Pentax K110D

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Performance
Users can select from 10 white balance settings including three for fluorescent lighting and a custom white balance that's a breeze to configure. The auto white balance on this Pentax proved fairly accurate on most occasions but not spot-on, often failing to render proper colors under incandescent lighting. Autofocus on the K110D was decent under good lighting conditions, but the camera started to hunt in low light. It was also fairly noisy and could be a problem for discreet shooting.

Performance wasn't the fastest although photographers buying their first dSLR would appreciate the near negligible shutter lag and a fast shot-to-shot timing of 0.4 seconds. Flash recharge cycle was relatively decent at 1.3 seconds.

The camera offers a burst speed of 2.8fps at up to five pictures at maximum image quality, after which it slows down considerably to 0.9fps. While sufficient for most shooting purposes, sports photographers may want to look elsewhere. The shutter is also fairly quiet although the advantages of this is quickly offset by the noisy focus mechanism mentioned above.

Image Quality
The camera offers flexibility in saving images. Users can choose from 1.5-, 3-, 5- and 6-megapixel settings. On top of that, users can choose to shoot in RAW or three different levels of JPEG compression denoted in the menu by the number of stars. Users also have the option of tweaking saturation, sharpness and contrast levels as well as the overall color tone of the pictures.

Noise performance at high ISOs is also fairly decent even at ISO 3,200 where a little cleaning up would still produce a fine-looking print.

The 18-to-55mm F3.5-5.6 lens exhibits slight barrel distortion at the wide end and minimal pincushion at maximum telephoto, but shouldn't affect everyday pictures. Pictures are sharp with the lens wide open with little color aberration. Although color contrast isn't as punchy compared with the higher-end glasses, it's an issue that could be fixed easily during post-processing.

Conclusion
Overall, the Pentax K110D is a great camera and there is very little to fault. It is obvious that much thought has been put into designing the camera to appeal to both basic and advanced shooters. The Pentax K110D compares well with other entry-level dSLRs from the more popular brands such as the Nikon D40 or Canon's 400D. It makes for a great starter camera for those on a shoestring budget as it would not be hard to find second-hand lenses to fit on the camera's K-mount. If you have a bit more cash to spare, though, we would recommend the K100D anti-shake.