HELP!!!! Which camera???

[jennjenn]

I have finally made the decision to purchase a DSLR (right now I have a Fuji s6000). I have it narrowed down to 3 cameras... Canon XSi, Canon T1i, and the Pentax K-x. Right now I *think* I am leaning towards the Pentax. Can you guys give me some pros and cons and personal experiences?

Thank you soooo much!

[candleman]

of al of them i'd pick the Pentax.

as a body its a brilliant machine

however.. you have to buy into a system, and Pentax doesnt provide a good platform for expansion IMHO.

I'd pick the T1i as a "system" for building upon.
but dont negate Nikon too early.. check out the D90 best bang for buck on the market right now IMHO.

[jennjenn]

Thank you so much for your input! This is all so confusing! LOL! I am not looking to spend a ton right now, so that is why I chose these 3 entry level cameras. I am wanting to use this camera for everyday pictures and fportrait pictures of my family and pets.

[candleman]

no problem.. if you arent going to upgrade lenses or turn Pro in the next year.. buy the pentax. for what you get as an individuual camera its great.
(there are lots of lenses for it.. dont get me wrong)

its got built in vibration reduction, and a brilliant sensor too which will be good for low light pics of family in dim rooms.

i think its weather resistant.. not sure about that.

AND its tiny.. probably one of the smallest DSLR's out right now

all the best, enjoy whatever you choose.
and... of course.. welcome to the forum, and the world of endless spending which is photography.

[inkista]

The main difference (well, aside from the fact that Canons don't come in different colors ), is about future expandability. If you don't plan on going too far down the photography road or turning pro in the future, then nearly any dSLR body out there can serve your needs. See, it's not really about the camera body.

It's about the mount system. Camera bodies are digital equipment. Like computers and phones, you tend to replace them relatively quickly--about every three to five years. Your "permanent" purchase is your lenses. And most folks will easily spend two to three times what they did on the camera body on lenses (eventually. Very few can afford to do it all at once). So, the thing is, if you buy a Pentax body, you won't (for the most part) be able to use the lenses you buy on a Canon or a Nikon, and vice versa.

Canon and Nikon have larger lens selections, and with the largest market shares, more 3rd party lens makers will provide a lens for their mounts vs. the smaller manufacturers. Olympus four-thirds mount is probably at the biggest disadvantage here.

And Pentax has no full-frame body in the lineup (unlike Sony). Now, whether you ever plan to pay $2000+ for a full-frame body is another issue. But if you shoot Canon you could pick up a used full-frame body in the price range of $1200-$1500. With Pentax you don't have that option.

Now, Pentax does make some lenses nobody else makes. They are the masters of the pancake lens, and have more normal-on-a-crop lenses than anybody else. But when it comes to fast telephotos or more exotic glass, such as tilt-shifts, then you may be hard up against it. Shooting sports or other far-away fast action can be particularly problematic with Pentax. If you plan on shooting a dance recital or basketball game in a gym, it's going to be harder/more expensive with Pentax. If you really are planning on just sticking with portraits and landscapes, though, there's no reason not to go with Pentax. At the entry-level, the K-x is undoubtedly a more full-featured camera than Canon's entry-levels, and the K-7 definitely holds its own against the mid-level cameras in the other lineups.

But with Canon and Nikon, you're going to have more choices: on bodies, on lenses, and on third-party support. That's mostly what it boils down to.