Wanted Cheap dslr

I’m looking for an old Pentax dslr for my daughter as a starter camera.

I started with a K30 4 years back and it's still doing the business for me.

It's now fantastically cheap too given the K50 and then K70

Can't see one for sale on the sites I use BUT if you can stretch the budget a bit this K70 is an absolute steal at 450 with the kit lens

http://www.ffordes.com/product/18060710033751

I paid that much for my K30!

If that's too much keep your eyes peeled for a K30 or K50. The K30 will probably set you back 150 or so for just the body.

Good luck

I've just been through a similar thought process for my son. His uncle gave him a 6MB Nikon to use through his GCSE Art - he's had a great 2 years out of it. In Sept he'll be embarking on A Level Art and focusing on photo montages - he's been nagging me about a fast 50, a macro lens and a longer zoom for the Nikon. Given that I have K3 and some old and vintage primes as well as DA* zooms and a macro lens it made sense for him to get a Pentax body. I just managed to get an immaculate K5ii and 18-55 WR from a forum member for him only a little over his budget. On ebay I've seen a k5 + 18-55 go for around the £210 incl. P&P. The K5 has a bigger form factor than the K30/K50 but appears cheaper and is still a fantastic camera. Just an option...

Best bang for the buck on used DSLRs is probably the K5II - not the most modern AF and lacking in a few other important features but a solid camera with reputedly superb image quality.

I wouldn't trust a K30 or K50 due to the aperture block failure. It may be a small proportion of the total sold but I don't see any reason to risk it when there are other models available which don't have that risk.

PM sent re: K10D

Ffordes and Lce both have K5 bodies in good shape for £299....

I'd recommend something like the K-x as a dirt cheap body. I had one with broken flash that would have been really cheap (my younger brother's first) but a buyer on eBay destroyed the metering and returned it.

I sold IstD with DA40mm limited recently all together for 150€, needed the money and got one offer. You can find K10 and older bodies for less than 50€/£

Thanks for the responses I’m thinking that a lighter weight body would be best as she only has spindly arms. I think k-r, k-x or k110 may be what I’m looking for. I guess they are a bit more fragile

I could never get my head around the AA batteries on the k-x.. But I guess for others it was a plus.

Don't forget the K-01, smaller and lighter than most but still with an excellent sensor.

And many have been relatively lightly used.

I have an *istD with 18-55 lens knocking about. It works fine even if it’s old. The lens is a bit on the rough side but as I say it works.

If you’re interested, let me know and I’ll take some pics.

I wouldn’t be asking for much.

FWIW, having had a K-R, which used the same sensor as the K-X, I would avoid both models as the image quality is certainly lower than later models (and both have the "pentamirror", rather than the much better pentaprism, viewfinder system), and get something more modern - either a K-5 variant (preferably one of the K-5-II editions) or a K-30 that has had the aperture block issue "permanently fixed" (see other threads on this and the US forum).

My recommendations would be the K-x, K-r, K-30, K-500 or K-50. I personally wouldn't go for anything any older than the K-x which is the oldest of those five models.

I curently use a K-50 which i'm very pleased with...depends on your budget though as these go for about £200 -£250.

Previously I had a K-x in a lovely Olive drab colour which I used for over four years...absolutely ideal for a beginner...good performance, light and compact (relatively speaking). The fact it could take AA batteries was a definite plus for me, 12MP sensor I thought was good for a beginner. The camera came with so many features and things to fiddle around with...I never tried half of them in all the time I had the camera. I suspect you could pick a good condition low mileage one for probably around the £100- £125 mark including the cheap but cheerful 18-55 kit lens which punches above its cost performance wise. Shooting in JPEG, each image was about 5Mb which meant that a single 8Gb card used to last me for about 6 months!

Good luck with the decision anyway.

Karlo

you have a pm