Entry Level DSLR

[JDSD]

I've been looking for an entry level dslr and I finally have the money now. Unfortunately, I missed out on some great deals over the past few weeks.

Right now I'm looking at the Pentax k2000. I found it at a few online sites for ~$420. I also found the kit that brings 2 lenses for ~$515.

I'm just wondering if this is the best deal I can get right now for someone who is looking to get into dSLR.

kit includes
# K2000 Digital SLR Camera
# smcP DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL Lens
# smcP DA 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED Lens

for ~$515 no tax and free shipping. Should I get this or sit around until hopefully another deal pops up? Anything better out there at the moment? Thanks.

[jays92]

search DSLR in this forum, "Help Me Find a Deal"

[JDSD]

search DSLR in this forum, "Help Me Find a Deal"

I looked at a few others and got some good info but I didn't want to hijack their threads so I made this one. My main question is really whether the kit I found is a good deal or if I should wait for something slicker to come around. I ask because I see less and less sites selling the Pentax k2000.

[mugupo]

I've been looking for an entry level dslr and I finally have the money now. Unfortunately, I missed out on some great deals over the past few weeks.

Right now I'm looking at the Pentax k2000. I found it at a few online sites for ~$420. I also found the kit that brings 2 lenses for ~$515.

I'm just wondering if this is the best deal I can get right now for someone who is looking to get into dSLR.

kit includes
# K2000 Digital SLR Camera
# smcP DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL Lens
# smcP DA 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED Lens

for ~$515 no tax and free shipping. Should I get this or sit around until hopefully another deal pops up? Anything better out there at the moment? Thanks.

Rebel XS or Nikon D40 is better choice. Because the k2000 jpeg quality is very poor for a dslr raw is good but not jpec and most pentax lens are more pricey than nikon and canon ,the two they include in the kit is the cheapest they sell.

[JDSD]

Rebel XS or Nikon D40 is better choice. Because the k2000 jpeg quality is very poor for a dslr raw is good but not jpec and most pentax lens are more pricey than nikon and canon ,the two they include in the kit is the cheapest they sell.

The problem is kits for both of those models are not much less than this and they only bring 1 lens. I figured these 2 lenses would have me covered until I mastered the basics and decided what kind of lens I really need later on. I've also read that this is one of the best cameras for beginnings. I thought pentax lens were pretty cheap considering that the k-mount has been in use forever so that means you could use just about any old lens, a huge advantage for this camera considering it has in body stabilization. Am I wrong?

[michaelj]

man there are usually a bunch of pentax lovers on these dslr threads, where did they go

[Shurak]

man there are usually a bunch of pentax lovers on these dslr threads, where did they go

They are busy shooting. Unlike canon lowers who like to talk about gear :D

[JDSD]

They are busy shooting. Unlike canon lowers who like to talk about gear :D

Haha, I know most Canon and Nikon people would come in and tell me that there are many more Canon and Nikon lens available right now, either through them or 3rd parties. Looking at ebay this seems to be true but then speaking to people who favor Pentax, they will tell me that you have access to a ton of old lenses that you can normally find through thrift shops and such.

I know people say to pick carefully when you buy a dSLR because you're buying into a system but this is just gonna be my camera to learn on. If it turns out I can find all the Pentax lenses I need, then I'll stick with them. If I decide later on I want a Nikon or Canon, I can always give this to my little sister or girlfriend to learn on. I just want the most bang for my buck now. I'm also not looking to become some super serious photographer. I'm just interested into making this a hobby and I'm tired of my crappy grainy P&S shots.

[Shurak]

Seriously, get Pentax K-m or newer one - K-x. I compared picture quality straight out of camera with my Canon and I am totally converted to Pentax. Just waiting for good prices during Christmas and I am selling my Canon gear then. Look at my previous posts, I posted some samples side by side.

That said if you like spending time processing images, playing with curves and colors - Canon could be good option.

[jays92]

Seriously, get Pentax K-m or newer one - K-x. I compared picture quality straight out of camera with my Canon and I am totally converted to Pentax. Just waiting for good prices during Christmas and I am selling my Canon gear then. Look at my previous posts, I posted some samples side by side.

That said if you like spending time processing images, playing with curves and colors - Canon could be good option.

I read somewhere that the Pentax K-m uses the same sensor as in the Nikon D90. But I have no idea if that's true.

If so, the Pentax K-m sounds like a winner. I have the Nikon D40, and may get the D90 at some point. But Pentax is a real alternative to Nikon.

[JDSD]

Seriously, get Pentax K-m or newer one - K-x. I compared picture quality straight out of camera with my Canon and I am totally converted to Pentax. Just waiting for good prices during Christmas and I am selling my Canon gear then. Look at my previous posts, I posted some samples side by side.

That said if you like spending time processing images, playing with curves and colors - Canon could be good option.

Yea, I saw a few of your posts. I was surprised that the jpegs straight out of the Pentax K-m(k2000) looked so good. A couple of reviews said that the biggest knock against the camera was it's default jpeg settings. I saw that you changed it from bright to natural though. I guess the reviewers were only talking about the default settings then.

I'd also like to get better at the processing side of things so I'd definitely play around with the pictures afterwards.

Do you think the price I quoted in my first post is good? I'm afraid to pass that up and wait for a better Christmas/Thanksgiving deal because it seems less and less places are carrying this camera.

[jubjubrsx]

get a nikon d3000, d5000 honestly reason i say that usually the kit lens arent all that great, and it appears for good lens for pentax tend to be more so, in the end do you wanna pay more for lens and a cheaper body or spend more on the body and less for lens.....

my .02 buy a d3k or d5k body only and get a good 35mm prime lens

[Shurak]

Yea, I saw a few of your posts. I was surprised that the jpegs straight out of the Pentax K-m(k2000) looked so good. A couple of reviews said that the biggest knock against the camera was it's default jpeg settings. I saw that you changed it from bright to natural though. I guess the reviewers were only talking about the default settings then.

I'd also like to get better at the processing side of things so I'd definitely play around with the pictures afterwards.

Do you think the price I quoted in my first post is good? I'm afraid to pass that up and wait for a better Christmas/Thanksgiving deal because it seems less and less places are carrying this camera.

I think it is very good price. Make sure you get double kit. Pentax kit lenses are ages ahead of Canon. And if you do not review photos at 100% they are great - I mean color comparable with some of the better (expensive) Canon glass.

Processing can be mastered with Pentax as well - just shoot in RAW. But I found it is not necessary.

[stevenq]

I hope you have money than $515 to spend because owning a DSLR costs alot more than that (assuming you don't already have an SLR). Even if all you want to do is use the camera for learning there are a number of things you must purchase for your DSLR like:

- a case
- a filter to protect your lens and improve picture quality
- lens pen or system for cleaning the lens'
- high speed or at least high quality/capacity SD card
- additional rechargeable batteries or charger
- a flash - the built in flash is weak - doesn't matter which camera

I'm sure there's other stuff I'm leaving out. I'm just speaking from experience. When I bought my D40 a year ago I didn't think it was such an expensive hobby. I didn't even include other options that most people eventually wind up getting like additional lenses, tripod, etc. That stuff can get REAL expensive. I would budget at least $200 more for all the miscellaneous stuffs you'll wind up buying after the fact.

[Shurak]

I hope you have money than $515 to spend because owning a DSLR costs alot more than that (assuming you don't already have an SLR). Even if all you want to do is use the camera for learning there are a number of things you must purchase for your DSLR like:

- a case
- a filter to protect your lens and improve picture quality
- lens pen or system for cleaning the lens'
- high speed or at least high quality/capacity SD card
- additional rechargeable batteries or charger
- a flash - the built in flash is weak - doesn't matter which camera

I'm sure there's other stuff I'm leaving out. I'm just speaking from experience. When I bought my D40 a year ago I didn't think it was such an expensive hobby. I didn't even include other options that most people eventually wind up getting like additional lenses, tripod, etc. That stuff can get REAL expensive. I would budget at least $200 more for all the miscellaneous stuffs you'll wind up buying after the fact.

I am sorry, but most of it is BS. I have had DSLRs since Canon 300D came to market, that would be 2004. The only thing that is really required - external flash unit with rotating head so you can use light bounced from ceiling/walls inside the house. But lwt me answer one by one.

- Case - not required at all. I am carrying my camera over the shoulder or in backpack if not used. In fact I never had usable case.
- Filter - not required. Filter does not improve picture quality, it actually reduces it. Good expensive multicoated glass filter will reduce it less, not worth buying for kit lens. Just make sure to take lens cap off right before shooting and put back in after - and no filter required. I never had filter on any of my lenses (some quite expensive) and most of them never had to be cleaned.
- Lens pen is ok, can be had for about $5 or less. I have one but never used. If the lens becomes dirty (mostly due to someone fingers) I am using drop of distilled water ($0.70 for gallon in the supermarket) and lens cleaning sheets by Kodak from local Ritz camera - $2.15 for 100
- High speed card is not required - I always get cheapest one of good brand - Kingston, SunDisk. Yes, it takes longer to download to PC using card reader but camera perfromance is not affected.
- Batteries - yes. Rechargeable AAs used to be a problem due to high self discharge - in few weeks on the shelf there would be no juice left. These days Sanyo Eneloop last much longer. Actually any rechargeable precharged batteries should be good even though they have lover capacity then regulars (in 2000mAh range) I use one set and it lasts through whole day of shooting. You might want to keep Lithiums that come with camera as spare in case rechargeables do die on you in the midday (never happen to me with Eneloops)
- Build in flash as good as any compact. Eventually you want to get good rotating head flash so you can bounce light off ceiling and walls - gives much more appealing look to pictures inside the house. Here is example of bounced flash work:
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/8435/sample2875ol3.jpg

Lenses - forget about it for now. Kit lens set is great. However if I where to get only one lens that would be Tamron 28-75/2.8. I have it on Canon and picture above taken with it.But tastes differ.

[JDSD]

Thanks for all the replies.

I know that there are more things to buy with the camera. I also know that this is an expensive hobby to get into. Having said that, I want to lower the price of entry for myself by getting a good deal right now and having something capable to work with for a while.

If I do get this 2 lens kit, which it looks like I most likely will, I'll get the Pentax case that was recently in the hot deals forum for $20. As for the card I'll probably be getting myself a decent 8gb. That should be good enough for now and I'll be getting the other things, such as flash, as time progresses.

[chyidean]

I am sorry, but most of it is BS. I have had DSLRs since Canon 300D came to market, that would be 2004. The only thing that is really required - external flash unit with rotating head so you can use light bounced from ceiling/walls inside the house. But lwt me answer one by one.

- Case - not required at all. I am carrying my camera over the shoulder or in backpack if not used. In fact I never had usable case.
- Filter - not required. Filter does not improve picture quality, it actually reduces it. Good expensive multicoated glass filter will reduce it less, not worth buying for kit lens. Just make sure to take lens cap off right before shooting and put back in after - and no filter required. I never had filter on any of my lenses (some quite expensive) and most of them never had to be cleaned.
- Lens pen is ok, can be had for about $5 or less. I have one but never used. If the lens becomes dirty (mostly due to someone fingers) I am using drop of distilled water ($0.70 for gallon in the supermarket) and lens cleaning sheets by Kodak from local Ritz camera - $2.15 for 100
- High speed card is not required - I always get cheapest one of good brand - Kingston, SunDisk. Yes, it takes longer to download to PC using card reader but camera perfromance is not affected.
- Batteries - yes. Rechargeable AAs used to be a problem due to high self discharge - in few weeks on the shelf there would be no juice left. These days Sanyo Eneloop last much longer. Actually any rechargeable precharged batteries should be good even though they have lover capacity then regulars (in 2000mAh range) I use one set and it lasts through whole day of shooting. You might want to keep Lithiums that come with camera as spare in case rechargeables do die on you in the midday (never happen to me with Eneloops)
- Build in flash as good as any compact. Eventually you want to get good rotating head flash so you can bounce light off ceiling and walls - gives much more appealing look to pictures inside the house. Here is example of bounced flash work:
http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/8435/sample2875ol3.jpg

Lenses - forget about it for now. Kit lens set is great. However if I where to get only one lens that would be Tamron 28-75/2.8. I have it on Canon and picture above taken with it.But tastes differ.

Agree. I actually have none of those except the flash and the filter. I would actually encourage the filter because yes, there's another layer of glass between the subject and the sensor, but the image quality is negligible unless you shoot with, say, a medium format camera and shoot commercially. It's good to have a filter combined with a lens hood in case you drop the camera/it bumps against something. Replacing a $30 high quality Hoya SMC is cheaper than getting the lens fixed or buying a new one.

For the flash, I have an old SB-28. It's a leftover from the film generation, so it doesn't have metering and I need to set everything manually. However, I don't use it that much, so I can't justify upgrading to a SB-600/800.

Here's a collection of my personal faves : http://www.flickr.com/photos/17547415@N06/sets/72157621888828768/show/
I only have one lens: a 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 Nikkor, and my camera is a Nikon D90.

[sfdealer]

Thanks for all the replies.

I know that there are more things to buy with the camera. I also know that this is an expensive hobby to get into. Having said that, I want to lower the price of entry for myself by getting a good deal right now and having something capable to work with for a while.

If I do get this 2 lens kit, which it looks like I most likely will, I'll get the Pentax case that was recently in the hot deals forum for $20. As for the card I'll probably be getting myself a decent 8gb. That should be good enough for now and I'll be getting the other things, such as flash, as time progresses.

I've got a K100D, which I love. As soon as the K-x comes out, I'm buying it for its faster autofocus and video capabilities.

The Pentax DA AL II 18-55mm lens is fantastic. I primarily shoot with that, and an autofocus 50mm pentax lens (SMC-FA 50mm f/1.4). The 50mm I got for $160, but before that I had a manual focus/auto aperture 50mm f/1.7 that I picked up for $45. Both take incredible portraits, and taught me a ton about depth of field and bokeh.
For longer reach, I've got a Quantaray (rebranded Sigma, I believe) 100-300mm telephoto that works fine in good light. They go for about $50 on ebay. The Pentax 55-200mm is no doubt a FAR nicer lens.

I'm a bit of a scavenger, so I love picking up old glass at garage sales 'n' such. The Pentax cameras all take old lenses. I found using the old manual glass that you can snag for $20 or so to be incredibly useful for learning photography.

I try to avoid the brand-rivalry BS, but I have learned a bunch from the friendly folks at www.pentaxforums.com. Their marketplace is a great place to buy lenses, as well.

I'm sure there are great message boards for all the other brands too.

I took all the pics on this hiking trip (http://www.flickr.com/photos/30465576@N07/sets/72157622133549170/show/) with the K100D + 18-55 & 50mm. That and a $10 circular polarizing filter off of dealextreme.com for the landscape/daylight shots.

Good luck. I've enjoyed learning a ton.

[JIJ]

Agree. I actually have none of those except the flash and the filter. I would actually encourage the filter because yes, there's another layer of glass between the subject and the sensor, but the image quality is negligible unless you shoot with, say, a medium format camera and shoot commercially. It's good to have a filter combined with a lens hood in case you drop the camera/it bumps against something. Replacing a $30 high quality Hoya SMC is cheaper than getting the lens fixed or buying a new one.

For the flash, I have an old SB-28. It's a leftover from the film generation, so it doesn't have metering and I need to set everything manually. However, I don't use it that much, so I can't justify upgrading to a SB-600/800.

Here's a collection of my personal faves : http://www.flickr.com/photos/17547415@N06/sets/72157621888828768/show/
I only have one lens: a 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 Nikkor, and my camera is a Nikon D90.

Vow. Those are some amazing pictures. Are they stright out of the camera or have they been post-processed. Those colors look really great. If you don't mind can I ask what you did to shoot those colors?

[JDSD]

Thanks again for all the great input. Those are some nice pictures you guys posted up.

I've read about the K-x and while it sounds very enticing, I don't think I need the latest and greatest to learn on. I'm pretty sure that the K-m(k2000) would be adequate for my needs while I learn. That and I get to spend less and I get another lens.

[stevenq]

I am sorry, but most of it is BS. I have had DSLRs since Canon 300D came to market, that would be 2004.

- Case - not required at all.

- Filter - not required.

- Lens pen is ok, can be had for about $5 or less.

- High speed card is not required - I always get cheapest one of good brand -

- Build in flash as good as any compact.

Lenses - forget about it for now.

Case not required? Wth? Have fun carrying that expensive camera around in inclement weather (and I'm not just talking about rain). Why buy the 300D? You could get similar quality for far less, save even more money. Such an expensive investment and delicate electronics requires some sort of protection. A case also comes in handy when traveling, like overseas. I don't know anybody with a DSLR that doesn't have a camera bag or case. This is without question a must have item.

The same argument could be said for the filter. A multi-coated filter will not degrade picture quality and add a layer of protection for your expensive lens. It will also only set you back about $30. I've taken shots at the beach and the seaspray that comes off the ocean will coat the lens quickly and easily with salt and water. If you think that it's a good idea to take your distilled water and lens cleaning sheets to your coated lens on a regular basis think again. One false swoop and your lens coating could be scratched permanently. All it takes is a small micro-sized pebble or grain of sand to permanently scratch your expensive lens.

A filter reduces the chance of damage to your lens. When the filter gets dirty you simply clean the filter. If the filter becomes damaged, simply replace it. It only cost $30 to replace the filter. It will cost far more to replace the lens. With filters so inexpensive nowadays it doesn't make sense not to have one. And, if you want to Google some research on how UV filters can improve the quality of your picture please do so. There's very little evidence of image degradation and far more evidence of picture quality enhancement from use of a good multi-coated UV filter, most importantly, reduction of glare.