K200 vs D60

Hello there!

The other day a good friend of mine asked me for some advice on buying an entry level dslr, and I was immediately eager to help him!
Wanting to be non-brand-biased, I immediately thought of the nikon D60, not because of the (good) reviews, but mainly because of the ease of use, and in-camera Jpeg results, and the general availability of nikon cameras.
Obviously I also looked at the Pentax counterparts that we all know very well by now; I was incredibly surprised at the specs of the new K-m for example. And obviously I was positively impressed by the K200 - which is definitely a step ahead in the market and costs even less than the d60.

I decided to go to Chiswick camera centre (I've heard that Chris at SRS is ON VACATION until monday...) where I knew I could find all the pentax bodies, and the nikon as well; I wanted my friend to feel the camera with his own hands, and choose the one that he felt was better.

Andy, the manager of the shop, gave us some very very valuable advice, and was incredibly nice and welcoming; my friend ended up choosing the Pentax K200, mainly because of the useful top plate screen, availability of lenses, good in camera RAW developer, and mainly, toughness of the body and the great feel one has whilst handling such a beautiful object.

In the end I was really pleased with his choice, and quite surprised that he actually went for the Pentax without any biased view and advice. This saturday I was, once again, very proud of my Pentax kit, and this is a great great feeling.

Hugs to all!
Nathan





p.s. Sorry if you found the little story stupid, I wanted to share it with you because recently i've tried too many D700's and they hurt me quite badly....

Nice story Nathan
Do you mean you like the D700...? I suspect this is your meaning. What you should try is this - pack a camera bag with the D700 and the FF lenses and try lifting it Now pack a similar spec K20D gear and try that (I tried it with a Canon 20D gear... put me right off!!)
Your arms and shoulders will probably thank you for using Pentax APS-C
Matt

A bit too late for your friend, but I was amazed when I saw this offer at SRS the other day. £349 (after cashback) for the K200D, kit lens and grip.

Dan

Yes, Matt, I understand what you say, but recently i've been shooting with K10, grip (full), DA* and flash, and the second body around the other shoulder. So I am not sure that a D700 outfit would be much heavier.

I am not very concerned about the "uncomfortableness" of the camera I use, and yes, I was incredibly impressed with the new nikon.... but will stick with pentax, as I am a very very loyal customer! (Waiting for the K1 that you can see in the other post )

Daniel, I saw the offer as soon as I got home, and I bit my nails. But, at SRS they didn't have any nikon D60 to let my friend try, and I thought it'd be worth trying in chiswick as I live in ealing, and couldn't be bothered driving in the rain up to watford...

Also, I have to say that he came out with a really good package:
K200
18-55 mII
Prettyboy Crumpler XL
2Gb Sd
Filter
Batteries + 90min Pro Charger

All for £470 (Instead of £515 +/-)

Plus he also gets the £50 cash back from pentax. So in the end i think that it is around the same price, which btw, is absolutely incredible!

I have to agree, the price of these is amazing. Definitely a good time to jump in and get one if anyone's dithering.

Dan

Ebay sent me a 10% off voucher and I am waiting for SRS to put a K20D kit on so that I can grab it .. with the £100 cashback as well that would make it too tempting.
Trouble is it is only valid for another 4 days.

Nathan, your friend will no doubt get along nicely with the K200. I've had one for a couple of weeks, and I'm delighted with it - my first DSLR. Only managed one foray outdoors with it so far, thanks to the dismal weather recently, but that was a rewarding and informative experience. My old Pentax glass works a treat with it, though I'm mainly using the lens I ordered with the camera - a Tamron AF18-250 Macro, which is impressive. So much to (re)learn! Regards, Adrian.

When will your friend be posting on here Nathan? As a fellow K200 user I look forward to gretting him/her.

Hey Nathan, I glad you used "the Word" which you have made your own in these parts.

Pardon me?

Nathan, Quote "Plus he also gets the £50 cash back from pentax. So in the end i think that it is around the same price, which btw, is absolutely incredible!"

Hi,

My first poost here so pls go easy on me..

I am a prospective k200d buyer and have a couple of questions..

How is the DOF preview in K200d ???

This is one of the main reason why I am preferring K200d over sony a300..sacrificing Live view..

K200d is said to be not exactly user friendly and in general complex menus

As per camera labs review Antishake is not as effective as others..

Any comments from you actual users are most welcome..

Ajex

Hi Ajex, and welcome to the forum!

Just a quick twist of the on/off switch and you have your DOF check. You can have it on the LCD monitor, or just optically in the viewfinder (configurable).

Having used both the K100D and the K200D for a while now, I don't find the menus complex. I guess you have to get used to any menu system.

The Shake Reduction I find very good. And the advantage with Pentax as opposed to the Canikons is that the shake reduction is within the body, not in the lens. This means less expensive lenses, and backwards compatibility (i.e. works on any lens with a Pentax K mount).

@terje-I

Thanks for your feed back!!!

Off to camera shop later to handle 200d and D60 ( as nikon has started cash back on this just yesterday)

cheers

Ajex

Hi,

Went to the shop and discovered K2000 in addition to k200d..

It is much lighter and has the same sensor as k200d ..

Could not find review anywhere...

Evaluating it..

Lets see ..

cheers

Aj