Shopping for my first DSLR camera

[mindfulness]

I am a newbie here and intend to get my first dslr. The pentax k20d and k10d are on my top list. My concern is which lens should I get? The lens should cover the following criteria:

1. The lens should be in one piece which can take close shots, to wide angle to faraway shot.
2. Light and quality lens to cover the above all purpose scenarios.
3. How much this lens cost? Does the k20d and k10d come with their kit lens?
4. Local prices for the lens and with or without body>?


I am also considering the Olympus E510 and Nikon d80.

Please advisse. Thanks

 

[blive]

I am a newbie here and intend to get my first dslr. The pentax k20d and k10d are on my top list. My concern is which lens should I get? The lens should cover the following criteria:

1. The lens should be in one piece which can take close shots, to wide angle to faraway shot.
2. Light and quality lens to cover the above all purpose scenarios.
3. How much this lens cost? Does the k20d and k10d come with their kit lens?
4. Local prices for the lens and with or without body>?


I am also considering the Olympus E510 and Nikon d80.

Please advisse. Thanks

It would depend on your skill level, your budget and your comfort in handling the cameras. You might like the feel of one over the other.

If going for Nikon, then the Nikon 18-200mm VR lens is a good travel lens to cover a wide range. For prices, check out the price list in each equipment sub-forum.

 

[n30nz]

i would suggest to go for canon 40D.
y canon? i guess the answer is clear, canon have a wide range of selection for your needs. if u cant find a canon branded lens, can always look for sigma or tamron.

to ur questions:

1. if you get canon, can always get the EF 17-85MM IS
2. if you willing to spend more on the lens, yes canon had the better 1. like EF 24-70mm L f/2.8
3. for the 2nd opt, it cost surely from 1k for a used 1.
4. if you get a 40D with kit, they would have a few option for the kit lens, some came with 17-85mm IS, some came with 18-55mm. of course there would be price diff.

so hopefully could help on your cam shopping. its my 5 cents.

NB: i am not working for canon .. or advertising for them.. hehehe just helping ..

 

[MarkTan89]

Of all that you have listed, the safest bet would the Nikon D80 simply because it has one of the widest ranges of lenses coming second only to Canon. And also for resale value, I think the D80 would be better.

 

[lsisaxon]

Of all that you have listed, the safest bet would the Nikon D80 simply because it has one of the widest ranges of lenses coming second only to Canon. And also for resale value, I think the D80 would be better.

Nikon has a useful range of lenses.. Plus you can even use lenses from 20 years ago. The F-mount is legendary! Having said that, the EF mount has adapters which allows mounting of other lenses like Nikkor, Leica, etc on EOS bodies.. Pros and con.. you can't go wrong with either brand.

 

[creampuff]

The Pentax K20D is indeed an excellent camera. The very clean images from the 14.6 megapixel CMOS sensor coupled with the excellent and proven in-camera Shake Reduction system means any and every lens, new or old (K mount or even M42 screw mount), AF or manual focus enjoys image stabilization.

Price for the K20D body is about S$1,850 locally and if you buy elsewhere, it can be as low as US$1,000. To me Pentax offers excellent value for very little money and as a system it costs quite a bit less than competing brands. Price wise, the cost of lenses and accessories are very affordable too.

Lenses wise, the new DA18-55mm II is very good. If you need an all in one zoom, there is the Pentax DA 18-250mm. But there are many excellent FA & DA series prime lenses which are very compact and offer very good optical performance. While many will tell you to that their particular system has the widest range of lenses, in practice, all the manufacturers have lenses that cover the most commonly used focal lengths, Pentax included.

 

[mindfulness]

hi guys, thank you so much for your advise. I tried the pentax k20d recently - very solid, all weather protection and was quoted $1,850 at MS. The thing is I found it heavy too. So I am still searching for a camera that is light, good quality pictures, inbody stabilization, dust reduction as a top criteria.

I have not hold a nikon d80 yet. Will check this out.

Probably my purchase will be in after the mid-year which I think prices will come down and new models being introduced.

 

[NoMoney]

If weight is your real concern, perhaps can go for the K200D which is coming to SG.

 

[hjbyeo]

Agree with NoMoney! K200D uses AA size batteries, and if you go for Lithium ones (energisers), they are quoted to last 1100 SHOTS!!

It's weatherproof (none in its class now), much smaller in size (not as small as d40). Here's a picture of k100D vs k10D. It should be similar to K20D vs K200D.

Like what Creampuff said, it's got image stablizer in body which means all lens attached to it, including the manual lens, gets image stablisation!

The Pentax k200d looks like this with the kit lens (2nd generation).

What's incredible is you could even consider the DA limited prime (PANCAKES) lens as you grow into the hobby...

DA 21mm f3.2

DA 40mm f2.8

DA 70mm f2.4

Lovely system, isn't it!

 

[hjbyeo]

And if it's the zoom lens you wanted.. the DA 18-250 is probably what you want..

 

[n30nz]

Of all that you have listed, the safest bet would the Nikon D80 simply because it has one of the widest ranges of lenses coming second only to Canon. And also for resale value, I think the D80 would be better.

i have to disagree with u on the resale value. I think Nikon D80 has the worst resale value of all DSLR cam. It was intro about 12 months ago, but the resale value is not far different from its cousin, the d40x or the rival canon 400d. I am talking over all in asian market.

 

[mindfulness]

If weight is your real concern, perhaps can go for the K200D which is coming to SG.

the weight of k200d is 690g vs nikon d40x 522g vs Olympus E420 440g.
The plus point for k200d is its in-build stabilisation feature is a useful one.

 

[Erenon]

The K200D also happens to be weather sealed.