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[tuftedduck]

Yes, you can turn on the screen to confirm you focus/composition..............it's just not on "by default" as it is on the more expensive model.
The screen then switches off again as soon as you put your eye back to the viewfinder.
Also, if you tilt the camera on end to take a "portrait" shot as opposed to "landscape", ie the image is up and down instead of across, then the image on the screen also "tilts" and shows the image in that configuration.
On the A200, the screen does not swivel, it's built in.

One other thing I should have mentioned before with regard to the zooms on a dslr................they are not powered. On a compact you twizzle the button and the zoom whizzes in and out...........on a dslr lens, the zooming is done manually by rotating a ring round the lens barrel........not a problem, such a wee difference.

[UncleUB]

Well after much research and reading umpteen reviews I have decided a DSLR is what I would like to go for.I want to make the right decision now and then be able to add to it as I go on.
As I have never had a DSLR before and I am a bit of a novice at Photography I want something quite easy to use.
This is my short list.

Pentax K200D
Nikon D 60.
Canon Rebel XSi
Sony A200 or the Sony A300 with live view(exclusive to Jessops)

Has anyone got any thoughts about the above cameras or is there some others I should be considering.

[tuftedduck]

Just a quicky with some initial thoughts............will put more meat on the bones later.

Canon Rebel Xsi..................this is the name given to the Canon EOS 450D and is a name used only in USA........hope you are not contemplating buying from there ( import duty and vat to be considered). If it is described under that name on a UK site, it may be a "grey" import with all the problems that brings such as not being able to register warranty etc., and you may find that the battery charger connection is incompatible in the uk.

Pentax K200D..........nice camera, good results...........very, very frustrating to use as so many of the everyday important functions are accessed through the menu rather that twiddling buttons.........slows the process down and makes it overly complex.

Nikon D60...........nice camera and good results but expensive if you want to buy additional lenses...........most cameras have the drive motor for the autofocus in the camera body..........to save weight and size, this camera has no motor rather it is built into the lens. You buy another lens.....you buy another motor.....pricey and an overlycomplex bit of frippery.

Sony A200/A300..........nice, and probably the pick of the bunch. Stick with the 200 rather than the 300..........the 200 has the live view as well, all you get extra in the 300 for the extra money is the ability to tilt and swing the rear screen...............to me, that is a complexity too far and a rear screen just waiting to be broken off.

Will be back.

[broadstairs]

I've been a Pentax user for years and have so I stuck with Pentax because all my existing lenses etc worked with my *istD and not so far thought about updating it (I'd love a 20D    ).

Anyway my advice to anyone who does not have any kit which would be made redundant is to stick with one of the big 3, Canon Nikon or Pentax and of those the first two do have the most support from third party lens makers etc. A big bonus for Pentax users is their policy of being able to support as much older kit on their newer cameras as possible.

I would suggest that you go to a good local camera shop and try them out in the shop before you make your final decision. Personally I would think Live View (using the screen on the back to frame the photo) could be useful in some circumstances but I also think you would not be likely to use it a lot, I agree that a tilt and swivel screen is probably a bit too fragile. Also think carefully about this as, again dependant on what kind of photos you take, you will probably find one lens not enough as most kits come with one zoom lens. Then there is flash, the built in flash is OK for small room photos but beyond that you will need an external flash. Also batteries are a consideration, my Pentax can use standard AA ones so if I get caught out then I can pop into Boots and buy a pack.

Believe me you wont want to stop and the basic kit.....

[tuftedduck]

Hi, broadstairs.
Like yourself, I have used Pentax for over thirty years and have the *istD, but recently bought the 10d and as you say you can hook all the older lenses to both of these.
Lovely.
I also consider that the Pentax colour rendering engine to be the best on the market just now.
I would have recommended the 200d to unkyUb, but having to go into the menu to set apertures rather than twiddling a button is a pain. I think Pentax lost their way a little with that model.

There is a lot to be said for sticking to the big three............but let us not forget that the Sony is Minolta under a different name, and Minolta was/is a very good brand.

[UncleUB]

Thanks for the feed back guys,TD I was under the impression the Sony A200 did not have 'live view'.?
@ the Pentax,the reason I listed it was reviews I had read was it was easy to use and ideal for the novice??
There is no way I would considera USA/grey import.The review I read for the canon Rebel XSi was an american site,that would explain the different model number.
As I have said my main criteria is ease of use and to be able to add to it in the future. 

[tuftedduck]

You are quite correct, unkyUb, about the Sony............my mistake and my apologies for having misled.............no live view in the A200, just a post-shot review.

The "ease-of-use" in the Pentax is a bit misleading............I think it is aimed at the very amateur and the defaults are set up as if is it were a point-and-shoot job, albeit one on which you can change lenses. When you get past the P+S stage and want to get the full potential out of it, it becomes fiddly to get to the commands hidden in the menu..........much easier and quicker to have the commands on external buttons and dials.

I think the Sony A300 is a good camera, the Canon and Nikon are no better. Top end pro. cameras from these marques will knock spots off the opposition, but the bottom end, amateur versions, whilst good, rely very much on the name..........and top enders from Pentax, Sony etc will beat bottom enders from Canon and Nikon.

As to ease of use, they are much of a muchness (save for the Pentax).............and a couple of hours playing around with them will have you up and running.

[UncleUB]

Thanks TD for taking time out to explain things to me.I do think the Sony is a good camera and the price is pretty good too.It does seem to get good reviews on most sites.Like most things in life there are pros and cons.I think its too late for one to be sent to santa,but my birthday is in February so I shall live in hope. 

[tuftedduck]

The Sony will not disappoint.
I bought a new Pentax K10D just last week..............I was sorely tempted by the Sony and only the fact that I have a housefull of Pentax lenses, flash-guns etc made me forego the Sony.

With a DSLR as opposed to your current compact, you will be staggered by the quality you will get in your pics............bigger lenses with more glass, corrected for both chromatic and physical aberrations, sharper and with great contrast control.............lovely stuff.

Next February eh ?............just right for the start of the camping season 

[tuftedduck]

A further camera to consider is the Samsung GX10 which is the Pentax K10d under a different name, and on sale here at a whopping discount  £279 instead of £720 (lens included )

Might be worth a look.

See at http://www.parkcameras.com/6918/Samsung-GX-10-Body---18-55mm-lens.html

[UncleUB]

Wow TD, that looks an absolute bargain,is there a reason why its so cheap?
I have read a couple of reviews and they point out that the pentax battery grip does not fit the samsung,although that would not bother me.
Is this camera fairly easy to use from a DSLR beginners point of view.
I also see Park Cameras do it with an extra lens (50-200mm) for another £70,is that a zoom lens,and is that a good price.
Sorry to be so inquisitive,but I am getting a bit excited by this deal. 

[tuftedduck]

I think the reason for the price is that the camera is now a clearance item, having been replaced by the GX-20.............this retailer might not have too many left on the shelf.
I think also that the battery grips are now a bit like hens teeth. I think if you can find one it would be about £100/£120.

A battery grip really does help if you have large hands, gives the whole thing a bit more "body" to hold onto, and of course when you turn the thing on it's end to do a portrait style shot, there is a second set of controls on the grip lying under your thumb.

What makes it easy to use is that as well as the options for manually setting apertures/shutter speeds etc., it has (unlike the Pentax) the usual array of "modes"...scene, portrait, night, macro etc etc which you can set and then the machine optimises the settings for you. Not for me, I like total control, but great for the less experienced.

If you can get a 50-200 lens (yes a 4x zoom) for £70, that is a bargain (again it is a Pentax lens under a different name) and of course a good addition to the 18-55 (3x zoom) that comes with the camera.

Calm down now, Xmas is past and it's not your birthday yet  .......don't know how long that offer will last though if they are shelf clearing.


edit..............TD posts edit to take out his last edit....

[UncleUB]

http://www.parkcameras.com/c/100/Samsung-Digital-SLRs.html


Camera + 2 lenses = £349.00

[UncleUB]

So the difference between the 18-55 and the 50-200 is only 1x extra zoom,or does it have different/extra features?

[tuftedduck]

What it means is that with the small lens you have a 3x zoom and with the larger one you have a 4x zoom so by using one, then changing lenses on the camera and  using the other you have the full potential of a 7x zoom.
Although the second lens has only a 1x extra zoom compared to first lens..........that zoom starts off where the first left off. The first goes from wide to middle and the second from middle to long.
The first has a focal length range of 16-55 and the second a focal length range of 55-200 so you have a potential 16-200 zoom range.

Think of these focal lengths as markings on a ruler, one lens goes from 16 inches to 55 inches and the other starts at 55 inches and goes to 200 inches.
So when using the combination like that you have (at the 16mm end of the 16-55 ) a wide angle running through to ( at the 200 end of the 55-200) a moderate telephoto, and of course all points in between to suit the composition.

As an illustration, three wee photos.

The 16-55 lens will allow you to take wide shots such as (a) below, but get you no closer than (B) below.................the 55-200 will let you go only as wide as (b) below but will let you zoom to (c) below

(a)..

(b)..

(c)..