MaxVondel

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Great DSLR for all occasions

Oct 23, 2006

Rating: 9 out of 10 (Spectacular)
Pros: Quality, size, range of lenses, easy to use
Cons: Fiddly small USB connector, Poor program dialup placement
Opinion:
A quality DSLR from Pentax. The supplied DA 18-55mm lens has great iamaging quality. Australian buyers please be aware that the local distributer does not supply the Pentax lens but substitutes some other brand. So I had to buy it from an overseas supplier. I would recommend that you stick with Pentax optics. I like the backward compatability with existing SMC pentax lenses. This camera is easy to use. I like to think that good photography is just you the photographer, a lens and your subject. Forget all that rubbishing around with camera factors. Sure you can tweak settings to your hearts content. But you can also sit back and let it decide for you with very reasonable results. To sum up, a great camera for all levels of experience, highly recommended. The only things that I found annoying were that the "no flash" selector was far removed from the AUTO setting. This is poor ergonomic design as the second most frequent setting that would be used by the majority of photographers is to turn the flash off to conserve batteries. Yes I know about flash and fill but running out of batteries is more important for most. Secondly the USB connection is very badly designed and thought out. First of all it is incredibly small, and easy to butcher if you get it the wrong way around. Secondly you need a magnifier and bright light to have any hope of inserting it properly. To add insult to injury there is plenty of room on the camera to put a decent size connector. Or mark the cable to you can see it easily (not a minute black arrow on a black background!!!) Otherwise this camera has a lot going for it. It will be a great addition for those of use who have been pentax (film) fans for years. Secondly the quality of the optics is fantastic and you will be able to use all that glass you have so painstakingly collected over the years. AAAA++++..ENJOY