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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> NIkon d50 or Pentax k100d
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05/24/2007 06:33:29 AM · #1
Hi, im looking to purchase a camera for £300 and I have found the option of purchasing either a nikon d50 (on sale) or a pentax k100d and Im wondering which is the better camera? Im looking to take photos of general things like landscapes, macro and textures (for my graphics work etc) If anyone has any other reccomendations they would need to be in the £300 bracket as I cannot stretch any further as Ive reached my limit there totally.

Thanks for your input
05/24/2007 06:39:58 AM · #2
Start off right and go with the Nikon.
05/24/2007 07:17:09 AM · #3
I would say nikon, but you should find a dealer that has both in stock, and look at both together, and see wich feels best, compair them, and then decide for yourself.
05/24/2007 07:17:40 AM · #4
Not much difference in Camera quality. I went for Nikon simply because I already had lenses. I think Pentax lenses are a bit more pricey than the Nikon but again, i'm not sure cos i never bought Pentax before.

I would suggest going with the D50 (you can get one used with a kit lens under 300) My wife shoots with D50 it's a rather nice little camera with very good results.

I recently bought a D70s used from Digital Depot for 225 add the price of a brand new 18-55 makes 325.

always good to check ebay or better still, checking good used camera outlets like digital depot.
05/24/2007 07:46:53 AM · #5
Thanks guys, Ill have a look on digital depot. Ive been looking on ebay, but its a lot of money for something on ebay can be a bit dodgy sometimes. Also nikon d40s are going for £300 let along d50s, people on ebay sometimes get a bit silly with the bidding and dont look at the new prices if you ask me.
05/24/2007 07:49:10 AM · #6
Theres a second hand olympus e500 on there ? any good?
05/24/2007 08:05:35 AM · #7
If you think that the shake reduction would be useful than go for the K100. Also check what lenses are available and the prices.
05/24/2007 08:06:52 AM · #8
I hear there are some issues with the image quality on the olympus - i.e. noise is a particular problem.

From what I've heard you'll be happy with either camera - might be slightly easier to get new Nikon accessories etc, though that is perhaps offset by the fact that the pentax is backwards compatible a long way - just the other day I was playing with a 30 year old 50mm prime that my uncle found in his garage. If you decide to go the pentax route it might be worth paying slightly more and getting the K10D.

05/24/2007 08:10:44 AM · #9
Its a bit of a difficult choice, I dont think Ill get an olympus as reading the dpreview its got some issue, but it does have some excellent features. I think its probably a top camera, its 8mp but 8mp and 6mp are no difference, the main issue is its only got a small lcd with no other display and it takes 1.7 seconds to load. Im sure its probably a good camera though. Im slanting towards the d50
05/24/2007 08:50:59 AM · #10
The nikon D50 is also excellent for infrared :)
Best UK prices here.
05/24/2007 10:49:03 AM · #11
Camera wise, I would give the edge to the K100D: Superb high ISO performance, excellent RAW dynamic range, in body shake reduction, solid construction. System wise, Nikon wins hands down. In the end, both cameras are going to perform very well. Try 'em both out and decide for yourself which one will work best for YOU.
05/29/2007 07:41:31 PM · #12
Just to follow up, I was going to get the d50, but changed my mind. Looking at dpreview which I rate highly a the pentax with standard lens is better quality than the d50 with standard lens and Ill be having the standard for a while. I paid £50 ($100) less, not a lot but when youre already stretched...

I like the idea of the image shake reduction which may help when im doing macros.

I think certains cameras are so similar it comes down to small things. But I am now in the pentax club
05/29/2007 07:46:00 PM · #13
Another plus for the pentax which was mentioned earlier, is the in camera shake reduction. Works with all Pentax K-mount lenses. With the Nikon, you'd have to buy special VR lenses which are quite expensive. As far as quality goes, they're pretty much even.
05/29/2007 09:30:03 PM · #14
Originally posted by solidsponge:

I am now in the pentax club


Rock on, good to have ya!
05/29/2007 09:44:11 PM · #15
Welcome to the club! You bought the Pentax K100D before I had a chance to chime in on your original question.

At any rate, check out the photos in my portfolio (here at DPC or my personal portfolio) to see some examples of the photos that the Pentax can produce.

Again, welcome and enjoy your new camera. If you have any questions, feel free to "PM" me.

.

05/30/2007 12:26:13 PM · #16
thanks very much lesgainous, very nice of you. Thanks to everyone too :)

Message edited by author 2007-05-30 12:29:45.
05/30/2007 01:39:15 PM · #17
If I can piggyback on this topic which is winding down, how does the viewfinder compare on the K100d and then K10D?

I'm still shopping and deciding (takes me forever), between switching to Pentax K10D or the smaller K100D, or the Nikon D80. VR is important to me, so I'd end up with all VR lenses on the Nikon, which is expensive. But I'm also thinking that the Nikon lenses might retain their value better and be easier to sell down the road (more Nikon users?) if I switch again. Is that true?
05/30/2007 09:25:18 PM · #18
Originally posted by nshapiro:

If I can piggyback on this topic which is winding down, how does the viewfinder compare on the K100d and then K10D?

I'm still shopping and deciding (takes me forever), between switching to Pentax K10D or the smaller K100D, or the Nikon D80. VR is important to me, so I'd end up with all VR lenses on the Nikon, which is expensive. But I'm also thinking that the Nikon lenses might retain their value better and be easier to sell down the road (more Nikon users?) if I switch again. Is that true?


Haven't handled the K100D too much, but I know its a pentamirror, not pentaprism like the K10D/D80. From what I hear though, its pretty impressive for a pentamirror. The K10D viewfinder is as good as it gets on a cropped sensor.

As for lens value... take a look at Pentax lenses on ebay. Used Pentax glass holds its value extremely well. And performance wise, there is some damn fine glass in the lineup (take a look at all the new photozone tests.) But, I have to admit I'm getting rather annoyed at the delays in the release of the DA* lenses. I personally can only afford one, but the lack of a current pro lens lineup can't be helping Pentax sales.

Just out of curiosity, as I cant seem to remember the reason... but why are you switching? It would seem that a 30/5D upgrade would be more economical...
05/30/2007 09:28:17 PM · #19
Originally posted by nshapiro:

If I can piggyback on this topic which is winding down, how does the viewfinder compare on the K100d and then K10D?

I'm still shopping and deciding (takes me forever), between switching to Pentax K10D or the smaller K100D, or the Nikon D80. VR is important to me, so I'd end up with all VR lenses on the Nikon, which is expensive. But I'm also thinking that the Nikon lenses might retain their value better and be easier to sell down the road (more Nikon users?) if I switch again. Is that true?


to add.. Pentax lens market is a sellers market. Trust me, you'll *never* have a hard time selling pentax glass. Pentax users are loyal to a fault and even if the company doesn't survive as some doomsayers predict.. the people holding on to bodies and glass will survive forever... and those pentax lenses you have now could be a *mint* one day.
05/30/2007 09:35:32 PM · #20
Originally posted by Artyste:

even if the company doesn't survive as some doomsayers predict...


The K mount (and therefore lenses) will live on for a long, long time, no matter what happens to Pentax the company...
05/30/2007 11:29:16 PM · #21
I wanted a better viewfinder than on the Rebel; but I also want IS/VR on all my lenses or the camera. Seems like it makes sense in the camera, if it saves on lenses.

The Nikon attracted me because of the 18-200VR. My 18-125 Sigma is broken, the Sigma 18-200 OS has been "announced" for ever and I've yet to see one.

The idea of a VR macro is also appealing. With the Pentax, I could buy one of the excellent Sigma macros and save some money over the Nikon macro VR. There's no option for the Canon.

I shoot a lot of wide angle shots, the 10-22 is my staple lens. I'd end up with the Sigma 10-20 to replace it, though I'd probably keep my Canon and 10-22 for a while. But with the Pentax, I'd get stabilization. I know it's not as important with a wide lens, but shooting at sunrise/sunset/dusk, it couldn't hurt (for those times when I don't have a tripod with, like when I bike!)

With the Pentax I could get a number of "fun" lenses, even inexpensive ones, and still have VR. And I could even get a Bigma and use the VR.

But all that being said, I really loved the feel and operation of the Nikon D80, even if it was kind of big. The Pentax K10D, which I tried during a visit to BH, didn't impress me as much, and it was big too. But part of that might have been the fact that I wasn't impressed with their zoom lenses: the fronts rotated when they focused.

The only Pentax lens I saw that I would consider buying was the 10-20mm fisheye (or whatever the focal length range was of the fisheye zoom).

The features on the K10D are really impressive, and I loved the Nikon. So I trying to get my "opinions" unstuck! I was thinking of justifying it as "well, you can always switch again, especially if the system holds its resale value", hence the question! (The 5D by the way, really does appeal to me, but I'd never get over the sticker shock.)

06/02/2007 03:01:17 PM · #22
Just to update...

I bought a refurbished one and it had a mistake on it, black blobs on screen. So I sent it back

I then when to jessops and bought a new one, guess what? It had black errors on screen again (if different place) so he tried to clean it, but they would not go. He gave me a new one.

Guess what ? the new one when I got home had another black error on all the pictures so Im taking it back tommorow and somehow I dont think Ill get a 4th pentax as much as I have liked the camera/s Ive had 3 of the same error on 3 different cameras from 2 different places in the uk, so not a good batch? Either way I doubt anyone would want a 4th one and I cant really recommend anyone to get one! Total nightmare.
06/02/2007 08:32:21 PM · #23
Originally posted by solidsponge:

Just to update...

I bought a refurbished one and it had a mistake on it, black blobs on screen. So I sent it back

I then when to jessops and bought a new one, guess what? It had black errors on screen again (if different place) so he tried to clean it, but they would not go. He gave me a new one.

Guess what ? the new one when I got home had another black error on all the pictures so Im taking it back tommorow and somehow I dont think Ill get a 4th pentax as much as I have liked the camera/s Ive had 3 of the same error on 3 different cameras from 2 different places in the uk, so not a good batch? Either way I doubt anyone would want a 4th one and I cant really recommend anyone to get one! Total nightmare.


whoa... wierd stuff, man. i can guarantee you that is NOT normal. ive never heard of that on a pentax camera before, and if that were a common issue the dpreview forums would have imploded as a result. rough shovel, maybe it just wasnt meant to be?
06/03/2007 12:13:40 PM · #24
Aye was a bit odd, the guy was a bit annoying because he said its a well known thing to get dust, yet the guy before used a canned blower and it had no effect, then the new guy tried a blower on this other camera and low and behold no effect, so it wasnt dust..

Anyway I bought a nikon d40 instead, im sure everyone will think its crap, but perhaps it might work for me :) (the menus are better at least)I know its got no auto motor, but Im only ever going to get a zoom lens so Ill manually focus if I dont get an afs one, I dont mind I like manual focus anyway. Thats if this one doesnt go wrong!

humbly runs off

Message edited by author 2007-06-03 12:14:40.
06/03/2007 01:00:03 PM · #25
Thats rough! never heard of that kind of problem b4. I'd be frustrated after the 1st incident. Good luck with the nikon, but I know if u get into serious shooting u'r going to miss the anti-shake big time. You can get still get it for the nikon but its gonna cost u many moolla $$$$$$.
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