Pentax K200D 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens

I absolutely love this camera. It gives me the chance to learn and be creative while also using it as a "point and shoot" camera. The shake reduction that is built into the Pentax K200 is awesome. It's extremely difficult to take a bad shot. :) I've taken over 500 shots with the included Engergizer Lithium batteries and still have a full charge. Now I'm addicted to buying lenses for it. You can't go wrong with this camera. I always aspired to buy a Cannon Rebel, but I can't imagine a camera being any better than this one especially for the price. The feel to the camera is fantastic. I thought I would miss the "live view" that I had with my other "point and shoot" cameras, but I'm adjusting well. As other reviewers have said, the Pentax lenses are much more affordable since you don't have to pay for the shake reduction in the lens. I'm giddy and having a blast taking great blurry free shots!

Having owned a Pentax ME Super SLR for more years than I like to admit, and having had a Minolta digital point and shoot for a few years I decided it was about time I bought a DSLR. I used to shoot slide film all the time, but it is now getting ridiculously expensive to develop and hard to get hold of.
I wanted to use all my old Pentax lenses so the K200d seemed a natural progression. I bought one from Amazon with the 18-55 lens autofocus lens.

I am so pleased with this camera!! I have read some negative comments regarding size etc, but to be honest, I love the solid well engineered feel of it and since I bought it I have looked at a Canon and a Nikon and thought the build quality was inferior.

If you want a DSLR It would be hard to be disappointed with the K200D. I have tried my old standard 50mm 1.7 lens and a Tamron zoom with Carl Zeiss lens and got terrific pictures immediately and being an ME Super user I didn't even miss the autofocus

The built in flash is good enough for short range stuff and I have taken some good flash fill daylight shots with it, but I will now be buying a Pentax flash and I expect I will be happy with this camera for many years

I love it...get one.

I have been a loyal Pentax customer for the better part of 25 years. My first was a fully manual K1000 from 1981. ( Which by the way is still a great film camera ) I used that camera to fill in the gap in-between great imaging, and quick imaging in which I use a "point and shoot" digital camera for my digital needs.
I have read reviews, and magazine ads waiting for a decent DSLR that can fill my all in one needs, and not fret about having hundreds of dollars of unused lenses, and filters in a case.
Well here it is! Though not really addressed in their ads at any length, The Pentax DSLR will indeed fit and use all their legasy K lenses!
NICE... all my zooms, wide angle, macro's and filters will be useful again in the 21st century. To my knowledge Canon, Olympus, Sony, etc have missed the consumer boat in engineering their cameras to use the lenses current customers already have in their posession. To be sure, the new lenses will allow for automatic metering, and focus. But for someone who already is comfortable in making my own exposures, and focusing, I can use my stock of lenses that were already invested in.
Thank you Pentax!
Oh and yes...ps... this camera does indeed make great images! Have no fear.

Have been experimenting with the camera since getting it back in early June. I did LOTS of research, wanting to get the most for my $$ in the "prosumer" range. Sure, it would be great to spend mucho $$ on a Nikon D300 but I have to put gas in the car too.
I would say that the positive reviews others have posted are accurate. The camera quality is excellent - its hard to put into words what it feels like, but it does feel more solid and well put together than others. The kit lens is surprisingly good as well. Very sharp and quick. I looked at others in this price range and while the Sony A300 had a cool LiveView feature, it felt "plasticky" and the reviews for the kit lens were usually horrible. After going to a Circuit City and playing with the Sony for awhile, I had doubts as to its potential longevity. The Canon's, Nikon's and Olympus' in this genre all cost more and were missing one or more key features.
Definitely put this camera/lens combo on your short list. Great build quality, nice lens for a great package price, plenty of accessories, compatibility with a ton of older lenses, wireless flash sync, shake reduction in body, weather resistant. Done! Now I'm thinking about a nice complimentary lens to go with the kit. 55-300 is looking nice...

I own a Pentax 35mm SLR and I invested in some great lenses for that camera. I wanted to move to a digital SLR and salvage my investment in K mount lenses.
I researched Pentax cameras that would give me this option, and chose the Pentax K200D.
I have found that the K200D is everything I wanted in a digital SLR. I would recommend it to anyone entering the digital SLR world.