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Old 05-09-2008, 10:54 AM
cpoc
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Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Anyone have experience using a Pentax K200D?

I had my 30th birthday a couple of weeks ago and my main gift from my partner was a Pentax K200D (well the deposit on a layby of a K200D... with the notion that once tax returns are back it would be paid off). I was just wondering if anyone here has any experience using one... especially for astrophotography but also for general use.

Of course the main appeal is that I can use the lenses from my Pentax K1000 on it... but it sounds like a pretty good setup too.

I'm really looking forward to it... and hopeful (though not optimistic) that I can have it paid off before heading to Warnambool for a friends wedding (as we plan to drive home that night... and there should be some nice dark skies out that way.
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Old 06-03-2009, 11:17 PM
C.A.C (Craig)
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Gday
I have had my k200d for about 3 months and i am very happy with it.
I also have an old pentax km film cam with original lenses but are not happy with there use on my k200 as they take a bit of setting up and the picture quality is not as good as the 18-55 full auto lense supplied with the camera.I have just bought a sigma 70-300 zoom lense which was cheap at $250 and the pic quality is surprising i wasnt expecting it to be so good {very happy}.just had it up on the carport roof with the tripod taking some moon snaps and you can see the craters quite sharply.oh and the k200's shake reduction is fantastic
Ihave retired my old film lenses they work ok but you cant beat the auto focus technology on the new lenses.
Hope this helps.
Anytime.
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Old 12-03-2009, 08:52 AM
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tonybarry (Tony)
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Hello Cpoc,

I have a K200D with the Pentax 18-55mm lens and an older 70-210mm (35mm; 110-330mm digital equivalent) telephoto. I also have a T-mount ring for the lens and a T-mount ring for the body.

Terrestrial photos are very good. The image stabilisation is a definite plus. I also like the user interface - it seems to me to be much better than the Canon (I use a EOS 20D at work). The weather sealing of the body is good for peace of mind especially in the night time when the dew may be about. The ability to use the older Pentax lenses is a great bonus. I was given a 55mm f/1.8 manual lens by a colleague at work - he had it on an old film K1000 and it adapts well. Although there is no autofocus, the focusing engine beeps when the image **is** focused (which is an unexpected help!)

Some things seem a bit of a kludge - there is no separate mirror lockup, but on the 2-second delay, the mirror will move up 2 seconds before the shutter activates, so that is good for avoiding camera shake when taking astro photos.

The lack of a "Camera Remote" application is a downer - without such a piece of software, you cannot use the USB connection to activate the shutter or adjust camera settings. It becomes difficult to tell when the image is "in focus" without LiveView such as all the Canon cameras have.

The K20D does have a "Camera Remote" application, but at AUD1300 it is too expensive - one would probably go for a Canon DSLR such as the EOS 1000D if such funds were available.

My opinion about using the K200D for astrophoto work is not yet fully formed. I am sure there are ways to get good images with it, but I have not yet discovered them.

Regards,
Tony Barry

PS Mike Salway is delivering a talk on astrophoto at the Sydney City skywatchers on 6th April 2009. Yes I will be there (DV) ...
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Old 12-03-2009, 06:36 PM
space oddity
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I have a k10d and also have a large swag of old Pentax glass. It must be noted that the optical design is different for digital lenses compared to film. Film does not care what angle the light emerges from the lens and hits the film, but digital does not fare well with non parrallel light rays. Digital lenses have the rear nodal point further from the film plane. Also the problem with wide angles being much less wide angle as well as the wide angles having the rear nodal point closer to the film plane(ideally the focal length away.) My beloved 20mm f/2.8 internal focus is very ho hum on digital as is the 17mmf/4 full frame Takumar fisheye. Telephotos become more telephoto though, which is. Old lenses will not have the image stabilization effect-it is coupled to compatible lenses only.
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