Oh no...another "help me pick my camera" thread! :)

[boxofrox]

So I have been reading a ton of information and threads lately, as I'm about to purchase MY first DSL (so I can quit renting and mooching )

I wouldn't consider myself a professional by any means, but I'm not a complete beginner either. I do need to get more technical, but I'm pretty good with composition and creativity, and I understand the general technicalities of ISO, shutter speed, aperature, etc (although it would be nice to get to the point where I don't have to think so hard about it when shooting!)

I have spent the last year or so shooting with my mom's Pentax K100D. I love it, but it's not that great in low light. My husband is in a band, and I do all of their photography, and it kind of kills me if we get stuck at any shows where the lighting is bad (especially outside nighttime shows!) I don't have an external flash, and I hate how washed out my shots look with the on board flash.

I also shoot a lot of horse shows (riding is my other passion!) which turn out great if the sun is out!

I have the Tamron 70-300 mm tele-macro lens (which I love!) and the standard Pentax 18-55 lense.

I do have some older pentax lenses from my film camera, but of course they are manual only.

So here's what I'm looking for:

I need something used, can't afford new. Preferably under $400 (i know, it's a stretch...)

I don't mind having to buy lenses later, I can still use some of my mom's lenses and I do have a canon lens lying around here somewhere...

Mainly I need it to pick up the pace in the low light/movement department...that's the only thing that disappoints me about the K100, or I would buy one tonight. Would the K200 do the trick? Or should I look at another brand completely?

Really other than that, I just want sharp, crisp shots. I was reading about the Sony A200 (i think?) and it looked like it might be doable, but reviews mentioned "softer" shots, and I don't want soft (think rock bands, they like their shots hard and sharp lol)

Thanks for any help, I know there are a lot of these type of posts! Just need some guidance!

[Niresangwa]

Originally Posted by boxofrox

So I have been reading a ton of information and threads lately, as I'm about to purchase MY first DSL (so I can quit renting and mooching )

I wouldn't consider myself a professional by any means, but I'm not a complete beginner either. I do need to get more technical, but I'm pretty good with composition and creativity, and I understand the general technicalities of ISO, shutter speed, aperature, etc (although it would be nice to get to the point where I don't have to think so hard about it when shooting!)

I have spent the last year or so shooting with my mom's Pentax K100D. I love it, but it's not that great in low light. My husband is in a band, and I do all of their photography, and it kind of kills me if we get stuck at any shows where the lighting is bad (especially outside nighttime shows!) I don't have an external flash, and I hate how washed out my shots look with the on board flash.

I also shoot a lot of horse shows (riding is my other passion!) which turn out great if the sun is out!

I have the Tamron 70-300 mm tele-macro lens (which I love!) and the standard Pentax 18-55 lense.

I do have some older pentax lenses from my film camera, but of course they are manual only.

So here's what I'm looking for:

I need something used, can't afford new. Preferably under $400 (i know, it's a stretch...)

I don't mind having to buy lenses later, I can still use some of my mom's lenses and I do have a canon lens lying around here somewhere...

Mainly I need it to pick up the pace in the low light/movement department...that's the only thing that disappoints me about the K100, or I would buy one tonight. Would the K200 do the trick? Or should I look at another brand completely?

Really other than that, I just want sharp, crisp shots. I was reading about the Sony A200 (i think?) and it looked like it might be doable, but reviews mentioned "softer" shots, and I don't want soft (think rock bands, they like their shots hard and sharp lol)

Thanks for any help, I know there are a lot of these type of posts! Just need some guidance!

Better low-light performance, you're looking at either faster glass (1.4, 1.8, 2.8 etc, which with a few exceptions are going to be more expensive... even the FA 50 1.4 from Pentax is going to run you $300+...)

However it sounds like an upgrade is in order if you're running a k100d.

Pretty much any of the DSLRs from the most recent generation of sensors performs really well in low-light.. the cheapest option I can think of for you would be the Pentax K-x which you'll love if you like the k100d, and you can easily pick them up in your budget range.

Aside from that, you're out of the entry-level price range and will be looking at used higher end bodies, but in the next-gen range it still looks like it's out of your range.

Obviously I"m nly talking Pentax here, as it's what I know, but for Canikon just bang up the prices a little... as for Sony, don't know enough about them.