In practice, the weight is not cumbersome. I actually like holding the camera in my hands and knowing its constructed so well.

The dust and weather proof seals are very nice to have. I just spent 10 days in Colorado, the Grand Canyon, and Sedona, Arizona shooting landscapes and portraits in some dusty environments and did not see any negative effects. I had a small amount of water drip on it too and again did not see any negative effects.

I also really like the AA batteries in practice. Loaded the camera up with one set when I bought my camera and just recently swapped a new set in during my vacation after shooting roughly 1,000 pictures and spending a lot of time "playing" around with the camera. I keep an extra set in my bag, and I like knowing that I won't find myself in a position where I'll be with a dead camera and an awesome image to capture.

Purchased the camera for 660 off of amazon with the kit lens (which is really a nice lens). Getting a 100 bucks back from Pentax in rebates, I'm not sure if anyone could find an entry-level dSLR as good as the k200d for 560 USD. (I used the cash I saved in rebates and from NOT purchasing a higher end model to buy an 8 GB SDHC card, 55-200 mm Pentax DA lens, and camera bag)

Gordon, thanks for all the reviews and videos. I watched them all (some maybe more than once) when I was deciding which camera to buy. Bought my k200d before you posted your review for it, and I was excited to see that you reviewed it so highly.

Dear jgriffey,
Thanks for your testimony.
What is the model and focal distance of the lens that came with your Pentax K200D?

Regards,

_________________
Rubens F. Moreno
(Executive Manager for A&V)
São Paulo - Brazil

Hi jgriffey, welcome to the cameralabs forums - and thanks for your comments on the K200D. It's always great to hear from people who own and use these cameras...

Gordon

Rubens,

The kit lens I purchased my camera with is the Pentax SMCP-DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II. I don't think Camera Labs has been able to look at it, but I did find a review in the July 2008 issue of the magazine Popular Photography.

JAG

I tested the Mark I version in my review of the *istDS, but Pentax were unable to send me the new Mark II...

Gordon, I may have said this to you before -- I don't remember -- but when reviewing DSLRs, I think you should take all sample photos in RAW. JPGs are for point-and-shoot cameras, not DSLRs. A person who buys a DSLR is buying a serious camera, and is concerned about image quality. Such a person wants to see the best pictures that a camera can produce, not JPGs (and especially not JPGs at default settings).

I'm considering the Pentax A200D, but to the best of my knowledge there is only one small picture in your review which shows the RAW quality, and that image is hard to judge because it is a crop of a distant scene. I already know that the K200D has horrid default image processing -- what I need to see now are some RAW images so I will know what the camera is capable of.

You also need to add a dynamic range test. Dynamic range is an important image-quality factor. The difference between a camera with good DR, and one with poor DR, is the different between a blue sky and an over-exposed white sky.

Caleb