Hello!
I’m a soon-to-be Pentaxian looking for some advice. I’ve been photographing for nearly 20 years, early on with SLRs and most recently with some Olympus and Canon prosumer digital P&Ss, but now I’m looking to take the dive into digital SLRs. My photography is primarily outdoor nature, often black and white landscapes but sometimes color nature/wildlife including some macro (flowers, insects, etc.), as well as outdoor stills of old buildings, streets, etc. I do very little action/sports/movement photography.
I don’t have the budget for (or probably the skill to extract the performance from) an expensive pro system, but I’d like something beyond the entry-level offerings.
After reading some pieces emphasizing the importance of sensor size/pixel density over the “race for simply more megapixels,” I did a fair amount of research into specs, reviews, etc. for various models and narrowed my choices down to the Nikon D70 (older camera with only 6MP but very low pixel density) or D90, Canon 450D/xsi, and the Pentax K10D or 20D. After comparing some sample images (e.g. the ‘comparometer’ at Imaging-Resource), it seemed the 20D really stood out (10D samples weren’t available). I was also impressed by the nearly-unanimous very positive user reviews for both the 10D and 20D compared to the other models.
So I have 2 basic questions I’d appreciate some input on:
1. Is the 10D or 20D a better overall choice for my photographic needs?
2. What are your lens recommendations for either the 10D or 20D (particularly a wide-angle for landscapes and a decent macro, either Pentax or 3rd party), including whether it makes sense to spend the extra $75 for the kit lens rather than just the body (it would seem to for only $75)
In favor of the 10D I’ve noted the following:
• Roughly $175 less expensive (more $$$ for glass!)
• Lower pixel density (2.7 compared to 4.0 for 20D)
• One reviewer was of the opinion that in his experience, the 10D was better for landscape/macro since he felt the CMOS sensor/greater pixel density of the 20D created slightly more noise than the 10D
• Higher DxOMark Sensor rating from DxO labs (66.9 compared to 65.4 for 20D)
• Greater dynamic range, tonal range and SNR (DxO labs)
• Slightly higher Amazon user average rating
• Slightly higher DPReview average overall user rating
• Higher PhotographyReview.com average user rating
In favor of the 20D I’ve noted:
• Greater ISO range (100-6400 compared to 100-1600 for the 10D)
• Greater Color Depth (DxO labs)
• Greater low-light ISO figure (DxO labs)
• Slightly higher Smartratings composite score
• Higher DPReview rating (8.5 compared to 7.5 “Just” Highly Recommended)
• Slightly higher DPReview average image quality user rating
• Higher Cameralabs image quality rating and overall score/ranking
• Higher DigitalCameraHQ Editor and user ratings
I think ultimately either the 10D or 20D would be a great camera for me. But since I can make the choice I’d like to get some input from the Pentax community.
Thanks in advance for your time and help!