once again: Nikon D40 or Pentax K100D

With Pentax, there is DA50-200/4-5.6ED. Since K100D has SR, all lenses will benefit from it (including all M42/K mount manual focus lenses with metering in M mode). With D40, only a handful of lenses have VR. The biggest pros about D40 are faster and quieter AF and 7 RAW buffer (K100D has 3 RAW buffer only). K100D has 0.85X viewfinder while D40 is 0.8X (not a huge difference however). With Pentax, you also need to purchase some Sanyo Eneloop NiMH AA and a smart charger (Sanyo/Panasonic/Sony 100-240V chargers are ok and plentiful in Japan). You may also add the O-ME53 1.18X magnifier boost the viewfinder to 1X magnification (Nikon has a similar magnifier too).
--
Alan Chan
http://www.pbase.com/wlachan

i was in Japan last month and i saw an abundance of Pentax and Sigma/Tokina/Tamron lenses for the systems everywhere, so not sure why u said its hard to find. Bic Camera, Yodobashi, and other stores all stock them.

be grateful u dont live in australia!

kuuan wrote:

JM Tran wrote:

i was in Japan last month and i saw an abundance of Pentax and
Sigma/Tokina/Tamron lenses for the systems everywhere, so not sure
why u said its hard to find. Bic Camera, Yodobashi, and other
stores all stock them.

be grateful u dont live in australia!

the lack of choice was of Pentax lenses,
thus my question WHICH other branded lenses can be used with the
Pentax.
If Sigma, Tamron, Tokina lenses, is there any specification I must
pay attention to to make sure they will work with the camera's
autofocus?

( I am from Austria, a place which I guess is even more expensive
to buy cameras than Australia, this is why I want to take advantage
of my stay in Japan )

regarding 3rd party lenses to use on Pentax DSLRs, its fine:) the film lenses will autofocus and meter fine on the systems. Just make sure it is the right mount for Pentax when u buy it, it should say on the box.

kuuan wrote:

Alan, you seem to know both cameras very well.
Which one would you recommend to me, a beginner?

That will depends on how important AF tracking is to you. If you are going to shoot some sports or moving subjects often, Nikon with AF-S lenses is the way to go. But by that I mean shoot tight and fast, not some sport snaps with loose composition (which any camera can do). For casual use, travel or anything else that don't need fast AF tracking, K100D is perfectly fine, and maybe even considered better than D40 because you can use pretty much any lens mounted on it with metering & SR. There are endless supply of M42/K mount lenses on used market and many are dirt cheap. But unlike D40, battery & charger are not included with K100D. That will mean extra (and I recommend Sanyo Enloop). You can squeeze a little more AF speed with lithium cells like CR-V3, or rechargable RCR-V3 (not offically recommended however) too.
--
Alan Chan
http://www.pbase.com/wlachan

While I have limited experience in Japan, don't be afraid to bargain. Last time I tried when the FA77/1.8 first hit the street in Japan in 99, I managed to slay 10k yen off the street price. You may be surprised too!!
--
Alan Chan
http://www.pbase.com/wlachan

for cheapp portability, get Pentax K100D with the kit, but as a second lens buy the old 50mm M f1.7 prime for $20 and you have an almost P&S size camera which takes excellent pictures, with the downside of manual AF and metering with the green button (one extra click), but hey for 20$ extra, quality and portability, it might be worth it.

common sense is anything but common

Its just that at that time the price and availability in my country wasn't favorable for getting a Pentax. The local Pentax dealer was quoting me 2-3 months waiting time to get a lens that's currently not in stock. And the K100D kit was $230 more expensive than the D40 kit.

Anyway, after 2 months of use I'm happy with the D40. Whatever limited feature set it has is very well executed -- Jpeg colors are outstanding, AF and shooting speed is fast, playback response is quick, battery lasts forever, flash exposure with an external speedlight is accurate. The kit lens has very high center resolution from 18-35mm as seen in Photozone.

But I like primes and Nikon has been very slow to update their primes to AF-S. There is not even a lens roadmap. I tell you I had such a bad case of Pentax LBA from lurking this forum that I almost bought a 43mm Limited even though I don't have a Pentax body to use it with. It's on 30% discount with 0% interest for 12 months, and I thought about buying it in case I get tired of waiting for Nikon.

kuuan wrote:

If Sigma, Tamron, Tokina lenses, is there any specification I must
pay attention to to make sure they will work with the camera's
autofocus?

provided it is to fit pentax KAF mount you should be fine.

Japan is the Utopia for picking up Pentax glass. The possibilities are numerous and far exceeds what it is possible to use fully functional with the D40.

Here 42 pages with Pentax equipment :

http://www.mapcamera.com/sho/search.php?MODE=&ACT=&keyword=pentax&sort=date&order=down&limit=25&Image50111111.x=0&Image50111111.y=0

additional here :
http://kakaku.com/ksearch/search.asp?Query=pentax

The Akihabara district has it all :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara

Yodobashi cameras should also be quite acknowledged

You could also drop by this place :
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1036&thread=21745942

Possibly the success of the new K-DSLRs have eaten off the stock of Pentax glass. But it should definitely be possibly to get what you’re looking for.

Here is a site with some of the different lenses to choose from in the Pentax mount :
http://kmp.bdimitrov.de/

Your K100 will work with 24 million existing Pentax lenses out there. Some can be bought fairly cheap used on Ebay.

Sigma, Tamron and Tokina also have lenses made for the Pentax mount. It will say on the package. Buying an AF third party lens for Pentax, will mean that AF works on the K100.

All K mount lenses will fit the K100. And older screwmounts can also be used with an adapter.
All film lenses for Pentax will also work on the K100.

If you’re gonna use the camera for travelling, you can also consider the Pancake lenses. The 40 mm limited only weights 90 grams. This makes for a very light package with the K100.

I don’t think you will save that much going for the Nikon, since most comparable lenses are more expensive.

The problem with the D40 is also that it is not possibly to pick up some fast primes, or use some of the manual focus lenses. Like the equivalent of the Pentax lenses F 50/1.7, FA 50/1.4, FA 35/2.

Here are other threads regarding the D40 :
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1036&thread=22505197

regarding lenses for the D40
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=22535949

The D40 is not a bad camera, but several would say, anything but that one.

kuuan wrote:

The higher prize and smaller choice of lenses for the Nikon made me
lean towards the Pentax, but here in Japan the Nikon cost me 80 USD
less than the Pentax, both of body alone or a kit with a 18-55mm
lens.

The Nikon D40 is critized for limited choice of lenses due to the
missing autofocus motor, but looking online here in Japan the
choices of Pentax lenses seem to be even be less, and Nikon does
offer a reasonably prized 55-200mm lens with motor and antishake
for abt. 290 USD.

Are you kidding?

my question therefore:
which lenses can be used with the Pentax?

Any Pentax AF lens or 3rd party lens in Pentax AF mount can be used. Also any manual focus KA or K mount lens can be used.

Which would be a good, recommendable but not expensive 55mm - tele
( min. 200 ) lens? Would it be much less than 290 USD?

Any other reasons why I should prefer the Pentax?

The Pentax will make you look like a real photograher instead of some well heeled tyro who is attracted to the Nikon name. LOL.

I have shot the k100D and D40. The k100D does have faster AF. The lack of lens support on the D40 would be a great turn off for me. The K100D has the AS which is a big plus. The K100D is a little heavier, since it uses AA rechargeable batteries.

There will be more third party lenses for the Pentax, since the lenses do not require an internal focus motor for AF.