The K200D is a versatile and feature-rich camera produced by Pentax. Though some of its features, like weather-seals for rain/dust, aren’t strictly useful for fast action, the K200D offers good image quality and most of the tools needed to produce good action photos.

High-ISO on the K200D is good - although images tend to be grainier than other cameras, they retain detail remarkably well. With noise reduction software, the K200D images can look as detailed and clean as any other model on the market. With an additional Tamron 70-300 lens providing a 105-480mm zoom range, the camera has more than enough reach to shoot the far away subjects like a race car on a distant track or players on the other side of a field. The lens aperture is f4-5.6, about average for a budget telephoto. The K200D also offers a sensor-shift image stabilization system which helps to combat camera shake blur, especially at the long end, but this usually won’t be useful at the faster speeds used in action photography.

With a very comprehensive 11-point autofocus system that features 9 extra-sensitive “cross-type” points, the K200D is more than capable of tracking any moving subjects. Its Tamron 70-300 lens uses a slower micro-motor autofocus, though, so it may have trouble keeping up with extremely fast subjects.

The K200D can takes photos at a decent 2.8 frames per second, but can only sustain this for 4 frames, good for a little more than a second of action. While this isn’t nearly long enough to cover a long series, the short bursts still help to give you more options to choose from for the best shot or timing. With a short shutter lag time, the K200D shouldn’t have any problems snapping off shots at an instant.

Nikon’s entry-level D40 offers most of the basic functionality of a DSLR, although it lacks some of the more advanced features commonly found in other cameras.

High-ISO quality on the D40 is good - images are clean straight from the camera, atlhough they’re somewhat blotchier and don’t have quite the detail of some other cameras. The 55-200 kit telephoto lens covers a 78-300mm zoom range - enough for most fast action events, but not quite long enough to get the best up-close shots. The lens aperture is f4-5.6, typical for a budget telephoto lens.

The D40 uses a woefully-inadequate 3-point autofocus system, making it extremely hard to track anything but the slowest and most predictably-moving subjects. The 55-200 lens does feature an ultrasonic motor, allowing it to keep up with faster subjects, but this won’t be usable if the camera doesn’t have a focus point to lock onto the subject to begin with.

The D40 can shoot continuously at 2.5 frames per second for an unlimited number of photos - a little slow, but still useful for capturing long bursts of action and choosing the best shot afterward. Shutter lag is quick with the D40.

One additional downside of the D40 is lens compatibility - because it doesn’t have an in-body focus motor, the D40 is incompatible with a number of lenses, including most large aperture prime lenses. For the casual snapshooter who will never buy more lenses, this isn’t a problem. If you’re interested in eventually learning more photography or eventually graduating to better equipment, however, the D40 has limited potential.

Though it doesn’t offer any unique features or spectacular performance, the Sony A200 is a decent entry-level SLR that can get the job done for fast action photography.

High-ISO performance on the A200 is below average for an SLR - although it can still produce usable images in low-light situations, they’ll tend to have lots of blotchy noise. The Sony 75-300 lens features a 105-450mm zoom range, long enough to cover even the most far away subjects. The f4-5.6 aperture is typical for a budget telephoto lens. The A200 does offer a sensor-shift IS system, although its usefulness is limited since action is often shot at higher shutter speeds anyway.

The A200 uses a 9-point autofocus system, which should cover most subjects adequately as they move around the frame. The Sony 75-300 lens uses a conventional micro-motor for autofocus, so it may have a little trouble keeping up with the fastest subjects.

The A200 can shoot at 3 frames per second for an unlimited number of photos, allowing you to snap off entire series and then choose the best shot later. Shutter lag is minimal on the A200.