Pentax K200d

Reviewed November 2008

Interface & Software

Custom Setting mode is a laundry list of items that allows you to customize a myriad of settings for the camera. Here's what you can do.
· EV steps.
· Sensitivity steps.
· Meter operating time.
· AE-L with AF Locked.
· Link AF point with AE.
· Auto bracketing order.
· Adjust white balance.
· Superimposed AF area.
· AF in remote control.
· Slow shutter speed reduction.
· High-ISO noise reduction.
· OK button when shooting.
· e-dial in Program mode.
· Green button and Manual mode.
· Shutter release when charging flash.
· Flash in wireless mode.
· White balance when using flash.
· Preview method.
· Display sensitivity.
· Saving rotation information.
· Auto image rotation.
· Catch-in focus.
· Using aperture ring.
· Reset custom functions to default.

In general, the camera's menu system is logically organized and the menu items are intuitively labeled. As with any menu system, however, poking through screens of items can be tedious. Thankfully, some of the most frequently used settings for the camera can be accessed by pressing the Fn key and using the navigation dial to change options like light sensitivity, white balance, flash mode and sequential shooting.

There are two software programs included with the K200D: Pentax Photo Browser 3 and Pentax Photo Laboratory 3. Windows and Mac OS X versions of the software are included with the camera.

Photo Browser 3 is an application for organizing images. It has multiple window panes for displaying a list of files and directories, thumbnails of photos, information about selected pictures and a palette for tagged snapshots.

Images can be tagged with a colored checkmark--red, green or blue. Each checkmark has a separate palette so with a click, you can see all photos tagged with a red checkmark, or green one and so forth.

Among the organizational features included in the program are batch renaming of files, applying filters to items displayed on the thumbnail palette, sorting items based on various file and image criteria, conversion of photos in Pentax RAW format (PEF) to DNG files and opening images in Browser's companion application Photo Laboratory.

Laboratory is a program for editing RAW files. You can choose to auto process a file and let the software crunch the image based on the camera's settings when the picture was taken, or you can custom process the file.

If you custom process the file, a bunch of free-floating windows will appear on your display allowing you to make adjustments in an image's white balance, tone, sensitivity, saturation, hue, sharpness and contrast. In addition, you can correct the photo for lens aberrations and reduce noise in it.

When in custom mode, you can apply pre-sets to the image. The pre-sets correspond to the scene modes in the camera. Modes, for instance, like night portrait, sunset, kids, pets, candlelight and such.

Software performance is similar for the PC and the Mac versions. The interfaces are similar, too, although the main panel, which, in the PC, contains a menu bar and a tool bar, only contains a tool bar in the Mac. The menus are part of the desktop menu bar as they are with all Mac programs.

Both software packages are intuitive to use and can meet the basic needs of many photographers, although all those floating windows in Laboratory are a trifle disconcerting. Editing of JPEG files, though, will, most likely, send a shutterbug scurrying for additional software.

Because the K200D's interface is so thoughtfully designed and its software easy to use, many cybersnappers won't need to consult the camera's documentation too often. When they do, however, they'll find two very lucid and well-cross referenced manuals--one for the camera itself and one for the software. Yes, a printed software guide. How rare that is these days.