Digital camera decision

[TRDYUS]

Heya guys I was wondering if any of you where into digital cameras at all?

I'm stuck between making a purchase of two different types.

I know any SLR is better than a compact, although I have no idea whether or not the chunky still cam's are on par with your entry level DSLR.

Both of these fit well into my budget, & all I'm concerned about is capturing quality clear pictures in any condition. Day or night.

First up is the Pentax K200D

&

Secondly Sony DSCH50

Any knowledge on these would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

[X-Power]

Sony mate,

* Battery type(s)

* Rechargeable Lithium ion

9Meg Pix compare to the pentax 10 but sony one record movies too

[Kenneth]

i got a sony dsc-t2 myself and have had numerous sony products.. they r built to last and quality you pay good money for :)

:D

[Conquest]

Got a K200D myself and couldn't be happier, IMO it is a bargain under $600. I already had a Pentax SLR so it made the choice easy.

Pros: Great image quality, tough weatherproof construction, inbuilt IS, takes regular AA batteries (alkaline or lithium) which is pretty handy when travelling, good range of lenses plus it takes the old Pentax K mount lenses so there are some bargains to be found.

Cons: No live view, a bit heavier/chunkier than some competitors which is not neccesarily a bad thing.

If you want a good camera/lens combo for all conditions I would recommend the K200D with a Pentax 50mm F1.4 lens, you'll miss out on zoom but it takes sharp clear pictures day or night.

[Fidzeh]

honestly if you want a nice camera around those prices i'd go entry level dSLR Nikon D40X, you can basically carry this thing anywhere it ain't too big compared to those two or go abit better and get a Nikon D60. I know it isn't out of your choices which you listed but you want quality and Nikon is quality :) ! no harm in checking them out. I could be abit biased as I own a Nikon D80 lol.

[Hiro]

If you don't want to fork out for a DSLR (and have to carry lenses around as well as the camera itself), but want the picture size, zoom levels and manual adjustability, it's hard to go past a bridge super-zoom camera.

And once you start looking at bridge cameras, it's VERY hard to go past a Lumix FZ28. Just bought one myself, 10MP + 18x optical zoom + RAW capability, image stabilisation, manual focus and full PSAM settings, Li-ion battery, SD/SDHC cards (best for cost and availability, plus fairly universal outside of Sony), can take 720p HD video, output 1080 to a TV via component cables.

RRP is around $650 (only just on the market), I got mine off eBay for $550 including case, 4gig SDHC card, spare battery, screen protector and a 1m tripod.

Excellent value, and very good reviews.

Edited October 16, 2008 by Hiro Protagonist

[skriblez]

Hm, after reading about both cameras they are both very similar.

One of the main differences is that Sony's one can shoot video!

Pentax on the otherhand can shoot in RAW. A very good format for post-production, you're able to control a lot of the elements of the photograph - eg. whitebalance, exposure (to an extent), etc. Oh also the Pentax has a hot shoe so you can always add an speedlight / ext flash :)

The winner in my opinion would be the Pentax IF Sony's video capturing ability doesn't win you over :P

Then again you can fork out a few extra hundred bucks to buy the D60 which is a sexy little camera and you can use Nikon lenses! Then again i too am a bit bias cos i grew up with Nikons and own a D90

Btw its not all about the camera its about the photographer :) http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/notcamera.htm

[Suprathai]

Hard to compare an SLR vs Compact

Choose the Compact if you want versatility and not really fussed over picture quality.

I would take the SLR, pentax K200D is a bargain entry level SLR. But like I mentioned before, stretch your budget abit and try to get a nikon D40X. You will then have endless amounts of lens to choose from if you want different lens in the future.

I bought a Sony A350 and most Canon and Nikon people bag it. But it does the job that I want and I'm a Sony fan, I don't really like Canon that much, prefer Nikon. Just like how I like the sportivo :D.

[Kenneth]

honestly if you want a nice camera around those prices i'd go entry level dSLR Nikon D40X, you can basically carry this thing anywhere it ain't too big compared to those two or go abit better and get a Nikon D60. I know it isn't out of your choices which you listed but you want quality and Nikon is quality :) ! no harm in checking them out. I could be abit biased as I own a Nikon D80 lol.

i'd go one down from that.. D40 owns the 40x anyday.. :) but again they r chunkier :P

[TRDYUS]

After reading alot of reviews,

I may consider the Canon EOS 1000D, it achieves the best image quality of it's class.

Anybody used it?

Thanks for all info so far guys.