Frustrated

<p>I have my Pentax film camera K-1000 SE but I can't use it anymore because of vision problems. I loved taking pictures with it until my vision got bad. I am keeping for sentimental reasons.<br>

For two years now I have put a digital SLR on my birthday and Mother's Day list and still do not have a DSLR. I love taking pictures of flowers and of items I crochet to donate to the NICU for premature babies...I need a good camera that will take sharp pictures and sometimes in low light conditions...I also want to take some nice shots of my grandchildren when I visit them every year with nice bokeh..Right now I am using my IPod 4th generation and a Sony DSC-W180 point and shoot which takes horrible pictures in low light conditions, they are always blurry. There are so many camera's out there and everyone has good and bad reviews so it is hard to decide what is the best. <br>

Is the X-5 worth buying or should I wait until a good deal comes around on a DSLR? I'm thinking I am not getting the DSLR as a gift because of the expense but I feel like I am worth it. So therefore the frustration? <br>

I really would like to stay with Pentax camera's..</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for letting me vent...</p>

<p>Good evening!!</p>

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<p>Gina, I can't comment on any specific Pentax model because I'm not familiar enough with them. But I would enthusiastically recommend getting something with image stabilization, either in the body or the lens. Makes a huge difference for me in minimizing camera motion blur, so I don't need to drag out the tripod as often for available light photos indoors or out.</p>

<p>I've used a Sony DCS-W100, nice that it has a finder, competent in daylight, hopeless with flash, hopeless in low light.<br>

The Pentax X-5 is another tiny-sensor point and shoot. Not going to be great in low-light. You really want a 4/3 or APS-C sized sensor to get good low-light performance.<br>

Given your nostalgic attachment to Pentax, consider a new K-500 with 18-55 kit zoom lens for $399 at www.bhphotovideo.com. Autofocus compensates for eye problems. Also, it has adjustable diopter in the viewfinder, so if your eye problem is presbyopia, you can adjust for that.</p>

<p>Thank you Lex and John for your responses and I am going to look into the K-500. It looks like a nice camera from the photos. Can I use my bayonet mount lens on the K-500?</p>

<p>Gina--any Pentax bayonet mount lens will work on their DSLRs, but focusing will still be manual and metering can be a bit of a challenge depending on which mount it is. The initial K and M series can be metered with a button that will stop down the lens to take a reading. This isn't always that accurate in my experience. A series lenses (there will be a capital A past f/22 and a lock button) for later Pentax film models with more auto exposure modes meter at full aperture and with good accuracy. Even with manual focus, however, you can set the camera to beep when it is in focus, which you might find helpful. The in camera stabilization will also work with older lenses, but you will have to set the camera to the focal length you are using, which you will be prompted to do when you turn the camera on. Good luck!</p>

<p>Remember that all Pentax DLSR's have APS-C sensors, so the field of view of your existing K-mount lenses will be narrower, giving an effective focal length 1.5 times the original. So your 50mm lens becomes an effective 75mm lens.<br>

The focusing screens on most DSLRs are optimized to be bright with slow zooms, and are really pretty awful for manual focus. So unless you use the focus indication of the camera, focus will be hit-or-miss, even with proper diopter adjustment and good eyes.</p>

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<p>I need a good camera that will take sharp pictures and sometimes in low light conditions...</p>

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<p>All interchangeable lens cameras today are capable of what you need as long as you get a capable lens to accompany them. And you don't really need a DSLR - there are many options just as capable today.</p>

<p>How bad is your vision? Do you need to rely on autofocus? Can you use a viewfinder with diopter adjustment? What is your budget?</p>

<p>One option that can work well and is inexpensive is the Olympus E-PM2 package with the kit lens that is going for $299 - you can find it at all major sellers. The E-PM2 is a very capable camera and I found the kit lens to be better than the Pentax one. You can also adapt easily Pentax lenses to this camera if you really need to - you just need an adapter that can be found for under $10-20 on ebay. If you have a larger budget, you can look at other camera/lens combinations, but this one would be very hard to beat.</p>

<p>I wouldn't expect much from the X-5 it just adds a huge zoom range to P&S sensor size and AF performance. For the same money you can get a used K10D with kit lens. - K20D or anything later might be more desirable for high ISO performance or pixel count.<br>

My own vision isn't perfect. I only pass the car /motorcycle test, not the one for heavy trucks. For me it is rather challenging to manually focus on Pentax DSLR screens. They weren't really made for that, rather optimized to provide an as bright as possible view behind slow zooms. Using the AF for assistance can work sometimes, but is comparably slow.</p>

<p>I would avoid the X-5. Both specs-wise, plus I handled it in a store -- disappointing.</p>

<p>Not sure exactly what the difficulty is with your eyesight vs. K1000; do you just need autofocus, or would it be better to compose with the rear LCD screen instead of an eye-level optical viewfinder?</p>

<p>If you just feel you need autofocus now but SLR with optical viewfinder still sounds like it would be of interest, a modern DSLR like Pentax K50 or K500 would fit the bill. The two are pretty similar, I believe the K500 loses weather-resistance, active focus point in the viewfinder, and might not come with a rechargeable battery (relies on AA batteries out of the box). Of the three, the 2nd item is most relevant as it helps you know what you're focusing on (though if you always use center-point focusing then it's probably less important).</p>

<p>I'd probably start with the 18-55/3.5-5.6 kit zoom lens and/or DA L 35/2.4 lens (if you're used to a bright, fast 50mm on your K1000).</p>

<p>As an alternative to DSLR with optical viewfinder, if you prefer composing and shooting using the rear LCD screen, you might want to try something else like Micro 4/3. You CAN compose and shoot using 'Live View' with current DSLRs, but they're not optimized for this. If you see yourself shooting this way most of the time, you might be better off with Micro 4/3 from Panasonic or Olympus -- the output will be nearly as good, the camera smaller & lighter, and 'live view' rear display focusing should be better.</p>

<p>I have put on my birthday list for April of this year the K-50 kit from B & H Photo...Keeping my fingers crossed that I get it this year. With my new granddaughter arriving in June I want to have some really good photos of her and my other grandchildren..<br>

If I get this Pentax K-50 DSLR can I use it for scanning some old photographs? I want to go to all my relatives and get copies of all their old photos and make a shutterfly photo book with all our ancestors names. TIA and thanks for all the responses, they are very much appreciated..</p>