Pentax K200 VS Nikon D60

[RexK_Cozumel]

Originally Posted by 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??!

If you are buying a DSLR then you really should not leave the camera on Auto. Otherwise you might as well get a nice pocket camera and save you self a couple grand in the cost of not only the body but the glass.

[GEli]

I'm with Rex here. For snapshots of the kids, particularly if your wife isn't already camera literate, buy a $200 Canon point and shoot and put the rest towards saving for their education .

[mattdm]

Originally Posted by PaulW

What about for sports?
I like the fact the Pentax is weather protected as I'm often in the rain or dirty dusty conditions.

Well, the weak spot is autofocus tracking of moving objects (particularly ones moving towards you). If you can deal with that (by prefocusing or with manual focus) it'll be perfectly good for sports.

[Eberbachl]

Originally Posted by RexK_Cozumel

If you are buying a DSLR then you really should not leave the camera on Auto. Otherwise you might as well get a nice pocket camera and save you self a couple grand in the cost of not only the body but the glass.

Not true - even set on auto, the physical size of the sensor, and intrinsically low noise characteristics of a DSLR, combined with the versatility of multiple lenses means it will blow away 'most every P&S on the market.

...that's not to say that you shouldn't get into the P, S, A & M modes for fun - but it's not totally evil to use auto if that's what you want.

[Eberbachl]

Originally Posted by GEli

I'm with Rex here. For snapshots of the kids, particularly if your wife isn't already camera literate, buy a $200 Canon point and shoot and put the rest towards saving for their education .

Bad advice - a P&S camera rarely has the quick auto focus ability of a DSLR and instant shutter response you need to catch fast kids doing their thing.