Pentax K200D Review

CONCLUSIONS
What to make of the K200D, on balance? It's an unquestionably solid camera, and I generally found its straight-from-camera images rich, vibrant, and (with the right settings) smooth � all the reasons we buy DSLRs. Visually and functionally, the camera is a bit vanilla; given the really sharp, intuitive interfaces on some of its competitors, the Pentax may be a bit of hard sell for newbies who heavily bias look and feel in making purchasing decisions. Advanced shooters may be equally disappointed that Pentax didn't cut the questionably valuable scene modes altogether and retain a more advanced control layout (with two dials). The fact that the K200D didn't at least step up to the K10D's rather paltry continuous shooting performance either is another strike against the new model where serious shooters are concerned.

Giving the K200D a chance and taking the time to learn its proclivities, I found the use experience and the image quality to be as good as anything out there at this price point, especially. The fact that the K200D is a little obtuse and intimidating for novice users but not seemingly advanced enough in some ways to entice mid-level buyers and beyond may be its primary flaw, however, as many shooters in both camps may never give this camera a chance for those very reasons. If that proves to be the case, it will be unfortunate: with a street price just above $700 at the moment for performance that more than holds its own, the K200D is looking poised to be another bang-for-your-buck winner.

David Rasnake

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