What a timely post, Larry! While I have been resistant to digital for quite some time, I find this article interesting. The idea of getting a good "budget" DSLR has crossed my mind, but I know so little about working within the DSLR format that I cannot get motivated to buy one. I tend to like prints. Thus, I ask the supremely elementary question: how does one turn the zeros and ones stored in the DSLR's memory into prints? Would a computer and/or scanner be necessary (I do not have a scanner, but I do have an iMac), or can a camera shop or photo lab supply the means to do this if one does not have a scanner? And, finally, how does the K100D compare to the Nikon...the D40 or D50, I gather?
I welcome any and all advice or commentary :-) Thanks, Glen On Sep 25, 2007, at 6:33 PM, Larry Levy wrote: > Chris Roberts, in his Digital SLR Guide News has selected the K100D > as "best > begommer budget DSLR" > > > Question: What's the best beginner budget SLR? > > Answer > You've been longing to improve the quality of the photos you take and > capture moments that just aren't possible with a compact point-and- > shoot, > but you find the price of digital SLR cameras extreme. > I'm not surprised - back in the heyday of the film SLR, it often > seemed > silly to spend $300 on a camera when you could get a simple compact > camera > for less than $100. Now that the minimum price for a digital SLR is > right > around $500, it makes them pretty expensive investments. > > I firmly believe that the additional cost is justified when you > take into > account the fact that digital SLRs are able to capture a wider > variety of > shots than compact cameras. It's why the SLR has been the choice of > professional photographers for years. > > Why tell you this? It will put my answer to the question above into > some > perspective. > > > Right now, I think that the best digital SLR camera for a beginner > on a > budget is the Pentax K100D. Recently replaced by the K100D Super, the > original K100D has benefitted from a price drop that makes it > significantly > more affordable. > > The Pentax K100D is the least expensive camera you can buy that also > includes built-in image stabilization. This feature oscillates the > camera's > sensor to counteract the effect of camera motion on your photos. > While you > can't really see camera motion when you're using fast shutter > speeds with > plenty of light, dim lighting and slow shutter speeds can lead to a > lot of > blurry shots. > > Since the image stabilization is built into the camera itself, it > works with > every Pentax lens that's compatible with the K100D. > > > In addition to image stabilization, the 6 megapixel sensor offers > plenty for > anyone who doesn't want to print at sizes larger than 11x14 inches. > The > compact frame can be made even more so if you can get your hands on > one of > the specialized Pentax "pancake" lenses. These lenses don't stick > out far > from the camera, making the K100D a portable option for those who > like to > travel. > > Finally, the K100D runs on regular old AA batteries, which works > well if > you're one of those types who always forgets to re-charge batteries > before a > photo outing (many other cameras use special Lithium Ion rechargeable > batteries that take about 2-3 hours to reach a full charge). > > You can pick up a K100D for less than $500 with a lens, and for > less than > $400 without a lens. > > This second option works well if you already have some Pentax > lenses from a > film SLR camera, or know of a local camera swap where you can pick > up some > used Pentax lenses without paying full price. > > > > Larry in Dallas > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
