Choosing Your First Digital SLR Camera – Pentax K-x Or Canon T1i?

When you know you want to be more creative and professional than a “point and shoot” camera will permit, you know you’re ready to move on to choosing your first digital SLR camera.In the past, these beauties were the domain of the serious professional photographer or those with a very generous budget. The last few years has brought a number of excellent entry level digital cameras on to the market at very reasonable prices. However they are still a serious bit of kit and you do need to give some thought to where you invest your money.So the question now is which camera do I choose?A brief look through the best sellers on Amazon, or the reviews on Consumer Reviews or Which websites will soon highlight the most popular cameras in the digital SLR category and there are some seriously high specification contenders here.It might be that you have a loyalty to a particular brand or manufacturer – the early leaders in digital SLRs were Nikon or Canon. While there are many newer manufacturers entering the field it’s also great to see that Pentax is bringing over it’s established expertise from traditional SLRs and it’s quality lenses to the digital market place.A recent offering, the Pentax K-x has stormed onto the scene with a battery of advanced features.

Right up front you can see that with 12.4 effective megapixels the Pentax K-x is more than capable of capturing a tremendous amount of detail in each shot.This isn’t quite as many as the 15.1 megapixels of the Canon EOS Rebel T1i so if size matters to you, the Canon has the edge but the a newly designed high performance CMOS image sensor in the Pentax K-x and an upgraded filter function combine to produce exceptional picture qualities – either camera will do a perfectly good job in the majority of circumstances.Both Pentax and Canon cameras also have great low light performance due to the expanded ISO functions adjustable up to ISO 12800 via a custom setting. This gives much greater scope for creativity and mood in lower light settings – but remember to make use of a tripod when you’re taking advantage of this function or camera shake will ruin your images.Both cameras have a wide range of auto shot modes making them flexible and very user-friendly for the beginner photographer and both will shoot HD video.The camera viewfinder will display many types of information including AF information. The Canon T1i monitors 9 separate AF points. In comparison the Pentax K-x monitors 11 separate AF points and it is possible to manually select one of these to create or enhance special effects in your image.Again, while the Pentax has slightly more sophisticated features here, the truth is that either camera will take a perfectly good picture with a sharp focus.Another feature shared by both cameras is the requirement for standard AA-type batteries.This choice probably reduces the cost of the camera and increases the weight slightly. However the greatest advantage of this is that AA batteries are available just about anywhere so there’s little chance that your battery will run out and be difficult to replace or recharge, just pop along to the nearest corner store, shack or gas station to buy new stock.The use of energy efficient circuits allows Pentax to claim exceptionally long life for their batteries with capability to shoot up to 1900 images.When choosing your first digital SLR you do need to think about the type of photography that inspires you. Both models being reviewed here give you great flexibility, a host of full features and great low light sensitivity.Both cameras have the option for image stabilisation but achieve this in different ways. Pentax has a Shake Reduction mechanism built into the camera body so it’s available for all lenses fitted onto the camera. Canon has opted for a different strategy having the Canon Optical Image Stabilizer technology integrated into selected lenses which are often supplied as part of the camera purchase kit.

So the bottom line is that both of these cameras are great, entry level dSLRs that would suit any beginner and grow with you as you develop your photography skills.One area where the Pentax has the edge is in the K-x’s high-speed continuous shooting mode which records as many as 17 images (in JPEG recording format) at a maximum speed of approximately 4.7 images per second – the fastest of all entry-class models. Its top shutter speed of 1/6000 second allows the photographer to preserve sharp, crisp images of fast-moving subjects.The Canon will capture more megapixels which might be important if you really want to blow-up or enlarge your images while the Pentax might have more shots per battery and a faster shooting speed.You pays your money and you makes your choice – and did I mention that the Pentax K-x is available in a range of different colours, white, red or of course black…I bet you’ll be happy whichever camera you end up with!Have fun!