Cheap Digital SLR Cameras at Their Best – Pentax K-x vs Nikon D3000  

Article by Wayne Rasku

Considering an entry-level digital SLR camera?

Let’s take a look at Pentax K-x vs Nikon D3000, a comparison that may not have occurred to you.

What do you think?

Nikon is definitely a highly respected name in digital SLR cameras. Thousands of photographers think about Nikon first. And the Nikon D3000 is one of the cheapest DSLRs on the market. This is just a question for you to consider – How much of the “value” of the D3000 is because of their huge marketing campaign?

Pentax has a different marketing strategy. They depend more on loyalty and word of mouth. Maybe not totally, but their marketing budget is nowhere near that of Nikon.

Let’s take a brief look at how these two cheap digital SLRs match up?

A couple of things favor the Pentax K-x:

*The first benefit of the Pentax is that image stabilization is in the camera. For Nikon, you have to purchase lenses with the VR (vibration reduction) technology. There are plenty of those type of lenses that can be purchased now (many newer lenses are being produced with this technology). However, with the Pentax, you can attach virtually any lens (even older ones – up to 40 years old), and you will have… image stabilization.

*Lenses – all Pentax lenses, even lenses made by other manufacturers for Pentax digital SLRs, work on a Pentax K-x. Not so for the Nikon D3000. It seems like I just said this above, but there is another issue to consider. This has nothing to do with IS or VR. There is a group of lenses that are made for Nikon cameras like the D3000 that only work on the cameras that have a “crop” sensor. Basically, this means that if you eventually upgrade to a high end Nikon, you would have to replace some, or all, of your lenses for the higher end digital SLR Nikon camera.

*Video – Yes for Pentax, no for Nikon.

*Live View – Again, part of the Pentax K-x feature set, but not in the Nikon D3000.

*Finally, the all powerful Money factor. They have a very close price point. It just depends upon the day and the sale price you happen to find.

So, is there anywhere that the Nikon D3000 is better than the Pentax K-x?

Yes. The Nikon D3000 has a visible AF (auto-focus) point chart. The Pentax does not. This is the one most mentioned shortcoming of the Pentax K-x.

In truth, the Pentax is more of a higher end entry-level DSLR than the Nikon D3000. It compares better to the Nikon D5000, which does have the missing features mentioned above. But those come with a substantially more robust price tag.

Not every cheap DSLR is made equal. Make sure you take a look at the Pentax K-x vs Nikon D3000 before you make you final purchase decision.

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Want to see a side-by-side comparison of cheap DSLR cameras? Thought so. Go to http://digital-photographic-resources.com/cameras/cheap-dslr.html.