Pentax K200 VS Nikon D60

[demon]

I was in our local camera shop to pick up my first DSLR rig. I am a hobbiest shooter that mostly does HDR and urban photography. I was thinking I was going to pick up the Nikon D60 but the rep there really pushed the Pentax K200. I ended up leaving without getting anything (mostly because the sales person was a jerk.) Can anyone give me insight on the Pentax VS the Nikon? Thanks in advance for any help.

[GEli]

The K200D is a superior camera if you want Pentax optics, and the D60 is a superior camera if you want Nikon optics. The D60 has no in-body AF motor, though, which will severely limit the number of Nikon optics you'll have AF with. If you want to go the Nikon route, I'd direct you to the D50/70/80 depending on your budget so you could utilize the full range of lenses out there with AF. As an urban photog I don't imagine MF is something you want to have forced on you very often.

The K200D is beefier (size+weight) and completely weather-sealed if you use DA* lenses. This could be a big boon if you ever have to shoot in the rain and like delicious lenses like the DA*16-50 f/2.8 or DA*50-135 f/2.8. If you're not going to get the nice, newer glass then the weather-sealing may not be as big of a deal - your body will still be sealed, but the connection between your lense and your body will not. The K200D will accept most any K-mount lense ever made, with some caveats as you get into the really ancient stuff (stopped-down metering, etc.) and is definitely the preferred body if you want/have access to old, gorgeous Pentax glass.

Those are all the big differences I can think of off the top of my head. Do you have any other specific areas you'd be interested in hearing the differences in?

[demon]

I don't know how I missed the fact that the D60 doesn't have an autofocus motor in it! That is a deal breaker right there.

Have you encountered any software compatibility issues with the Pentax cameras? I mostly use Photoshop when working with Raws but have occasionally used Capture One.

Thanks for the great advice!

[mattdm]

Have you encountered any software compatibility issues with the Pentax cameras? I mostly use Photoshop when working with Raws but have occasionally used Capture One.


The RAW converters are sometimes a bit slower in getting Pentax RAW format added than they are with others, but in general there's no problem.

[ditch_azeroth]

DA*16-50 f/2.8 or DA*50-135 f/2.8.

sweet mother of God - those are nice focals for 2.8. i've heard of their good optics, must cost a bundle. as for nikon, it's really not that bad. if you're just starting to get into digital photography, i'm pretty sure that you wouldn't have old lenses that don't have motors. because of this move of not having internal focus motors, i'm sure nikon's bound to release new lenses completely compatible for the d40/40x/60 soon enough. sigma's got nice lenses too for them, but i really can't rely on the quality of their lower end lenses.

[mattdm]

i'm sure nikon's bound to release new lenses completely compatible for the d40/40x/60 soon enough.

They don't seem to be exactly jumping to make lens-motor-enabled prime lenses, so if that's something you're interested, Pentax is definitely the way to go. (Extremely good well-priced modern prime lenses is one of Pentax's strengths.)

[GEli]

sweet mother of God - those are nice focals for 2.8. i've heard of their good optics, must cost a bundle. as for nikon, it's really not that bad. if you're just starting to get into digital photography, i'm pretty sure that you wouldn't have old lenses that don't have motors. because of this move of not having internal focus motors, i'm sure nikon's bound to release new lenses completely compatible for the d40/40x/60 soon enough. sigma's got nice lenses too for them, but i really can't rely on the quality of their lower end lenses.

Yes, I nearly wet myself when I put the 16-50mm DA* on my camera at the store. Sadly you're right about the prices - the 50-135 DA* is $1100 and the 16-50 is $1000. That's in Canada, mind you, where we get shafted even when the dollar is at parity, so it may be slightly cheaper in the US. Even at $200 less, though, those prices aren't small commitments to the system.

As for RAW compatibility, you can shoot in either PEF (Pentax's proprietary RAW format) or DNG with the K200D. There's a slight file size difference, as the PEF format is slightly more efficient at storing data, but I think it's well worth not having to convert when importing to PS or Lightroom.

[Grayson118]

I too am in the market for a first time Digital SLR. Purchase is for my wife. We are not experts by any means and she really wants a camera to photograph the family. We have two children under the age of 9 and thus they are the subjects 99% of the time. I was about to purchase a Nikon D40 2 Zoom Lens Kit (18-55mm AF and 55-200mm G Nikkor AF Zoom, gadget bag and nikon school dvd's) from Ritz for $599 until I went to the store and the salesman really pushed the Pentax K200 with 18-55 mm lens for $700. Now I am all out of whack. We have a Pentax film camera with two lense, though i dont know the specifics ...salesman said those lense are interchangeable with the K200...also said K200 has "auto pict" which D40 does not.....Help??!

[i speak in math]

I recently purchased the k200d witht he 18-55mm kit lens and absolutely love it (of course, it is my first dslr so that may be why). You can check out some of my shots in my signiture link if you feel like it.

I picked mine up from amazon.com for $540 -- there was a $100 rebate that just ended. It was too good a deal to pass up. Amazon has it for $640 which is still pretty good. Pentax might start another deal soon so I'd wait a bit.

My only complaint about the camera would be the noise at 800-1600 ISO. There seems to be a lot of it. I usually shoot handheld though, so maybe a tripod would reduce that.

[mattdm]

I too am in the market for a first time Digital SLR. Purchase is for my wife. We are not experts by any means and she really wants a camera to photograph the family. We have two children under the age of 9 and thus they are the subjects 99% of the time. I was about to purchase a Nikon D40 2 Zoom Lens Kit (18-55mm AF and 55-200mm G Nikkor AF Zoom, gadget bag and nikon school dvd's) from Ritz for $599 until I went to the store and the salesman really pushed the Pentax K200 with 18-55 mm lens for $700. Now I am all out of whack. We have a Pentax film camera with two lense, though i dont know the specifics ...salesman said those lense are interchangeable with the K200...also said K200 has "auto pict" which D40 does not.....Help??!

Nice to see a salesperson pushing Pentax over Nikon for once. He's right in that your old lenses will work, although depending on what lenses they are you might not care. (What are they?)

"Auto pict" is a gimmick feature where it automatically guesses the best scene mode for what you're shooting. It's not a big deal.

[Grayson118]

Nice to see a salesperson pushing Pentax over Nikon for once. He's right in that your old lenses will work, although depending on what lenses they are you might not care. (What are they?)

"Auto pict" is a gimmick feature where it automatically guesses the best scene mode for what you're shooting. It's not a big deal.

The two lenses for the film pentax are the standard one that came with it, and a Quantaray somethingor other zoom....you can see I am not an expert and don't need to buy a sledge hammer to swat a fly..price is a concern obviously, as is ease of use. salesman also said pentax is stainless steal body whereas nikon is plastic....so confused....

[Grayson118]

dont know the old pentax lenses,,,just dont want to buy sledge hammer to swat a fly if i dont need too......totally confused at this point.

[Mr Guy]

dont know the old pentax lenses,,,just dont want to buy sledge hammer to swat a fly if i dont need too......totally confused at this point.

Can you grab the lenses you do have and read the numbers off the front?

Depending on what they are now, you may be able to buy just the body and not the kit, and come out cheaper than the Nikon.

The big selling feature for a K200 over a Nikon, to me, would be that I believe Nikon uses lens stabilization, while Pentax uses body stabilization. That means, to you, no paying extra for lenses to get that extra clarity on zoomed shots, or extra stabilization when taking pictures in low light with slower shutter speeds.

[Grayson118]

Can you grab the lenses you do have and read the numbers off the front?

Depending on what they are now, you may be able to buy just the body and not the kit, and come out cheaper than the Nikon.

The big selling feature for a K200 over a Nikon, to me, would be that I believe Nikon uses lens stabilization, while Pentax uses body stabilization. That means, to you, no paying extra for lenses to get that extra clarity on zoomed shots, or extra stabilization when taking pictures in low light with slower shutter speeds.

Unfortunately, no, i am at work and the lenses are at home...i seem to recall salesman mentioning something about stabilization as well, but by that time i was , as a novice, mind numb....

[Grayson118]

Can you grab the lenses you do have and read the numbers off the front?

Depending on what they are now, you may be able to buy just the body and not the kit, and come out cheaper than the Nikon.

The big selling feature for a K200 over a Nikon, to me, would be that I believe Nikon uses lens stabilization, while Pentax uses body stabilization. That means, to you, no paying extra for lenses to get that extra clarity on zoomed shots, or extra stabilization when taking pictures in low light with slower shutter speeds.

wife says the quantaray zoom for her film pentax is a 70-300mm...other lense would be stock that came with it.....what to do? Ritz wont sell body only....

[digi.film]

As an ex-K10D and D40 owner/user... I would definitely pick the K200D over a D40 or D60.

Grayson118... check B&H or Adorama for body only, and probably at a better price as well. There may even be a Pentax rebate going on. They do that periodically.

[Grayson118]

Considering the Nikon due to it being on sale with two lenses for $600....but then i see i can use Pentax with existing lenses....we are total novices....with digital slr's so i dont want to overspend...thanks for your input...this is driving me nuts....

[Mr Guy]

Well, since the existing lens you have isn't really super exciting enough to make a whole decision based on it, I'm definitely going to have to go with my fall back "safe" answer:

Feature wise, the Pentax is better, in my personal opinion, due to the image stabilization being in body. If you're used to a Pentax film camera and you like it, you're likely to like how the Pentax digital camera behaves and feels. If you intend to stop using the film camera, you can just use the lenses and get a body only for the Pentax, but they are going to be heavier than getting the digital lenses.

One thing I know for sure, you can find a Pentax K200 online cheaper than $700!

Adorama sells a K200 kit complete with memory card and rechargeable batteries and charger, and a Lowepro bag for $622. Amazon has a bunch of options in kits or body only as well. Body only from Adorama is $570.

What it really comes down to is whether your wife likes the feel of the Pentax over the feel of the Nikon, but shop around because those prices you quoted aren't exactly stellar deals, but you wouldn't regret EITHER camera. They are both good.

[Grayson118]

Mr Guy, and all others who contributed...thank you so much.