Things have been quite hectic in the past two months and I had to do some long distance travels (mostly work related). Not that I'm complaining... at least I get to take some photos and meet friends that I only see once every year.

In spite of that I still managed to add a few new gadgets into the already burgeoning photography stuff in my non-existent studio. Namely a Pentax K200D with the non-negotiable must-take 18-55mm lens (at least it's version II) and the D-BG3 battery grip.

Oh, in the mail yesterday was a bunch of MAHA PowerEx and Imedion rechargeable batteries too. How big the hole in the pocket you say? Well, not too much as I mostly got them at very good prices. Read on...

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Pentax K200D + 18-55mm II

Pocket hole size: RM1,900

Some say that this is K10D in K100D body. I couldn't agree more. What that means is easier understood like such:

• K10D: A very capable semi-pro* DSLR with some very cool features you can't find on others within its price range. The current successor to this model is K20D.
• K-M : A physically smaller, entry level DLSR from Pentax

So you get a K200D, which is smaller but basically is as good as K10D it terms of its capability. Some even say that the IQ is better than K10D - I won't be surprised if it is as this camera was only released early 2008, compared to K10D which was released a couple of years back.

Apart from size, most obvious difference from K10D is the number of buttons and wheels available on the camera. Which simply means that to access certain functions you might have to do it via the menu or a combination of button and back wheel (there's not front wheel). I have no problem with this as I usually don't change settings that often. Usually it's just aperture and shutter speed and these can be done with wheels or button + wheel.

There were rumours about K200D being discontinued from the Japanese market recently. The rumour started when the camera was suddently listed under the discontinued category on Pentax Japanese website. I believe this was a mistake as it lasted only a few days when the camera was suddenly back on the current models category.

Pentax D-BG3 Battery Grip

Pocket hole size: RM500

This grip was developed exclusively for Pentax K200D DSLR and man does it make a difference! I'm so used to the bigger K10D and K200D just feels a tad small in my hands. But the battery grip made it just nice, not to mention the benefits of having another shutter trigger for taking portrait shots comfortably and the extra batteries to double your shooting time. The K200D is already well known to use much less power than K10D by the way.

The grip has on on/off switch on the shutter trigger (just like the one on the main body) but the purpose of this switch is only to activate the shutter trigger. It doesn't turn on/off the camera, nor does it affect the camera's usage of the batteries in the grip.

Charge 'em up!

1. Maha PowerEx 2700mAh NiMH Rechargeable AA Batteries 4pc Pack w/ Carrying Case: RM47/pack
2. Maha Imedion 2100mAh NiMH Rechargeable AA Batteries 4pc Pack w/ Carrying Case: RM44/pack x 2

Pocket hole size: RM135

In terms of battery choice, I'm using a MAHA PowerEx 2700mAH rechargeable NiMH batteries on the grip, and MAHA Imedion 2100mAH on the body. The reason for this is that the Imedion are slow discharge type of batteries, which supposedly able to maintain 85% of its charge even after 1 year without use. I guess you can see the logic here: use the high powered ones in the grip for easy access, and the slow-discharge ones in the body as I don't often use up both sets.

Quite good price eh? Should've known better to go online for these things in the first place. The PowerEx cost me only RM47 for 4 piece pack and the Imedion RM44. Bought them from Yamiya. Shashinki is actually Maha's official distributor in Malaysia but they're out of stock at the moment and the price is about the same over there.

These batteries are hard to find in KL shops which usually carries only Energizer, GP, Uniross etc. And for that price, you can only get 2 pieces and not 4! Not to mention how difficult it is to get 2700mAH rechargeable batteries without having to buy another charger!

The complete set

Below is the complete set with the AF-360FGZ flash, and some sample photos. Enjoy!