My Review of Pentax K200D Digital SLR Camera

I was never really a professional with photography, but I was getting tired of the same old point-and-shoot camera. One day, I finally decided it was time to buy a Pentax SLR. Before I jumped in though, I did a lot of research. I eventually reached the decision to buy the Pentax K200D. I've never been one to buy an item because of its brand, because the name of an item does not necessarily determine its quality and performance. Now, I picked the Pentax K200D for many reasons which I will explain in detail below.

First of all, the camera offered weather sealing. On the box, it claims that it is the only camera in the industry (DSLR cameras) that is weather sealed. Though I probably won't need this, it is always good to have it to be on the safe side. Definitely a good feature for those outdoor photographers though.

Secondly, the camera allows users to take high quality JPEG and RAW photos at the same time. Most other cameras do not offer this, and alternatively only offer medium quality JPEG photos.

On another note, the camera is like the tank of cameras. I read many reviews from buyers of Sony and Nikon cameras, and many claimed that the cameras consisted of cheap lenses and were not very sturdy. I experienced this first hand after trying out some myself. Furthermore, the Pentax is complete opposite of those.

Something that is a positive to some users, yet a negative to some, is the fact that it runs on AA batteries. The reason why I find this to be a positive is because there are many good AA quality batteries available nowadays. With this camera and those batteries, I know my camera will be lasting for a long time. Even if I do run out of batteries, I can virtually go to any store and purchase batteries.

The camera features in-body stabilization. This is great for beginners, and this was proven to me directly. This feature helped save many of my photos! Lastly, the camera is an APS-C sensor, a feature that attracted many buyers.

So how do I like the camera? So far it's great! I've been testing things out, particularly with different lenses. The autofocus on the camera is very quick as well. The light metering is also very consistent for me so far. The only thing I found I did not like so far is its burst rate, which is a bit low (4 JPEG or RAWs). I guess it is not too important because I do not do sports shots. If you are looking for a camera to take sport shots, this may not be it for you. Otherwise, it is one of the best cameras I have owned, and will continue to use it and learn more! The price was reasonable, and if I could, I would have bought this camera way before I bought any of my other cameras. The Pentax K200D makes the idea of SLR cameras easy for beginners like me