I have owned the Canon Powershot S2 IS for some time now and plan on stepping up to a dSLR. I owned a film Minolta SLR prior to my current canon but dSLR's were too expensive when I purchased the S2. Now I have been looking at dSLR's for a bit and have basically narrowed it to the entry-level competitors: Canon Rebel XT, Nikon D40, and Pentax K100D. After lurking here and reading many reviews, I do know the technical differences but I lack the "in-the-field" experience reviews. I will be using it for landscape, sports, low-light, and un-posed pictures of people. I guess what I am looking for here are some experienced comparisons of using these cameras. Will any hinder the purchasing new lenses or flashes? I do prefer Canon, but I don't want to blindly choose that one. I know little about Pentax, but the IS is very appealing. Oh, and for these reasons, does the step up seem necessary? I will sell my S2.
If money or budget is an issue, consider the Pentax DS, which is still available at, an excellent price right now. in fact, it is at its LOWEST price right now. The Pentax K100D is certainly a good choice as well, in my personal opinion.
Because I dislike the grip on the Canon 350D/XT camera. I have to say something. The grip is almost dangerously pinched. Yes, I own one but use it with a wrist strap, because it is that unstable.
The other options are the Nikon D-40 or the D-50, both of which are excellent cameras.
I just have the kit lens...really nothing to base my decision off of at all. Plus, I have briefly looked at the Sony offering and nothing too intriguing. I may be replacing the idea of a D40 with the D50 instead. Although, I wish to go hold these cameras to really see. I have read plenty of times that the main way to decide is by going and holding these cameras and testing them out. I need to do that more extensively. I guess all I wanted from this thread was to see if there are any "real world" disadvantages or advantages in any of these cameras that a professional/technical review wouldn't cover.
The Nikon D40 definitely restricts your field of lenses, although if you do your research there that may or may not be a problem. There's also fewer lenses available for Pentax, although they do have some really unique and interesting ultra-thin "pancake" lenses like this one, and they've got some new lenses announced this year that fill some serious gaps in their lineup.
yes Pentax need to, and are adding more glass
i think the Pentax is really better featured than the D40 or xti
ofcourse the D40 is quite a bit cheaper than the xti
I would wait till after PMA, March 8, and see what might be on offer
that way you are in a position to better decide on these 3 anyway
One thing that is making me nervous about stepping into dSLR. The two main reasons I want in is for the speed and image quality. But, at least for quite a long time, I will be sticking with lower end lenses. I will keep the 18-55mm kit and get the around $200 55-200mm lens that I know Canon and Nikon offer (I'm not sure about Pentax). Will this compromise image quality in comparison to my S2? Is it worth it to upgrade in this scenario?
I shopped the "big 2", Canon (Xti) and Nikon (D80) first, but as I intended to start with 3 lenses, it would have been about twice (or more) as costly a setup, which, at this stage, I'm not commited to.
Though you can get third party lenses, if you don't get the Canon or Nikon lenses, then there is no overwhelming need for their body. That again led me back to the Pentax. I chose it for the stabilization, good reviews, and reasonable price. Also, Pentax has the 10-17mm fisheye which I really like. The Pentax 50-200 has pretty nice image quality (better than my Sigma 70-300) and is around $175 with the rebate, which is still going on.
I like the camera and it has some nice features and decent performance. The biggest downside to some people could be the small buffer which allows only a few pictures in a "burst mode" before it slows down to write to the card. I don't shoot sports so that is a zero factor for me. The other "problem" is the auto white balance only works down to about 4000K, so you will want/need to set it to tungsten if you shoot indoors and want a neutral color - or shoot RAW and don't worry about it :-) Incidentally Pentax includes some basic RAW processing software, and though many people think it is clunky and crappy, it does the basics for me.
Oh, there's no battery grip for the K100D, but it uses cheap rechargeable AA NiMHs. There are also angle finders, remotes, magnifiers etc, and a couple P-TTL flash options.
I'd love to have Canon or Nikon equipment but someone will have to buy it for me. I would choose the newer XTi over the XT. Not sure about Nikon, but it would be between the D50 and D80. However, if you only want a lens or two, the D40 with kit lens and say the 55-200 would cover the basics. It is not intended to be the middle of a big system.
One thing that is making me nervous about stepping into dSLR. The two main reasons I want in is for the speed and image quality. But, at least for quite a long time, I will be sticking with lower end lenses. I will keep the 18-55mm kit and get the around $200 55-200mm lens that I know Canon and Nikon offer (I'm not sure about Pentax). Will this compromise image quality in comparison to my S2? Is it worth it to upgrade in this scenario?
quality will be good, however dependent on glass chosen, lots of PK mount glass around
speed, well delay will be less, but during the transition, you may get a bit flustered with settings etc. as the complication factor is probably about 10x what you are used to. In the end though, the move will prove a good one for the versatility of s dSLR is its customisation for your needs.
I think for the first time ever, I am actually leaning towards Pentax K100D, mostly thanks to your comments. I just took a quick look at their lens listings and all seems well. Few quick questions. Is the lack of a dedicated AF assist lamp a problem? Only the Nikons seem to offer this. I just realized that the Pentax does not have an electronic meter/compensation in the viewfinder. I really enjoyed this on my old Minolta. How is this dealt with on the Pentax? I have a set of 2500 mAh rechargables...is that going to be enough to provide quick AF? Any disadvantages to the Pentax usability and "real world" performance as opposed to the other similarly priced cameras? Thank you all so much for your help.
Step up from canon S2...350D vs D40 vs K100D
Linear Mode
