Hello!

In the first place I'll like to be excused for my english cause is not so great!
In the second place I'll like to get some advices about what camera should I get.

I'll make photos with my family, nature fotos, macros. I like photos made by night, high ISO and log exposure.

I know about Nikon that its very good at high ISO and that has a good lens included in the kit (18-55mm).
I don't know so much about Pentax K100D. I don't know about its capabilities at high ISO, I don't know about the kit lens 18-55mm and I heard that the Pentax jpegs are a bit soft.

I like Pentax's viewfinder becouse I can use it with mi glasses on. The viewfinder of Nikon is very small.

I like better the Pentax but I'm not 100% decided.

Having looked seriously at these 2 cams for a few weeks, I've decided to buy a K100D, but to answer your questions just based on loads of images seen from both, I would tend to say in general that...........

D50 tends to overexpose, K100D tends to underexpose, only a little in both cases but may tend to give the D50 an advantage with noise and the K100D an advantage in not blowing highlights. I don't think Pentax use ANY default internal noise reduction at 1600iso, which means it responds wonderfully to programs like Neat Image, Noiseware because it hasn't been smeared etc. by the camera. Not so sure about Nikon and whether they use internal noise reduction by default, probably not.

Colour accuracy may be slightly better with the D50, but the K100D is fine (tends to be warmer). Easily tweaked in post edit.

JPG quality (lack of artefacts) I would definitely give to the K100D. It's resolution in the real world (lines per inch) is in the same league as 8MP cameras. The D50 is still fine though, it's not a big difference.

Kit lens is good, some vignetting though at 18mm. A huge improvement over the Canon, but similar to the Nikon. The best built one is the Pentax.

Of course, the K100D has SR and the D50 hasn't. Far more low light photo opportunities for the K100D.

There's more choice and availabilty with Nikon and 3rd party lenses for the D50, but there's some really good ones for the K100D plus all the old manual ones second hand, all getting SR for free (sort of).

I also have spent a great deal of time researching these two cameras (as well as many others) and I have decided that my next purchase will be the Pentax K100D. The D50 and K100D seem very similar in many respects, but the image stabilization and the ability to use standard AA batteries in a pinch won me over to the Pentax.

I believe that the K100 and the D50 both use the same sensor (6MP Sony). However the K100 offers shake reduction, and I believe it also has depth-of-field preview. I don't think these features exist on the D50.

Considering that the K100D is a new model, and the D50 is somewhat old, i'd go for the K100D.

Actually, I was just in the `big city` this weekend, and got to play with these cameras a bit at the store. One things that I noticed was that the K100D was substantially heavier than the D50 (it needs 4 AA　batts) -- maybe not important for you, but I like hiking and travelling and the weight does take a toll.

After having played with the cams, I am now considering a Cannon for its light-weight and size.

- Bpp

Some input,

I own an *ist DL

High ISO for these cameras (pentax) are considered to be great. When I first got it, I shot all day in iso 3200... i forgot i had set it there. the pictures looked grainy but very clean. and usable!

DOF preview is very nice to have. I can't believe the d50 doesn't have it. Also the DL has mirror lockup, which helps to get good pictures, another feature the d50 does not have.

Now the k100 has everything the DL has and more. I say go for it.

The thing I REALLY REALLY hated about the d50 was the menu system. It was just terrible.

That and the Li-Ion battery.

The DL/K100 takes standard AA, and I can go weeks with a set of nimh rechargeables.

Ballpointpenner wrote

... and its atrocious viewfinder too?

What about K100D white balance problems in tungsten light?

I think it all comes down to pricing. The two cameras are very similar to eachother in terms of image quality. The Pentax has the main advantage of vibration reduction in-camera that works with any lens you put on. On the other hand, as a Nikon user, I can tell you right away that the D50 is a solid and confortable camera that delivers the goods anytime. I would not bet my money on the kit lens. The 18-55mm lenses are mediocre at best. With time, you'll feel the need to replace that lens for sure.

Thank you all for yours answers!
After passing through yours answers I think I found the winner. Pentax!:G

I asked that question in three forums and in all three the Pentax was the winner.:G

So what should I do?
Get a Pantax K100D as soon as possible! Of course!

Thank you very much!:|