Summary: Fabulous!

Comment: I've had the K200D for about two weeks now and have no regrets. This is the best camera out there for the money. If you have any interest at all in learning to take better pictures this camera will be ready as you learn more, but it's also good for the true beginner with lots of auto modes to help you.
I think the things that make this better than the competition are 1) shake reduction in the body. When you start buying lenses you don't have to keep paying for that feature in every single lens (nikon VR?) 2)very durable body construction and weather/dust sealed. Any DA lenses you attach are as well. This is only available in cameras for the pros normally. 3)all pentax lenses for the last 3 or 4 decades can be used, some older manual ones need a $10 adapter--but you can buy tons of used awesome old lenses on ebay for very cheap. 4)this kit lens is the best kit lens out there. I've read alot of reviews and all the experts agree this is the best. It was made for the camera that is one step up from this model--but it's included with the K200D as well. 5)Pentax has an awesome PRIME lens for under $200 (amazon) that everyone raves about. I got it and I agree. FA 50mm F1.4 Get it. You won't be sorry. 5)the RAW button on the side is quite a nice perk. You can program it to suit your needs and it saves you from going into menus to make changes on the fly.6)Takes great pictures--gorgeous colors--makes me look good!7) the menus are clear and easy to understand. There are even some interesting ways to edit your photos right on the camera. I also like the HDR feature which gives more detail in the shadows than would normally be picked up. Thats alot of bells and whistles for an "entry level" DSLR.

Summary: K200D for Landscape Pictures

Comment: I recently purchased the Pentax K200D with the 18-55mm lens after much comparison of all the popular entry level dSLRs. I chose the Pentax based on actually "feeling" the camera at a local camera store. It was comfortable and feels very well built. I used the camera on a recent trip to the Smoky Mountains and took many picts in automatic with the bracketing mode turned on. The pictures were fantastic. I would recommend this camera to anyone wanting to make the leap from "point and shoot" to dSLRs and wants a bit more than most entry level cameras and the weather resistent well built camera body. This camera really met all my expectations and then some.

Summary: Not sure what to expect

Comment: I've researched almost all beginner/advanced DSLRs on the market, preparing the move from digital compacts to DSLR (I'm familiar with film SLRs however).
Anyway, exhausted from the fact that the perfect DSLR still has not been produced (every single model has something really bad about it: Canon 450D's grip and build quality, Olympus E-520's tiny viewfinder, Nikon D60's very basic metering, and none of these models has a live view implementation that would really make me use it), I decided to go for Pentax which has good performance on the above issues. Looking initially into the K20D, I decided to get the cheaper body of the K200D and invest in better lenses instead. The K200D felt very good in my hands, and its large and bright viewfinder is the best in its class. The availability of high quality and still affordable lenses with shake reduction built into the camera body was also a deal maker. Amazon and Adorama delivered in 2 days as promised.
A couple of weeks after purchase I have a collection of some very nice shots, but still I'm a bit disappointed. Autofocus is unpredictable: sometimes the camera shoots lightning fast, even in burst mode, at other times is struggles to focus with no apparent reason, even with the prime 50mm f1,4 and the new 17-70 f4 zoom. This means that I miss some nice shots while the camera is focussing. When the camera finally does take a shot, I'd say 1 out of 3 shots is out of focus. I end up taking lots of photos hoping one of them will be right.
TO be fair, when the K200D gets the focussing right, the results are very good. Colors are very natural, the exposure is always spot-on, and wireless flash (got the 360FGZ) works very well, too. The viewfinder is wonderful to work with.
All in all, I'm not sure what to expect for this price. The K200D's speed is unstable compared to all other cameras I've used (digital and film). Too bad, but perhaps I'm just expeting too much.

Summary: Phenomenal camera for the price

Comment:
I bought my Pentax K200d through Amazon at the end of July 08, and recently returned from a 47 day trip to the great American West. I took nearly 2,600 photos under a wide variety of conditions: dust, rain, surf, museums, near freezing mountain camping, bright sun and twilight. I am still on my second set of lithium batteries. The original batteries that came with the camera were good for over 1400 exposures (with very little flash usage). The results are amazing with superb color saturation and definition. And the camera is tough, much tougher than I expected. It feels good to hold.

I am principally familiar with less expensive Nikon DSLRs, the D40, D50, D60 and D70. The Pentax is far above these fine cameras. I am not talking about the K20d, which I understand is even more remarkable. At under $600 including a quality 18-55 kit lens, it is, to say the least, a bargain compared to other offerings in a very competitive field.

I have been slow to break away from the world of 35mm. However, digital has more than caught up in terms of image quality, and it has surpassed film in terms of convenience and cost. With that in mind, I set aside my Nikon FM2 and lenses and after considerable soul searching, turned to Pentax. In 1975, I had owned a screw mount body and later a Pentax ME, which I loved but lost to a camera snatcher. In the `80s, I turned to Nikon, and still believe that, overall, they provide excellent products. So I have a hand full of Pentax K and Nikon A1 lenses, which I hoped to be able to use.

I was considering an upgrade to a Nikon D80, and checked it out. The D80 was a fine camera back in 2006, but it seems a bit dated now. The Pentax K200d feels better in my hands, much better. The Pentax has both shake reduction in the body and a dust management system, both of which are lacking in the Nikon, and Pentax offers some marvelous new prime lenses, including a 50mm f1.4, made for dslr bodies. My old Pentax K-mount lenses work wonderfully well and provide and inexpensive alternative. [In the K200, you just have to go to Custom Menu, item 23 to enable the older lenses.] After some initial experimentation, however, I stuck mostly with the 18-55 kit lens, quick, versatile and also dust and weather resistant. Moreover, with the shake reduction, I have been able to hand hold with good results at 1/15th of a second or even less depending on the focal length. Perhaps soon I will add the 50-200, or a nice prime lens.

You can't go wrong with this camera.

Summary: Nothing left to say......

Comment: .....whatever needs to be said has already been said by the 68 odd reviewers before me. :-) I just came here to give it the 5 stars it deserves.