Newbie needs advice on first slr

[Cato]

Hi. I am new here. I am considering purchasing the Pentax K100D Super as my first DSLR and was wondering if this is a good "beginner enthusiast" SLR. By way of a little background, I have been "into" photography for about 2 years, but only recently started experimenting with manual controls. My current cam is a kodak z650, which took great photos for my purposes and was a nice camera to "learn" on.

After having many friends and relatives ask to buy my photos and take portraits, etc., I decided to become a little more serious and I have been trying to read as many books as I can on the subject---although i will admit, i am a bit overwhelmed. I understand the general principles of aperature, shutter, ISO, etc., but can not come up with the "right" combination for a given composition yet without experimenting a lot.

Anyway, I have my choices for a SLR down to the Pentax and the Nikon D40. I am "almost" sold on the Pentax, given the deal at B&H right now and the features on the camera. I like that it has many more options and features than the Nikon and that it comes with an editing program and has better lens compatability.

My real concern is ease of use. I am very worried that the menu system will be over my head and too complicated. Also, I cannot find any dealers in my area that actually carry the Pentax. I have spent prob an hr and a half the last week "trying out" the nikon at the big box stores. I do not like how small it is and that you are limited to expensive nikon lenses and that you have to pay more for the editing software. The 3 point focal system and lack of bracketing also turn me offf. That said, its menu is very intuative and I wsas able to quickly figure it out in the store.

Basically what I want is a very good entry level SLR that is both easy to operate and has room to grow as I become more serious and learn more. I do not want to have to buy another camera in two more years. I would rather get a decent camera now and spend my $ on lenses and flashes, etc. later. I want both a good camera to learn with and one that has all the features I will want as I become more serious.

As far as the type of shooting I do--I LOVE nighttime cityscapes, sunsets, and scenes with shadows and high contrast. I also am very into landscapes and B&W, and have just started getting into macros. I do not plan on doing sports photography, but would like to experiment with motion photos.

Based on my needs, do you think the Pentax is the right fit for me? Featurewise, it is clearly the better deal and I have a hard time distinguihsing between D40 and K100D photos. That said, I am concerned over the ease of use and complexity of the menu system and the fact I can't seem to get my hands on one.

Thanks for the advice!

[reverberation]

Hey Cato, sounds like you have alot of questions. You certainly came to the right place to get them answered as many people on this site have years of experience with all types of dslrs. I mostly shoot film, so please take that into consideration when reading my response. I am looking into getting a DLSR and have some of the same questions as you. The thing that jumped out at me concerning DLSRs is that some perform better than others in low light situations. I would suggest you go to the top of the website and browse reviews, check out the pro reviews as well.