Review on 📷 Pentax K200D 10.2MP DSLR Camera with Shake Reduction & 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens by Rhonda Jennings

I bought my Pentax K200d from Revain late July 08 and have recently returned from a 47 day trip to the great American west. I took about 2600 photos in a variety of conditions: dust, rain, surf, museums, frozen mountain campsites, bright sun and dusk. I have a second set of lithium batteries. The original batteries that came with the camera lasted for over 1400 shots (with very little flash use). The results are amazing with excellent color saturation and clarity. And the camera is sturdy, much sturdier than I expected. It's nice to hold in your hands. I mainly know Nikon's cheaper DSLRs, the D40, D50, D60 and D70. Pentax is way above these fine cameras. I'm not talking about the K20d, which I think is even more amazing. At under $600, including a quality 18-55 kit lens, this is a steal compared to other offerings in a very competitive space, to say the least. I was in no hurry to break away from the 35mm world. However, digital has more than caught up in image quality, surpassing film in convenience and cost. With that in mind, I put aside my Nikon FM2 and lenses and, after much soul searching, turned to Pentax. In 1975 I had a screw body and later a Pentax ME which I loved but lost to camera thieves. I approached Nikon in the 80's and I still think they make great products overall. So I have a lot of Pentax K and Nikon A1 lenses that I wanted to use. I was considering switching to Nikon D80 and tested it. The D80 was a good camera in 2006, but now it seems a bit dated. The Pentax K200d feels better in my hands, much better. Pentax has both shock and dust protection built into the body that Nikon doesn't have, and Pentax has some great new prime lenses including the 50mm f1.4 designed for DSLR bodies. My old K-mount Pentax lenses work great and are a cheap alternative. [On the K200, you just have to go to the user menu, item 23, to activate legacy lenses.] However, after some initial experimentation, I settled on the 18-55 kit lens, which is fast, versatile, and also dusty and weather-resistant . . Additionally, with the jitter reduction, I was able to shoot handheld with good results at shutter speeds of 1/15th of a second or even faster, depending on the focal length. Maybe I'll add a 50-200 or a good prime lens soon. You can't go wrong with this camera. Difficulty in low light conditions. Other than that, it's a great tool. Since the above review I have taken hundreds of photos including a wedding and many portraits. The results were excellent. I added two lenses: a Pentax 50 1.4 for low light and portraits and a Pentax 50-200 for travel, wildlife and sports. The results exceeded my expectations and the camera withstood rain, snow and windblown sand. i love the camera