Ryan --  a drill press is not a precision piece of gear, and any machinist will be sure to tell you that a drill does not make a true round hole.  It is a fast approximate device that removes material to make a close approximation of something round.

If you are headed to metal work in your future, think towards the higher end for better control of tolerances and ability to have low speeds. 

If wood is the game, unless you like gadgets, any of the lower to moderate priced units will do you fine --  and for small items such as pens, the length of travel is the most important part, with slow speeds for sensitive drilling a close second.

I have a drill press but choose to use my tail-stock and drill chuck. It is easy to center and get good holes if I am careful.
Also travel is not a issue as you can move your tail stock.

Ryan -- hard to beat the cost of a morse taper/JT Taper adapter and a drill chuck. 

I actually used to use a 3/4 inch chuck threaded 3/4 by 16 on the Taig/Bonnie Klein lathe and got a high priced adapter ($35) to use it on the big lathe.   Not much I want to do that I cannot fit into a very good quality 3/4 inch drill chuck.

But I usually use the 5/8 chuck on adapter in the tail stock -  works for drilling bottle stoppers and pens for sure.