pentax ist ds or canon 300d?

[maki30]

im going to purchase my first DSLR camera, and my options are pentax ist ds or canon 300d, which one should i choose? anyone, help!!!!

[jdmccol]

I personally don't think you can go wrong with either one - they all have their positive and negative points. You should at least physically pickup each one and look through the viewfinder, see how each fits your hands, etc.

[coldrain]

The pentax has the nicest view finder (thing you look through) and has the most features, the 300D may have a slight edge in image quality and has the biggest lens system to choose lenses from (and has much better RAW software).

It depends on what you think you will do in future (in regards to lenses you buy) which is the better choice.

[Rhys]

The big plus with the Pentax is that it takes AA batteries (4) and of course supports any Pentax or screw-mount lens ever made.

The 300D takes any EOS lens ever made but has a funky battery that might be difficult to obtain in a couple of years. It also has no native AA battery support although it might take a battery grip that takes 6 AA batteries (show me a battery charger that takes 6 AA batteries!).

The bonus with the Canon is that there's a range of Canon cameras offering more megapixels and full frame if desired. The downside with the Pentax is that it's 6 megapixels and it doesn't look like Pentax will introduce a higher megapixeled camera anytime soon. Currently they're tinkering with their original *ist D and coming out with various different versions - all with the same 6 megapixels.

Canon takes Compact Flash and Pentax takes Secure Digital memory. No real difference although CF is a bit cheaper and available in larger sizes. The largest CF card currently available seems to be 4 GB while the biggest SD card commonly available is 512MB.

I like the Pentax. It has a lot going for it although it is let down by a lousy company behind it. My Canon is more part of a system that it's clearer to see where the upgrades will be. Nobody thus far aside from Pentax is actually makink K-mount digital cameras unlike K-mount film cameras which seem to be made by everybody and their dog's brother.

[George Riehm]

The big plus with the Pentax is that it takes AA batteries (4) and of course supports any Pentax or screw-mount lens ever made.

The 300D takes any EOS lens ever made but has a funky battery that might be difficult to obtain in a couple of years. It also has no native AA battery support although it might take a battery grip that takes 6 AA batteries (show me a battery charger that takes 6 AA batteries!).

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/maha-mh-c801d-battery-charger.htm

The bonus with the Canon is that there's a range of Canon cameras offering more megapixels and full frame if desired. The downside with the Pentax is that it's 6 megapixels and it doesn't look like Pentax will introduce a higher megapixeled camera anytime soon. Currently they're tinkering with their original *ist D and coming out with various different versions - all with the same 6 megapixels.

Canon takes Compact Flash and Pentax takes Secure Digital memory. No real difference although CF is a bit cheaper and available in larger sizes. The largest CF card currently available seems to be 4 GB while the biggest SD card commonly available is 512MB.

http://shop2.outpost.com/category/Outpost/Hard+Drives+&+Memory/Memory/Flash+Media/Secure+Digital/

I like the Pentax. It has a lot going for it although it is let down by a lousy company behind it. My Canon is more part of a system that it's clearer to see where the upgrades will be. Nobody thus far aside from Pentax is actually makink K-mount digital cameras unlike K-mount film cameras which seem to be made by everybody and their dog's brother.

[Rex914]

Canon takes Compact Flash and Pentax takes Secure Digital memory. No real difference although CF is a bit cheaper and available in larger sizes. The largest CF card currently available seems to be 4 GB while the biggest SD card commonly available is 512MB.

Not affordable, but there's 8 GB Compact Flash now (http://www.samys.com/product.php?ItemNo=SANDSDCFH8192R) for the low, low price of $725. :D There's a 12 GB model going for $10000. (not a typo) (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0405/pretec12gb.jpg)

There's also 16 GB CF coming out next year, but it's not going to see much adoption until firmware updates allow for file management at that level.

There's a 4 GB SD card that goes for about $300 right now. (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0507/05072804pretec_4gbcard.asp)

[Rhys]

Not affordable, but there's 8 GB Compact Flash now (http://www.samys.com/product.php?ItemNo=SANDSDCFH8192R) for the low, low price of $725. :D There's a 12 GB model going for $10000. (not a typo) (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0405/pretec12gb.jpg)

There's also 16 GB CF coming out next year, but it's not going to see much adoption until firmware updates allow for file management at that level.

There's a 4 GB SD card that goes for about $300 right now. (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0507/05072804pretec_4gbcard.asp)

And how much is an 8GB SD card or a 4GB or a 2GB? They don't even make them!

[Rex914]

The 2 GB SD card is readily available all over the place in high speed and normal variants. You can pick one up even at Costco for about $120 for regular and $165 for high speed.


8 GB SD doesn't exist to my knowledge, and 4 GB can only be ordered online for about $300. Obviously, it's better to just carry several 1 or 2 GB cards around, 1 GB is probably the best bang for the buck right now as you can pick one up for $60 (high speed) after rebates or about $80 before rebates.

[Rhys]

I wasn't aware that SD could be had so cheaply.

I must admit though that while SD has its merits I'm happy with CF.

The price seems to be crashing though. I paid $105 for my 1GB CF card some 6 months ago and now they're regularly going for $70 in the same shop. I won't buy more cards just yet. I'll wait until I need a new card. I had standardised on 128mb cards (for my 3mp cameras). I'll standardise now on 1GB cards (for my SLR).