The December issue of CR arrived today. It's kind of an unofficial holiday "Electronics" shopping issue, with most articles being updates of one appearing earlier in the year or on their (available by special online subscription only) web site. But anyhow, it's the first issue that includes the K200D, and as was apparently the case when it was included in an online-only roundup a few months ago, it is the #1 rated "basic" DSLR. This field includes pretty much everything on the market right now except for the models they deem "advanced": Nikon D300 (which finished first), Canon 40D, Olympus E-3, Sony A700, Pentax K20D, and Fuji S5 (bringing up the rear).
As with other CR cameras reviews, it's largely content-free, with ratings based on some sort of score compiled from arbitrary numbers assigned to such things as "image quality", "versatlity" (K200D scores well here, K20D does not) and battery life. Actually looking at the chart, I can't really see anyone picking the K200D over the Canon XSi - the latter got a better IQ score (the only basic SLR rated "excellent"in IQ), plus it has more MP and includes Live View and weighs almost 6oz less. It apparently lost out to the K200D in the overall ranking due to a lesser "versatility" score. In the sidebar where they give their top picks for each category, the K200D and XSi are the two picks for basic SLR, with mention given to the K200D weather seals and top LCD, and the XSi singled out for its ease of use, IQ, 3 inch LCD, and - oddly enough, the spot meter and stabilized lens (giving the impression there are advantages over the K200D, which of course isn't true).
Given how useless these ratings typical are, I don't know why I even bring this next point up, but:
For those on the lookout for good pocket / travel cameras that might do better than average at high ISO, there is a sleeper buried in the P&S ratings: the Panasonic FX500, which scores better than most DSLR's in high ISO performance according to CR, so take that with a grain of salt), has a 5x zoom with noteworthy wide angle capabilities and at least some manual controls.
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Marc Sabatella
http://www.marcsabatella.com/
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