Pentax K2000 Review

BY: JerryJ, DigitalCameraReview.com Editor
PUBLISHED: 1/17/2009

The Pentax K2000 might just be the ideal digital SLR for 2009. If you're looking for a small, affordable, full-featured camera that is capable of producing fantastic images, then the K2000 seems like a good choice. Although other Pentax cameras like the K20D and K200D proved to be exceptional digital cameras, most shutterbugs consider those cameras to be too big and heavy for travel. Not so with the pint-sized K2000. Is this camera the perfect travel companion for vacationing photographers? Let's take a closer look and find out.

Pentax has been missing something from their DSLR lineup since the introduction of the K20D and the K200D at the beginning of 2008. That "something" was a small and light entry-level DSLR. The K200D, while affordable, was too large and heavy to compete side-by-side with cameras like the Canon Rebel XS and Olympus E-420. The new K2000 not only proves to be smaller and lighter than the K200D, it even manages to offer a few new features...like ISO 3200 and faster continuous shooting than its larger sibling.

FEATURES OVERVIEW
For those who just want to read the basics about this camera, the K2000 is a 10.2 megapixel DSLR using sensor technology borrowed from the company's previous-generation advanced cameras. Packaged as a kit with Pentax's redesigned 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 DA L lens and AF-200FG external flash, the K2000 – with its AA power and SD memory – is aimed at entry-level shooters looking for compact, easy-to-use, low-priced interchangeable-lens camera. Custom color modes, a multi-point AF system, in-body image stabilization and dust removal, and impressive battery life numbers summarize the main reasons the K2000 might end up on your shopping list. As for the shooting modes:

Auto Picture Mode
The K2000 features an Auto Picture (a.k.a. "AUTO PICT") mode that Pentax describes as "...an automatic point-and-shoot mode in which the majority of settings are controlled by the camera in response to shooting conditions." The camera will let you choose from a couple of flash options, image size and quality, ISO/sensitivity, and AF/MF modes if you desire, but the camera handles the rest of the settings. If you're content to go with default settings, the K2000 can come out of the box and the inexperienced shutterbug need never worry about anything other than composing and capturing images.

Auto Picture mode does a pretty good job across a range of subjects, but the entire point of a DSLR is that it is NOT a point-and-shoot camera. DSLRs are for photographer who wants to take control over their images.

Picture and Scene Modes
In addition to Auto Picture mode, the K2000 provides six programmed picture modes for specific scenes: portrait, landscape, macro, action, night scene portrait, and flash off. The camera optimizes settings for the various scenes, and just like the full auto mode, the user has the ability to set some image parameters depending on the scene selected. The K2000 also offers eight additional scene modes: night scene, surf and snow, text, sunset, kids, pet, candlelight, and museum.

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