How to Decide on a Pentax SLR Camera

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Whilst a popular photography brand with many dedicated followers, Pentax's real forte was the age of 35mm film SLR camera and so when digital SLRs began to become popular, it took several years for Pentax to catch up to the market leaders, Nikon and Canon. When they did arrive, however, they arrived in style and since their first digital SLR was introduced to the market in 2003, their popularity has snowballed, to the extent that many traditional Nikon and Canon photographers have converted to a Pentax SLR camera.

To compete with the top two companies and to ensure that they gain as wide of a market reach as possible, there is a Pentax SLR camera available to suit the majority of people's needs, which can make choosing one somewhat of a complicated process.

For the keen amateur photographer who is looking to increase their photography capabilities and move from a compact point and shoot to their first digital SLR, the Pentax K-x is highly recommended. Recently released in October 2009, this Pentax SLR camera is different from other entry level SLRs, for a variety of reasons.

Taking its color as an example, the traditional coloring of a digital SLR is black and this can be seen across the board in the majority of SLRs currently on the market. The Pentax K-x, however, is not only available in black, but white, red and navy, too, with the intention of appealing to greater audience.

Further to this, it comes with a particularly cheap price tag of around $650 including a kit lens and it has also been created to be powered effectively off of standard AA size batteries. This means that no charger is required and a photographer can guarantee that they will never lose power by simply keeping two AA batteries in their camera bag.

To cater for those who are looking for slightly more in their Pentax SLR camera, the K20D should meet the needs of any serious amateur photographer, as well as acting as a good quality second camera for a professional photographer.

Coming in at $1170, the Pentax K20D was put on the market in February 2008 and boasts a considerable 14.6 mega pixels. With particular care being taken to ensure that the K20D can be used competently outdoors, it includes a weather proof body, has dust control features and a fantastic image stabilization feature.

It has to be noted that Pentax have not yet ventured effectively into the full professional photography market, although they do have some high quality top end SLR cameras, such as the recently released K-7.

Costing in excess of $1200, the K-7, like many SLRs that are coming onto the market, has the capability to record High Definition video, up to 30fps and with a resolution of 1526 x 1024.

In addition, the K-7 comes with a weather resistant 18-55mm lens as standard, with the option to upgrade to the 50-200 weather resistant lens if preferred.

It may seem to some that Pentax are not pushing boundaries with their SLR cameras, but more trying to keep up with their larger rivals. However, Pentax are currently producing some high quality SLR cameras and it is predicted by many professional photographers that they will be competing with Nikon and Canon for a place in the top two within the next few years.