Feature: Pentax brings to the digital SLR world a wealth of great film cameras and lenses
Idea:How does the K200D measure up in the fast moving digital SLR sweepstakes
All my friends at college had a Pentax while I had chosen the Minolta SRT101. It was a choice I never regretted as 30 years later I still have a functional SRT101. But I have always wondered what I left behind by not trying the Pentax. So I was more than interested in trying the second digital SLR from Pentax the K200D.

And to my surprise I found the Pentax light and form fitting to the touch. And the feature set is par for a digital SLR:
* 10.2Mpixels with 23.5 x 15.7 mm CCD sensor
* auto-dust shaking of sensor and anti-dust coating system
* 11 point auto focus, with spot and center weighted plus manual focus
* 2.7 inch diagonal LCD with 270Kpixels with multiple display and playback modes
* 1.1fps continuous shooting until card is full, 2.8fps for 4 RAW shots
* self timer(12sec, 2sec), auto bracket, remote control
* multiple preset exposure modes: Landscape, macro, night, sunset, kids, sunset, etc
* multiple shooting modes: auto, shutter priority, aperture priority, manual, etc
* Lenses: PENTAX K-, KA-, KAF- and KAF2-mount lenses

Of course, the big attraction is the glass.The K200D accommodates a wide range of Pentax lens and as one Pentax friend says has the familiar look and feel. I found no problems getting sup to speed operating the demo model with no help from the store people. And the quick responsiveness of the autofocus system made picture taking fast and easy.

Now as has been true throughout our recent SLR image camera tests, there has been two endeavors in these tests. First, to approximate real picture taking experiences. So there is no tripod, no special setting in the camera - we have used the default mode - automatic auto-focus, auto-white balance and auto-exposure is the rule of the roost. Also the shots are biased towards my particular favorite exposure range 1/2 to 1/30th of a second, lowlight, handheld. Second, all of the images are straight crop extracts at 790 x 250 pixels with no other photofinishing done to the images. So given these constraints please discount the color values because absolutely no effort has been made to optimize them. Finally, I have added where possible similar shots taken with the Canon 40D as a point of comparison.

So with those stipulations lets take a look at what the Pentax delivers in "snapshot" conditions:

Pentax K200D at ISO 1600, f8.0 1/500, 55mm - Huge Advertising out the Window
I was blown away with how well the Pentax K200D pulled in this through-the-window shot. The details are finer than expected, reflections in the glass are picked up, and even the noise at ISO1600 is not too bad. In comparison, at ISO400 the Canon had smoother surfaces and roughly equivalent sharpness and less noise but that is expected given the ISO advantage.
Canon 40D ISO400, f6.3 1/125th sec, 85mm - Same Huge Ad out the Window



Pentax K200D ISO1600, f4.5 1/60th sec, 55mm - Camera Boxes
Unfortunately, the indoors wide angle shot at ISO1600 shows how quickly the noise piles on in darker conditions and upsets even the sharpness of the image. This may have been also due to handheld camera shake... but that is what is being tested, typical snapshot conditions.


Pentax K200D ISO800, f4.5 1/60th sec, 55mm - Overhead Light
This shot really details the difference between the two cameras. Canon has provision for highlight retention while Pentax does not. Again, even at ISO800, the Pentax shows a lot of noise. In contrast the Canon ISO400 captures the highlight detail but without noise and in very sharp detail. Score one for Canon here - but just wait, the conditions are reversed.
Canon 40D ISO 400, f8.0 1/200th sec, 85mm- Overhead Light



Pentax K200D ISO1600, f4.5 1/90th sec, 42mm - Background Mural Swish
The K200D produces a reasonably sharp shot but again at 1600 there is noise and mottling in the colors. In contrast, the Canon 40D has notably less noise but also is at a slower ISO speed by 1/2, its sharpness appears to be equal to the Pentax in terms of the details seen in the struts; but neither camera picked up the background swish with rigorous fidelity - and of course the colors are different due to varying auto white balance used by the two cameras.
Canon 40D ISO800, f5.6 1/100th sec, 75mm- Background Mural Swish



Pentax K200D ISO1600, f8.0 1/250th sec, 42mm - Camera Specs
This time the Pentax really surprised me - at ISO1600 the close-up shot of its advertising label was very sharp and reasonably well exposed. The color speckling noise can be clearly seen. Meanwhile the Canon at a much lower ISO400 is under exposed, and soft on the edges though the noise, as is to be expected, is less than the Pentax. Score one for the Pentax here.
Canon 40D ISO400, f5.6 1/50th sec, 35mm- Camera Specs


Summary

The Pentax K200D sells for body at just above $600 street - well below many of the other mid range SLR cameras. But it is giving away no Live Screen nor tilting nor in-camera stabilization. Its shooting performance was pretty good given the high ISO1600 of most shots - with some great sharpness and reasonable exposure. And as noted before the camera really felt quite responsive. If I had good Pentax lensing, I would definitely consider this a good buy.