Birthday present for mum

Hello I am loking for a bday present for my mum. She has always been into photography but never had a slr. She has got a pentax e85 but want to get her a starter slr or bridge on a budget any advice?.

If she wants a nice Bridge camera, SRS were advertising the Pentax X70 at a good price.

It depends on budget I guess... I was in London Camera Exchange in London in the week and ended up trying out a lens on a K100d. I didn't note what the price for the body was but I thought it was pretty small and light for a DSLR. I think the K100d is a few years old now and is 6 Megapixel I think but I believe pretty highly regarded - might be worth a thought...:

Regards

Mat W

I been looking at either K100d or the ist.Whats the difference?

I think broadly that the ist series of cameras were replaced by the K100/K110/K10... (themselves then superseded by the K200/K20). Not sure what the specific differences are but in general cameras seem to have evolved over time to have better higher ISO performance... faster capture rates... more autofocus points... etc. More megapixels too but I think the ist D was 6 MP as well... here's a link to some info on the Wikipedia:

link

...odds on someone here will know more than me or there'll be a gem of a webpage somewhere out there... might be worth looking on ebay as well as the adverts there often include the specs of the cameras...

Regards

Mat W

Better go for the K100D super for compatibly reasons of newer lenses.
SDM and HSM is starting to be more common and the K100D does not support those.

Ok thanks. just checking ebay, SRS and amazon for some prices etc

Yes, the K100D Super is still a great camera that can take top-notch photos. And has scene modes and stuff for beginners.

And shake reduction, not found on pre-K100d bodies.

I think the two main reasons for going for K100D over the ist cameras are:

(1) Pentax really got the JPEG processing right in the later cameras - so if your mum isn't going to want to spend her time converting RAW images, the K100D and D Super are about as good as JPEGs got from any 6MP camera (including the highly-regarded Nikon's that used the same sensor)

(2) The inclusion of shake reduction - which is a very nice thing to have

I think the small price difference between the two really makes the K100D a better buy.

The K100D Super (I have one of these) adds in compatability for newer HSM lenses and a dust reduction system, so worth thinking about if you find one.

I don't know how far your budget would stretch, but other good cameras for people who want decent image quality, ease of use, and the ability to control things when they want to include the Pentax Km and K200D.

Any of these would produce nicer photographs than a bridge camera, especially in poor light, but you do lose the convenience of an all in one solution.

Yes, shake reduction, dust removal, an excellent sensor, handy features but full manual operation as well, runs on AA batteries... everything here except a video mode.

K100D here, although it's in Canada.

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/photographic-equipment-sale/99393-sale-k100d-...

Some others there as well, including a *ist DS; however shipping restricted to North America. If no offers, you never know, they might change their mind and ship to the UK.

Regards
Adrian

Why not give SRS a call ...

http://www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk/c/310/Used-Digital-SLR-Cameras.html?Page=2

They have K10D/K10Dsuper/K200D in their used section.