SpartanWarrior
Senior Member
I think they are very fair with Pentax also, they give them very good reviews.
http://www.pbase.com/spartanwarrior
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My impression of the 550D's review... and ratings...
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SpartanWarrior
Senior Member
Lol it does not trash it, look down where it says Low Light ISO 550D 807, kX 811
they are close.
http://www.pbase.com/spartanwarrior
they are close.
--Funny - I go to the DXO website and the the K-x trashes the 550DKx gets 811 and 550D 807 low-light ISO score. that is about equal.
550D has far better video, AF, LCD is way waaaaay better than KX, more resolution, but you still think rating system isn't fair because Kx got beat by a better camera?
And 18 MP does make a difference.
The score is 71.9 to 65.6 in K-x's favour.
I dont know about you - most of my better photos are taken with good light
http://www.pbase.com/spartanwarrior
SpartanWarrior
Senior Member
foivosloxias
Active member
My friends are amazed by my photos with the K-x but are convinced that spending more on a Canon or Nikon will get them a better camera.
If my budget was up to $1.000+ I would be very impressed with the review of the 550D. I would prefer the option of a battery grip, and the 1Mp LCD screen.
But since my budget was way less I made the smart choice of getting the best camera for my money.
I have to say that I was a bit surprised that the extra 6Mp on the 550D did not produce 50% better IQ than the K-x.
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If my budget was up to $1.000+ I would be very impressed with the review of the 550D. I would prefer the option of a battery grip, and the 1Mp LCD screen.
But since my budget was way less I made the smart choice of getting the best camera for my money.
I have to say that I was a bit surprised that the extra 6Mp on the 550D did not produce 50% better IQ than the K-x.
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Gary Martin
Veteran Member
The K-x kit was $599 when brand new, and is typically under $500 now. The 550D will never be less than $800. That's a pretty huge price difference.
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From the top of page of the 550 review, page 22, boldface is mine.
"The Pentax K-x is one of the standout performers in its class, and offers excellent image quality over a wide range of ISO settings. It can't quite match the EOS 550D in terms of resolution though - you can see for yourself the differences between these two cameras on this page."
Wow, seems like the K-X is going to be schooled proper here
But from the bottom of that same page we have this, again bold face is mine
"Although it might sound like a rather obvious point, the main difference between default JPEG output from the EOS 550D and Pentax K-x is that the 550D's files are larger. There is very little difference in actual detail resolution, although the slightly more aggressive sharpening being applied by the 550D makes detail a little more obvious. Closer examination reveals that the K-x can resolve almost as much of the finest detail in this scene, but it is slightly masked by the fractionally softer default output."
But from the conclusion we get this declaration
As you can see from the shooting that we've done for this test, the EOS 550D sets new standards for resolution in its class.
Perhaps so, but it sounds more like a distinction than a difference. I'm sure the 550 is as fine a camera as they say. I'm not knocking it. The K-X has had a bit of a run and now it's time for Canikon to assume their rightful place atop the pecking order. All should go buy the 550 and remember to budget a bit extra for better glass.
"The Pentax K-x is one of the standout performers in its class, and offers excellent image quality over a wide range of ISO settings. It can't quite match the EOS 550D in terms of resolution though - you can see for yourself the differences between these two cameras on this page."
Wow, seems like the K-X is going to be schooled proper here
But from the bottom of that same page we have this, again bold face is mine
"Although it might sound like a rather obvious point, the main difference between default JPEG output from the EOS 550D and Pentax K-x is that the 550D's files are larger. There is very little difference in actual detail resolution, although the slightly more aggressive sharpening being applied by the 550D makes detail a little more obvious. Closer examination reveals that the K-x can resolve almost as much of the finest detail in this scene, but it is slightly masked by the fractionally softer default output."
But from the conclusion we get this declaration
As you can see from the shooting that we've done for this test, the EOS 550D sets new standards for resolution in its class.
Perhaps so, but it sounds more like a distinction than a difference. I'm sure the 550 is as fine a camera as they say. I'm not knocking it. The K-X has had a bit of a run and now it's time for Canikon to assume their rightful place atop the pecking order. All should go buy the 550 and remember to budget a bit extra for better glass.
Britney Elvis
Veteran Member
I have the Kx and I like it a lot, dang near love it... It is my family cam now as the K20d sits on the shelf. I will say here, I have never tried the new Canon...
But does every one of the new 550Ds require a firmware update right out of the box to fix a power issue with the batteries? Oh by the way, it is risky to do a battery related firmware update without an AC adapter.
Are some of the 550D owners and reviewers complaining about a blurring/ghosting at some very normal shutter speeds?
I am sure the Canon may have some issues... but I know the Kx does.
So in my opinion, there is no way the Kx should have got Gold... in fact I believe with the obvious known problems of the Kx, that the reviewers went out of their way to be nice.
But they both look really good on Paper...
Actually, I am not a trained Social Scientist so I will not really address the Pentax Persecution Phenomenon... But boy howdy, it does exist.
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'Nothing is worse than active ignorance'
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
But does every one of the new 550Ds require a firmware update right out of the box to fix a power issue with the batteries? Oh by the way, it is risky to do a battery related firmware update without an AC adapter.
Are some of the 550D owners and reviewers complaining about a blurring/ghosting at some very normal shutter speeds?
I am sure the Canon may have some issues... but I know the Kx does.
So in my opinion, there is no way the Kx should have got Gold... in fact I believe with the obvious known problems of the Kx, that the reviewers went out of their way to be nice.
But they both look really good on Paper...
Actually, I am not a trained Social Scientist so I will not really address the Pentax Persecution Phenomenon... But boy howdy, it does exist.
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'Nothing is worse than active ignorance'
dxomark doesn't consider resolution in giving overall score. If they did, 550D would utterly crush Kx.
550D has 6 million more pixels, but despite that, the low light score is same as Kx on dxomark.
Kx kit was $649 when it was brand new.
Also, in Europe Kx is more expensive than say D5000.
geezer52 wrote:
The K-X has had a bit of a run and now it's time for Canikon to assume their rightful place atop the pecking order.
D5000, D3000, the older 500D all were top selling cameras in 2009. I don't think Canikon ever lost the top pecking order.
The K-X has had a bit of a run and now it's time for Canikon to assume their rightful place atop the pecking order.
D5000, D3000, the older 500D all were top selling cameras in 2009. I don't think Canikon ever lost the top pecking order.
I know. It's always unfair to the newer camera. People said the same thing about the K-7 when it came out, and for a while the K-x too. I just think it's funny when the roles are reversed, so I had to put that out.
When the next Pentax comes out it will have its turn at being the expensive overpriced camera. It just doesn't work out very well in the reviews because Pentax doesn't usually set out to out-specify everybody when they release a new product.
Martin Schou
Well-known member
That brings up a question I've been wondering about. What defines the 'level' a camera is at? Obviously we can differentiate between APS-C and FF sensors.
If it's just price, then the 550D and K-x aren't in the same class. The K-x kit is US$514 on Amazon. The 550D kit is US$969. The Nikon D5000 kit is US$645. It makes a lot more sense to compare it to the EOS500, even though that one is US$750. All prices takes after the camera has been added to the shopping basket.
In other words, none of the cameras its compared to belong in the same price bracket. And since the EOS500D won't leave the market, you can't just claim that it's targeting the same section of the market. 1,000 dollars does not an entry level camera make.
The Pentax K7 kit is US$996 on Amazon. That's a lot more realistic when it comes to comparable prices. And then you could pitch it against the Nikon D90 with the 18-105 kit lens (US$ 1,022) instead of the model that costs 65% of the 550D. And throw in the 7D kit as well. That's US$1,774 but since that's Canon's own top of the line APS-C camera, it uses the same sensor, and it has a longer range on the lens, it's not a bad idea to put it in there.
But if it's not the price that classifies the class/level (obviously it isn't as I've just shown), then what is it?
Penta-prism vs penta-mirror? Sort of makes sense, but since the K7 and D90 both have prisms vs the mirror in the 550 at the same price that's a silly way to define the class.
Ergonomics/number of wheels? The 550 has 1, as does the Kx, D5000 and 500D. But again, you can get a camera with two for the same price as the550.
Actually DPReview does give sort of an answer. From the D5000 review:
But then I'm back to my original point. Why would I buy "an upper-entry-level DSLR", when I can buy an enthusiast grade one for pretty much the same amount of money?
But while I can speculate all I want, I'm really just curious about where the lines between classes/levels are drawn. It's not even that the K-x is chosen because the 550D is the cheapest Canon DSLR kit on the market. That honour goes to the 1000D at US$493. Nor is the D5000 the cheapest Nikon kit on the market - that'd be the D3000 at US$456.
But what do I know?
eruditass
Senior Member
I was real excited to see the new rating systems, but
I was wondering about that too
RogerMexico
Leading Member
Most of the stuff that is discussed here ( that is techno-babble ad nauseum) means little or nothing to the person who is looking at low end DSLRs. What does matter is the ability to actually handle these cameras in a store. Obviously, Hoya either doesn't get that, or doesn't care. It is content with its current share of the market and sees no need to change. Canon's approach to the market is vastly different. Why? Because they are competing with Nikon. Pentax is not even on their radar screen.
Have you looked at the RAWs from IR? The difference is even bigger.
zxaar
Senior Member
what do you mean by that, do they cut out the sensor to remove its resolution in their tests or they punish sensors with higher resolution after tests are done.
dxomark present their test results based on sensor presented to them. It will show in the end if sensor was bad or good.
Plus why do you think d3x and a900 rank higher if resolution in dxomark tests is not considered.
So in other words 6 million extra pixels do not really help and make it better sensor. Plus you pay around 500 extra dollars for those not helpful pixels.
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::> I could not learn to spell 'cos God always ate my homework.
What are you worried about? This is not about social gossip about who got what award or didn't. This is about IQ.
For a long time I have been looking at the crops of compared results in reviews on this site and the text paragraphs describing them does not match what I see. This makes them unreliable to me.
So don't worry about it. What counts is what you purchase and what you are pleased with.
M4/3, K-x and D5000 are good choices according to reviews which compare graphs of camera sensor ability. The K-x focus locks very fast.
I will now only use my T1i for very low light. I don't need a T2i.
M4/3 is better for general use.
Torch
For a long time I have been looking at the crops of compared results in reviews on this site and the text paragraphs describing them does not match what I see. This makes them unreliable to me.
So don't worry about it. What counts is what you purchase and what you are pleased with.
M4/3, K-x and D5000 are good choices according to reviews which compare graphs of camera sensor ability. The K-x focus locks very fast.
I will now only use my T1i for very low light. I don't need a T2i.
M4/3 is better for general use.
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Torch
Some consumers want the latest model while some won't mind an older design like the D90. But the price will always set the boundary. I'm sure I'm not alone in this but "value" is my favorite feature. If there was a class for value the K-x would be the flagship.
Pentax doesn't have the resources to produce 4 APS-C bodies simultaneously so they have to position their 2 models very carefully. I think they have done a wonderful job in terms of pricing and design. The K-x can compete in specs, features and build vs. the D5000 and 500D but the price and size is still close to the D3000 and 1000D.
It does highlight the problem of being a small player; I don't think Pentax is making as much profit per unit as the big brands because they have to give more and charge less. At the same time, they can't just produce a camera that beats everybody on paper, because then they can't price it competitively. That's where their cameras will be in the ratings: always near the top but not quite on top.
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