Pentax K200D

Can the new Pentax live up to its siblings?

There are two things that we’ve loved about Pentax SLRs in the past. The first is the swift adoption of CCD-shifting image stabilisation, and the second is the price. Without exception, the previous *ist D and K100 cameras beat the equivalent Nikons and Canons for price and features.

Those willing to take their chances with less readily available lenses of suitable quality for the KAF2-mount were rewarded with supremely capable set-ups that returned rich colours and boasted a better build quality than their peers.

The K200D is a natural progression from the K100D Super. Although it’s just a fraction larger and slightly heavier, that extra room inside the weatherproof stainless steel chassis houses an extra 4Mp of sensor resolution, a revised anti-shake system, a better automated dust off mechanism, a slightly larger LCD screen and a new image processing engine.

The result is a camera that feels and acts more professionally than many mainstream SLRs, boasting as it does a top LCD for shooting information and a few innovative ideas which other manufacturers could learn from. Like a dummy shot taken and quickly displayed on the LCD when the Depth of Field preview button is pressed, or the

It remains a very friendly camera for beginners wanting to learn more, too: selecting a new mode brings up a short description of what, exactly, the differences between P and Auto are, and a few words to the effect that Tv means shutter priority.

On top of that, the anti-shake is the best around: sharp handheld shots are possible even at 1/3 second. The death of the tripod is clearly near.

Couple all that with a flexible 11-point autofocus system and a revised kit lens that’s not just sharper than the previous one, but also has a ‘proper’ sliding focus for filter users at last, and it’s clear that the K200D is capable of holding its own photographically against the entry level Nikon D60 and Canon 450D that you’d expect to see it up against.

There are only two things which will be down to personal taste. The first is the slightly-too-prominent handgrip, which may not be as comfortable as its peers to some; the second is the warmth of the colours and slight softness to images at the default ‘Bright’ setting that has become Pentax’ film-like stock in trade. For the latter, even if you don’t eventually fall in love with the style, support for both the Pentax PEF and open source DNG RAW files means post-processing to taste is easier than on previous models. Or, of course, you could just switch to ‘Natural’ image balancing.

Shooting in JPEG, the new Pentax Real Image Engine (PRIME) is excellent. Image noise is barely noticeable even at ISO800, and here’s a budget SLR which not only comes with an ISO1600 setting, but one that you might actually use there without tears welling in your eyes for the crimes against photography you’re about to commit. While Canon just about leads the pack with the 450D, the K200D holds its own with ease.

There are a couple of curiosities, though. For starters, we’re unclear as to why one button is dedicated to a fast switch between RAW modes and JPG shooting, which is usually, and more conveniently, normally on a shift key combination with the thumb wheel.

More serious, though, is the fact that there are very few such shift keys described above – and most settings have to be changed on the LCD menu. This seems an odd design decision for a company usually on the ball with getting that ‘pro’ feel right, as does the omission of a rear curtain flash mode.

The fact that Pentax steadfastly refuses to go down the route of including a rechargeable battery (the K200D need four AAs) is also baffling.

Alone, these would not be enough to call into question the choice of the camera if you saw someone out shooting with it.

That honour is given to one factor alone: price. For what seems like the first time, Pentax’ entry level SLR is £100 more expensive than the competing Nikon D60 which includes an IS lens, as well as the Sony A200. To make matters worse for the company, it appears to have rapidly phased out the cheaper K100D Super, leaving it with nothing in the sub-£400 budget category at all.

On paper, the improvements the K200D offers over its predecessor more than justify that extra ton, but hitting the £500 isn’t a great move for Pentax. Most serious snappers who come to the K200D for its rugged build and full feature set – how many D-SLRs include a Bulb setting these days? - will reason that a Nikon D200 is only £150 more. Snappers who just want an SLR for the sake of it will sacrifice the top LCD screen and buy a D60 or A200 instead.

Technically speaking, this is a good four star camera which on occasion rises to five star quality. But unless the price drops considerably, it’s impossible to work out who the K200D is aimed at and that’s a sad fact we have to reflect in the overall score.

Final Verdict Technically, the K200D is very good, but the extra ¨£100 places it in an ackward position in the market OVERALL

Doug Harman has over 19 year's experience as a journalist, writer, photographer, and digital camera and technology tester. He has written extensively for a multitude of digital photography magazines and websites, and he's also the author of two books.