Want to take more professional pictures without having to empty your bank account?

Last year’s beginners' digital SLR from Pentax has been spruced up and given a Super name tag, while the price for a kit, including the camera and an 18-55mm zoom lens, has been reduced considerably.

It still has the same 6-megapixel resolution, a solid build with physical dimensions that are both large enough to get a firm grip and portable enough not to cause shoulder strain. It has easy-to-use controls, including a self-explanatory mode dial at the top, and clear on-screen menus.

But what's new is a dust removal system that uses a protective coating on the K100D Super’s CCD sensor, backed up with a high-speed vibration mechanism that shakes the sensor free of any dust that has settled. This is important because dust on a camera sensor shows up as blots on the image, and though they can be removed in software, it’s an unnecessary trouble.

Dust, raindrops and stray hairs can all get in when changing lenses, though it’s debatable whether the K100D Super’s family users are going to want to change the adequate kit lens very often. Still, dust reduction sets the camera apart from competitors such as Nikon’s D40.

It also includes an effective anti-shake mechanism that compensates for wobbling hands – useful for low-light shots without a flash, or when zooming into a scene. This also means that any compatible (KAF2 bayonet mount) Pentax lenses benefit from shake-reduction when attached.

Switch the camera on and you can be up and shooting in around a second, with no real shutter lag. It can shoot JPEGs or, for the ultimate in quality, RAW files, although these take up more space. It's sensitive up to ISO3200, and results might be visibly grainy at this setting, but they’re worth keeping.

The K100D Super’s 11-point autofocus is quick to determine the target, and exposure levels are similarly spot-on, delivering even brightness and contrast, and preserving detail under testing conditions like a bright sky with a dark foreground. Colours are well saturated and skin tones flattering.

Unusually for a budget SLR, it's possible to keep track of settings using the narrow screen atop the camera in addition to the clear 2.5in screen on the back. Put simply, the Pentax K100D Super is more of a digital camera than you’d expect for the money, and as it can make prints up to A3 size, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a first step towards better photographic results.

Vista compatible: Yes