Can anyone help me please?

I am a photography major at the University of New Orleans and I am also the photographer for our university newspaper. I have been shooting with a Canon G9 but am looking to buy my first SLR within the next month. After weeks of research I have it narrowed down to two. The Pentax k20d or the Nikon d90. This is where I stall, can anyone help me decide. By the way, cost is an issue but it is certainly not the deciding issue. This is what I have so far:

Pros for Nikon:
better live view- coming from a point and shoot this may be helpful.
a slightly bigger sensor.
a better LCD screen to assist in auto focus in Live View and checking for sharpness in playback.
the 16-85 wide angle lens with VR- (this is the biggest pro in my mind)
Some of the best battery life currently available.

Pros for Pentax:
Weather sealing (the biggest pro for Pentax)- living in an ultra humid climate I thought this might be a big deal.
In camera stabilization
a better 18-200 lens than Nikon offers (theirs has terrible lens creep) and just starting out I will have to add lenses slowly so a bigger range in the beginning is important.
and as silly as it may sound- it's not a Nikon or Canon which to me gives it a real "cool" factor. I'm not a crowd follower.

The big cons for the Nikon is no in camera stabilization and no weather sealing (I can't afford a d300) the big con for Pentax is the limitations of its live view. So, this is where my ability to decide stops- I don't know enough about SLRs to decide between the two.

Also, I shoot everything from events to news for the paper, and street scenes, landscapes, portraits and architecture for myself.

Please, any advice or recommendations would me more than appreciated.

if you post this same question in a Nikon owners forum, you would get dozens of answers on why nikon is better. what would you expect here?

if money is an issue, look at the cost/availibility/compatibility of used lenses as well as new.

If you go Pentax, for the types of photography you mentioned, and cost issues....I'd look at the 50mm 1.4 as my first lens choice and the 16-45 as my second.......(compared to the cost of the 18-200, you could get both)

My advice and that of a lot of users on this forum would be to handle both cameras and buy the one that feels the most natural in your hand, comfort and being able to manipulate (and understand) the controls easily is in my opinion THE most important factor in buying and living with a DSLR.

As for liveview, forget it that is to say, dont base choosing a DSLR on it.

Once you get into the SLR mode of shooting you'll rarely use the Liveview other than for the odd occasions when it would be helpful, Why do you think the SLR has reigned supreme for the last 50 or so years? Because no other system offers a quicker and more convenient way of framing a shot whilst been able to clearly see what your image will look like as you are doing it (those SLRs with DOF preview even more so)

This is not to say Liveview is'nt usefull, it is, but while someone is messing about squinting at a small screen on the back of their camera the SLR user could have composed and fired off a dozen or more shots.

By the time you use liveview you will have missed an awful lot of shots!........."To assist in af in live view ?"........I dont get you sorry!...I would look at performance,price ,availability of lenses and build quality!..........Pentax wins hands down............Ken

Ps....As well as the 14.6 m pixels you also have a top notch self cleaning system,Ideal when you are swapping lenses on the ballpark!...lol.................

As far as I can see, you could get the K20D + 16-50mm f/2.8 for about the same price as the D90 + 16-85mm 3.5/4.5. The Pentax lens would have weather sealing too, so you would have a completely weather proof system. You would lose some reach at the longer end, but gain an extra stop of speed, so a bit of swings and roundabouts really, you'd have to decide what was more important to you.

There's the new Pentax 17-70mm which is a similar spec to the Nikon, and a bit cheaper still.

I absolutely concur with Spidey above, handle the two cameras and see which feels right to you. Once you've used an SLR and seen the view through the viewfinder, I think you'll see the LiveView issue as much less important.

Whatever DSLR you get these days will be capable of producing excellent photos, so it's all down to how it feels, and how it (the camera and the complete system) works for you.

The FA50mm f/1.4 is definitely one to get though.

Dan

I agree with the comments above; namely that (a) liveview is more of a gimmick than an essential tool and (b) the camera that takes the best photos (surely the desired result?) is the one that feels most comfortable in your hands.

One thing I did notice though is that you mention battery life as a "pro" for Nikon - I've never done a comparison and I'm quite happy to accept that Nikon batteries last longer on a charge, however, I can normally get around 400-500 photos (including a lot of rear screen use and the odd flash too) on a single charge with my K10D. The K20D is supposedly even better so that leaves me wondering just how much life you need from your batteries? Unless you're planning to spend months in the desert and away from a wall socket then I don't think it should really play too heavily in your decision process.

There are no "bad" DSLRs currently on the market so it really comes down to you. I went with Pentax because I tried the (equivalent at the time) Nikons, Canons, Sonys and Olys and I found the Pentax the most comfortable to hold and use - being comfortable with my camera makes me a better photographer and so the same will apply to you.

Don't get caught up in the minutae of reviews on the 'net and elsewhere, it's like letting someone else pick your clothes, your food or your taste in music. Go to the shop and play around - you may have to look a bit harder or travel further afield to find Pentax gear but then that's one of the downsides of exclusivity...

If you stick around then welcome to the forum, if you go with Nikon then good luck.

You will rarely feel the need for LCD live view at all once you get used to a good optical viewfinder like the Pentax K20D has.

Pentax battery life is good, and it's quick and easy to change the battery when eventually required.

There are, and will be more still, excellent lenses to use with Pentax (as I'm sure there are with Nikon too), so sugest choosing by comparing the camera bodies and assume that you will be happy with the lenses that you end up using with whatever camera you choose.

Please don't choose to spend your money on a DSLR based on it's 'live view' performance. It is of limited use in 'proper' photography.

Surely the biggest pro for the Pentax has got to be the fact that every lens ever made by Pentax will work on a K20D, including screw lenses with a suitable adapter), and they'll all benefit from shake reduction/image stabilisation.

Of course, this forum is another plus for the Pentax.

Best advice:- Go to a store that has both in stock, and try them.

Comparing the K20D with Nikon should really be against the D300

Yes, the D90 is full of fun and gadgets and as far as I've seen on the 'net delivers the goods.

However, much of it will come down to how the camera feels, how logical the functions are to you, and your wallet. Live View is a feature... I've used it once on the K20D - the viewfinder is the place to "see" the shot

You'll certainly get more lens for your money in Pentax though - with a similar spec'd system in the D300 being about 50% more expensive compared to the K20D.

Hope that helps!
Matt

You may also find Depressing Review's review of the D90 useful - especially the comparisons between the D90 and K20D
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond90/page20.asp
To me, the K20D has significantly more detail, although more noise (which is Pentax's design mantra - do little to the image and allow you to post-process it since it's harder to "undo" heavy processing that was applied in camera)

But as has been said, the best thing is to handle both cameras
Matt

Unlike the old lags here I'm someone who came late to digital and even later to DSLRs so perhaps your situation is not dissimilar to mine fairly recently.

I would whole-heartedly endorse the advice given by many above to handle cameras as a starting point and would say do it at a specialist dealers where they know what they're talking about. When I was looking for a DSLR I went to my local dealer with an idea of price range and specifications but primarily just to try the feel of different cameras. One I didn't even put to my eye, as soon as I took hold of it I gave it straight back. It just didn't feel safe in my hand. Trying it again later confirmed the view. I got a K10D.

For what it's worth I regarded in camera stabilisation as a worthwhile feature in view of the range of lenses it opens up and, for the sort of photography I do, decent weather sealing. I can see few occasions when Live View would be of much use with a DSLR.

Michael