PENTAX K200D
YOU MIGHT CALL IT A K10D LITE -- WITH THE SENSOR AND MANY CONTROLS FROM THAT LATE, GREAT 10.2MP CAMERA.
EASE OF USE: While it has many controls in menus, the Pentax manages to be more intuitive than most other cameras in this group. The function button gives you fast access to the most common settings. The main menus have dropped the K10D's endearingly garbled contractions for full descriptions with help screens. It has a big 2.7-inch LCD, a viewfinder with excellent magnification, and a pleasantly chunky handhold. It's also well-sealed against weather. We still wish there were a second command dial, as on the K10D. Rank: 3
CONTROL: The Pentax has excellent in-camera RAW file editing -- you can tweak white balance, image profile, sharpness, saturation, etc. -- and then convert it to a JPEG (while keeping the original RAW). We also like its graphic interface for image profiles. Sensor-based image stabilization works with literally millions of lenses, and if the lens is too old to communicate electronic data, you simply enter the focal length in a menu. The Expanded Dynamic Range function helps bring out shadow and highlight detail in high-contrast scenes. What's not to love? Autofocus -- while the 11-point system can track across the frame, it's the slowest of this group. Rank: 3 (tie)
SYSTEM FLEXIBILITY: A huge installed base of Pentax lenses and a growing stockpile of digital and full-frame lenses makes it a formidable system. Pentax and Sony are currently in an arms race to develop premium optics, and the ones we've tested are superb. May they keep fighting it out. Rank: 3 (tie)
WHAT'S MISSING: Live view. Also, a rechargeable Li-ion battery (it uses four AAs -- boo!).
NICE SURPRISES: Besides a self-cleaning sensor, the K200D has Dust Alert, which maps the location of particles and displays them in mirror image on the LCD monitor -- so you can aim the blower brush accurately during cleaning.
TEST RESULTS
IMAGE QUALITY: Excellent, ISO 100-1600. While a little bit below the Olympus in resolution at 1940 lines, very effective noise reduction produced ratings of Extremely Low and Very Low at ISO 800 and 1600, respectively, with only a minor hit to resolution. Rank: 3 (tie)
IMAGE STABILIZATION: With average handholding gains of 1 to 2.5 stops, it tied with the Olympus at third.
AUTOFOCUS: Speeds on par with the discontinued K10D's -- and the K10D was one of the slower-autofocusing DSLRs to start with. At its low-light limit, EV -1, the K200D sometimes couldn't focus at all.
CIPA BATTERY RATING: 500 shots, 50% with flash, with lithium AA batteries. Size/weight: 5.2x3.7x2.9 in., 1.52 lb, with card and batteries. CARD: SD/SDHC. PRICE: $620, street, body only; $690 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 SMCP-DA Pentax lens. INFO: www.pentaxusa.com.
SONY ALPHA 350
THE MEGAPIXEL LEADER OF THE BUNCH, THE 14.2MP ALPHA 350 HAS THE BEST LIVE VIEW, TOO.
EASE OF USE: The clever live view lets you autofocus and fire without delay. And the 2.7-inch LCD screen tilts up and down for low-angle, waist-level, or over-the-crowd shooting. The dual sensors and split mirrors required to do so, though, make for compromises: The viewfinder is dim and a bit tunnel-visioned, and data can be hard to read, especially for eyeglass wearers. Ergonomics are excellent; the function button brings up frequently used controls quickly; menus require minimal scrolling and they bounce to the next folder when you reach the bottom. But we'd still like a second command dial and a direct control for flash output. Rank: 1
CONTROL: The Sony has the best dynamic-range control of this group with its Dynamic Range Optimizer, which can be set for Simple or Smart and to several levels. There's a range of image profiles, which can be further tweaked. White balance can be adjusted within the presets and set in Kelvin degrees. While a 14.2MP image file makes for a more modest burst rate of 2.5 fps, you can keep firing off standard-quality JPEGs at better than 1 fps until the card fills up. Rank: 1
SYSTEM FLEXIBILITY: Vast. Millions of existing lenses in the Minolta Maxxum mount work on the camera, and Sony is aggressively filling in the line with Sony and Zeiss optics, both digital-only and full-frame. Rank: 3 (tie)
WHAT'S MISSING: RAW-to-JPEG processing in-camera.
NICE SURPRISES: A kit lens that goes to 70mm, equivalent to 105mm in 35mm terms. Live view that turns on with a plain old switch.
TEST RESULTS
IMAGE QUALITY: While it produces Excellent resolution of 2150 lines and Excellent overall IQ at ISO 100-800, results change at higher ISOs. With noise reduction cranked up enough to get a Low rating at ISO 1600, resolution drops to 1730 lines. All three of the 10MP cameras in this test can do better than that. Rank: 5
IMAGE STABILIZATION: The A350's image stabilization is clearly designed for longer optics, where it shows a gain of 2.5 to 3 stops in handholding. But when tested at 55mm (to equate the effective focal lengths of all the cameras), it managed an average of 1 to 2 stops. That ranks it last, but only for the narrow test conditions of this test.
AUTOFOCUS: A hair slower than the Canon in speed, and the 9-zone diamond-pattern sensor array provides dynamic tracking across the frame. Sensitivity limit is -1 EV, whereas the Canon can autofocus in -2 EV murk.
CIPA BATTERY RATING: 730 shots per charge, 50% with flash. Size/weight: 5.25x4x3 in., 1.49 lb, body only, with card and battery. CARD: CF; Memory Stick PRODuo with adapter. PRICE: $800, street, body only; $900 with 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Sony DT lens. INFO: www.sonystyle.com.
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