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Pentax K200D- as a second body

japers45
Posted 30/06/2011 - 10:09 Link
Would this be a good option as a second body? I cant afford another K5. It would be for weddings so as not to change lenses. I have seen one for £199 body only. I would use it for the most part outside. A good buy at this price?
Lucky Lee
Posted 30/06/2011 - 10:51 Link
Funnily enough I am going to be buying a K5, when my redundancy comes through, and I will be keeping my K200D as a 2nd body; I will also be using it for weddings (first one in September) and it will keep just one lens on it.
PaulEvans
Posted 30/06/2011 - 13:06 Link
This is exactly what I've done - I have recently bought a K5 but kept my K200D as a second body. Use the K5 with limited primes for serious work and the K200D with zooms for my rock climbing photography.

Paul
K3ii, DA16-85, DA35mm Limited, FA77mm Limited, 55mm f1.8 K, 135mm f3.5 M, DA300, DA 1.4 HD TC,
DA16-45, Sigma 15mm f2.8. Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro
Hardgravity
Posted 30/06/2011 - 13:40 Link
I have a K200d as my main camera and have no complaints about it, infact I'm very happy with the results I get(have a look at my gallery for quality of images)

Have you considered either a K10 or K20 as these are both more in line with a 'pro' set up?

Having said that, £199 is a good price for a weather sealed 10meg body!
Cheers, HG

K110+DA40, K200+DA35, K3 and a bag of lenses, bodies and other bits.

Mustn't forget the Zenits, or folders, or...

PPG entries.
japers45
Posted 30/06/2011 - 16:23 Link
I really like the handling of the K5 and as it is the only DSLR I have owned I'd like to get close to emulating the control layout- it seems the K200 lacks a front control dial and ISO is accessed via the menu which could be a bit fiddly (I have it on my front dial in aperture priority on the K5) having looked at the various options I may be looking at a used K7 to achieve this and thats gonna be expensive.

I dont know if the buttons on the earlier models can be programmed to make access to ISO easier?
geclinke
Posted 30/06/2011 - 23:09 Link
The k200 is a great camera, check some of my portfolio shots on the site.
_but_ after getting a k5, with it's easy control layout, and sublime high iso performance. I think I would have trouble going back to it ( gave the k200 away in the end).
A k20 would be a better bet, it's less of a drop from the k5. Assuming you want the fall back for a professional shoot, ( like a wedding etc.) the k20 will mean less compromise in terms of shooting style and settings.
I would think a second hand k20 can be had for less than £300. if you've got a k200 ready to go, great, if not I don't think it's worth a fresh purchase.
If you can stretch to a used k7, the more the better.
k5, 50mm FA, 18-55mm Kit, 50-200mm DA, 15mm Fisheye Sigma, 10-17mm DA Fisheye, 18-55mm DA WR, DA* 60-250, DA* 16-50
johnriley
Posted 30/06/2011 - 23:15 Link
There are several different camera types within the Pentax range of the last few years. If at all possible I would not mix camera types - in a wedding situation this may cause mistakes to be made. There's enough stress in weddings without getting muddled with equipment.

I would team a K-5 with another K-5, or a K-7 if that's not possible.

A K20D and K10D would be OK together.

A K-r and K-x would match, and probably the other single-control wheel models would fit in here as well.
Best regards, John
Jetsam1
Posted 30/06/2011 - 23:16 Link
I have a K200D that I've owned since new and have got a lot of very good images from it. Only issue is that I seem to get loads of dust no matter what I do....... Lens changing in my house is a no-no I think... Full weather sealing at the price point is a good plus though.

Haven't used it much since I've been mainly film this year......
K5, K200 and several film Pentax cameras!
Smeggypants
Posted 01/07/2011 - 07:23 Link
I bought a K-5 and intended to use my K20D as a 2nd body. I couldn't work like that. I sold a bunch of stuff on Ebay to fund the 2nd K-5 and sold the K20D.

It was bad enough on a regular relaxed shoot, I couldn't imagine using two different bodies on a wedding shoot.

Unless I was the bridegroom on a polygamous wedding when that would be a bonus

I'm with John in this. I worked fine with my K20D and K10D together, but couldn't get on with using a K-5 and K20D together
[i]Bodies: 1x K-5IIs, 2x K-5, Sony TX-5, Nokia 808
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
japers45
Posted 01/07/2011 - 07:49 Link
Thanks guys, I think a 2nd hand K7 maybe on the cards then- I'll get saving!

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