which camera is better? canon 400d or the pentax k10d or k100?

Question

consider the amount of the body, lenses, flashes, and other accesories for upgrading.

they say that the canon built their IS in their lens, but the pentax built there's in the camera.

i don't know much about dslr.

guide me. please. cheaper and efficient the better

Answer 1

The February 2007 issue of Popular Photography has an article where they compared the top 10 MP DSLR's. I took the scores and ranked the cameras similar to the way Formula 1 gives championship points. I just gave 5 for 1st place down to 1 for last place, splitting the difference when cameras tied in their catagories.

They evaluated Image Quality (giving this twice as much weight as anything else), Ease of Use, Control, and System Flexibility.

The final order and my scores are:

Nikon D80 - 17.5 points
- BEST in Image Quality, Control and System Flexibility
Canon Rebel XTi (400D) - 13.5 points
- Tied for best in System Flexibility
Pentax K10D - 11 points
- Tied for best in Ease of Use
Samsung GX10 - 11 points
- Tied for best in Ease of Use
Sony Alpha 100 - 7 points
- LAST in Image Quality, Ease of Use and System Flexibility."

Then again, this is the same magazine that put the Sony Alpha 100 dead last in this comparison named it the camera of the year in the previous issue! (In a follow-up to this seeming error, Pop Photo published the explanation that only the D80 and the Sony had been tested by the end-of-year deadline for choosing the Camera of the Year. Sony won on the strength of low price and built-in image stabilization. The other 3 that beat Sony in shoot-out were not tested until after the Camera of the Year was selected, because they were not yet available.)

Go to the original question and read the responses for more opinions.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiG00eHyd0oq5b.X7J.jiULzy6IX?qid=20070113133139AAHWJY0

If you want to get the "best" for the real world, consider the Nikon D200 or Canon 30D if you can afford it. For about $300-500 less, look at the results of the recent PopPhoto test and choose from that list according to your taste.

Personally, I use a Nikon D200 and would recommend it without hesitation to someone who has some knowledge of photography. For someone who wants the "best," but is starting with somewhat of an "entry level" knowledge base, I'd suggest the Nikon D80.

There are people out there who will state their preference for the Canon cameras and I will not argue with them. The Canon 30D and 400D are excellent cameras as well.

You would have to visit a camera store or camera department and pick them up and see what you think.

This review is now available online at:

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3569/10mp-dslr-shootout.html

Here's another reference from outside the photographic press. Consumer reports compared the Nikon D80, Canon Rebel XTi and Sony Alpha. Personally, I'd say that the Nikon came out on top here, also. It beats the Sony in "noise-free ISO" with an acceptable rating at ISO 1600 (kind of optimistic, I think...) compared to the Sony's ISO 400. It beats the Canon (in my opinion) by having a spot meter that the Canon does not offer.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/electronics-computers/news-electronics-computers/november-2006/shootout-10-megapixel-digital-slr-cameras-11-06/overview/0611_digital-slr-shoot-out.htm

Here's another comparison of interest:

http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Canon-Rebel-XTi-vs-Nikon-D80-vs-Sony-Alpha-A100-Head-to-Head-to-Head-Digital-Camera-Review-.htm
[Note the navigation menu near the top of the review]

The next thing to consider is what lens to start with and where you go from there. If you are new to this, I'd say to just get the "kit" lens, which seems to be the 18-135 lens for the D80, and get started. Once you know where you really want to go with your photography, Nikon has an almost unlimited family of lenses to choose from.

Check out this comparison page. Click on "In-depth review" and "Read Owner Opinions" for each camera. Be sure to note that the reviews are many pages long so you don't stop after page one. Check the sample images, also. You can enlarge these to full size images if you click on the file name shown below the picture. You will have to then put your cursor in the white space to the right of the picture and click once. After that, you can pass your cursor over the image and it will turn into a magnifier. Click it as a magnifier once and the image will go to full size and you can really examine the detail or look for artifacts like purple fringing around items in high contrast photos or noise in darker areas of the picture.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_eos400d%2Cpentax_k100d%2Cpentax_k10d&show=all

The K100D is a nice entry level dSLR, but it does not really belong in a comparison with the other two.

Answer 2

Well, if you mention cheaper and efficient then Canon 400D is the way to go.

400D is Canon's entry level while k100d is Pentax's entry level. However Canon's entry level has several important advantages over Pentax's entry level such as more megapixels and better image quality at high ISO.
You best choice in quality for the money is the 400D (Rebel XTi), no to mention right now Canon has a wider range of lenses and accesories.

You should consider the Pentax K10D if you plan to go deeper into photography as the K10D doesn't have beginner preset modes (nightshot, portrait, etc), only manual advanced modes. It's a better built camera (antidust and antiwater seals) and has better RAW image support. However, Pentax has less accessories available today and those that exist are mainly from other companies. Still Pentax has published their roadmap and several good lenses with ultrasonic motors will become available this year at better prices than Nikon or Canon.

Answer 3

I'd buy the Canon over the Pentax. Canon sells more DSLR's than any other company so you will be able to find a wider range of accessories for them.

Image stabilization is handy to have, but I wouldn't make it the main factor in choosing 1 camera over another. I've got a Maxxum 7D that has IS in the body but I don't see much difference whether it is turned on or not. You just have to be a little more careful about keeping the camera still.

Bob K
www.CameraRepairs.com

Answer 4

As mentioned, the K100D really shouldn't be compared to the other two. The 100 is a good entry-level camera, it has a lot of nice features and compares favorably to the entry-level cameras from other manufacturers. Where a company like Nikon is removing autofocus from the body of their new entry-level model to compete on price (you have to buy special lenses to use AF), Pentax is adding a feature like image stabilization (called Shake reduction) to the body so that all of their lenses will have less blur caused by camera shaking. Note that neither Nikon or Canon offer this feature in their cameras, but it is an option in their more expensive lenses. The 100 is a good camera but when compared to the 400 XTi, the K10D or the D80, the 100 will win every time on price and lose every time on features.

It's easy to find reviews and comments about Canons (and Nikons) but not to easy to find reviews and comments about Pentax. Pentax used to be huge in photography but they dropped some balls in moving to digital and a lot of people decided not to wait. Here are some reviews:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/pentax-10D.shtml

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/K100D/K100DA.HTM

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/K10D/K10DA.HTM

http://www.neocamera.com/feature_sonyalphaa100_vs_pentaxk10d.html

And DPReview as mentioned, although I think their feature guide is too old now to be useful.

My opinion is that there's no better screaming deal in the entry-level than the K100D. A 6MP DSLR with image stabilization and two lenses for about $600 after rebate. You'll pay more for the K10D and the price comes closer to the 400. The big difference here is features. The 10D has better features, IMO, than the 400 does. The 400 on the other hand has a much bigger line of lenses to choose from.

And don't forget that you're much more likely to be able to borrow or rent a lens from Canon or Nikon as well. For all of the value and features in the 100 and 10, Pentax currently is still one of the little guys.

If you decide to go with a Pentax, here's a rebate. You can get up to $150 back with the purchase of a 100 or 10 AND a 50-200mm lens or $50 on just the camera.
http://www.pentaximaging.com/files/scms_docs//picturep.dslr.rebate___050107.pdf

Answer 5

If these two cameras are your final choices, then definately choose the Canon.

In the long-run, chose either a Nikon Like a 40X) or Canon dSLR for your camera. They have the best image quality, but most importantly, you will be acquiring lenses, and an array of accessories. Choose you camera wisely.

Answer 6

I know people are going to hate on me for this but really if you want near top line for a really good price go with olympus they are the most user friendly the lowest price and they are almost better than the canon 350 only thing is that you have to use olypus lenses

Answer 7

Try this camera selector. It lets you select the features that are most important to YOU (including price ranges) and gives you lots of information on models that have the features you want.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare....

This is much better than just getting people to tell which cameras THEY like.