DO NOT MISS THIS CAMERA!!!

Several weeks ago, I purchased the Pentax K100D Super here on Amazon, after doing lots of research here and on other sites. I have been a somewhat serious amateur for 20 years or more, my last SLR being a Pentax Super Program. I also have been using an Olympus point & shoot digital camera, only 1.3 megapixels. It was time to upgrade!

There were several reasons I went with the K100D Super.

1. It is one of the few SLR digitals that uses AA rechargeable batteries. BTW, I use only the new Nimh that hold their charge seemingly forever. They work great.

2. It was compatible with the whole bag of Pentax lenses I bought 20 years ago! This saved me hundreds of dollars!

3. It has been out of production for 2 years, so this was maybe the last chance! Ebay only had 2, both used models.

4. It has a dust removal system, which several techie friends said I wanted.

5. It has the shake reduction system in the camera, instead of the lenses, like some other top brands. This is what allows you to have shake reduction with your old lenses.

So how do I like it, after several days of intense shooting in different conditions? Here is a list of things I like, in no particular order.

1. It uses all my old lenses, although the auto focus does not function with them. It does, however, not allow you to shoot unless the lens is totally focused.

2. One quick trip through the manual and I was able to find all the options on my own. There is a nice bright, large LCD screen on the back that shows all the info. When you review pictures you have
taken, you can see them full screen, or up in the corner, with the rest of the screen filled with all the settings that were in effect for the photo. There a several options for info display as well.

3. After talking to people who are using cameras that cost $2,000, I found that the top ISO setting is larger than theirs. It goes to 3200. If you do any inside shooting without flash, make sure the camera is set to be able to reach all the way to 3200.

4. Top shutter speed is 1/4000th of a second.

5. An available option is a great lens, 18-55 zoom. Don't miss this one!

6. I am using a 4gig SD card. At the lowest settings of pixels and quality, you can get almost 9,000 pictures on the card! At middle quality, you still get a couple thousand on a 4gig card.

7. If you have been using a point & shoot digital and are switching to SLR, you won't believe how fast you can shoot pictures. Pretty much as fast as you press the button.

8. I love the USB cord for transferring pictures to my computer. Using Windows XP, I didn't do anything but plug in. The computer set itself up for my camera and I just used a photo viewer I always use to move photos around, to transfer them into the computer.

9. One set of alkaline batteries that came with the camera wore out while I was just learning the camera. The rechargeable Nimh hybrids lasted all day, in fact I probably shot 400 or 500 photos, left it on much of the day, and the gauge still showed a full charge. 2 sets of these batteries are about all you would ever need.

10. I tried shooting outside in the dark with just lights in the neighborhood and the results were great, using the night shot setting.

11. This camera was envied all weekend by people who had higher priced digital SLRs. Takes great photos, gives you whatever amount of help you need, and lets you control whatever you want to. Even if you have never used an SLR of any type, don't miss this camera.

Possible cons -

1. The lens that comes with the camera on amazon has 5.6 or 4 as its widest aperture. That is one reason you have to use 3200 ISO inside without flash. I have a 55mm 1.4 lens that works great.

2. Make sure you start by setting the Sharpness option as high as it goes. The default isn't the best.

3. The metal loops that hold the straps are mounted vertically, when they should be horizontal. The way they are, when you wear it around your neck, the camera lens tends to point out, not down, even with a heavy telephoto lens attached. This makes it more likely to get damage on the lens or just bang it into people in a crowd. DO NOT NEGLECT TO BUY A SKYLIGHT 1B FILTER TO PROTECT THE LENS.

4. With a telephoto lens, this camera is heavy. But that does help to lessen shaking.

5. The auto white balance is still not too realistic inside with some types of light. When I set the balance manually, it was beautiful, the colors almost exactly what I saw with my eyes.

Hints -

1. Make sure to buy the big Canon camera bag, if you have 3 or more lenses and other gadgets like chargers. Otherwise you will have to go to camera stores and pay top dollar. Walmart, Target, even
big box electronics stores tend not to have nice big camera bags. I would also recommend buying a small bag that only holds the camera and a small lens, for when you want to just grab it and go. The big Canon bag is HEAVY when loaded, and you have to keep something that big with you at all times because people know what is in it!


SUMMING UP -

If you have some old Pentax lenses you like, and you like the Pentax brand, don't miss this camera!!!!!!!!!