First Post - Purchasing opinions.

Hi! Ok, so I'm looking to upgrade my DSLR. Currently I've got a Samsung GX-1S which has treated me well for about 18 months, but I really want some better features, larger prints and improved IQ.

I'm looking at the K20d, and also the k10d. Currently the k10 is £355 at SRS, now that strikes me as one hell of a deal. Is it really worth me spending twice as much money for essentially more pixels and live view? Also how big can I realistically print with 10MP or 14MP? High ISO quality isnt something I crave for, as I generally shoot landscapes and seldom shoot above 200.

On thing that bothers me is that you can't turn long exposure noise off on the K20d, taking continuous long exposures is something I require, when shooting star trails for example. Will this be addressed? Are Pentax covering their backs with noise issues?

It would seem that Samsung's GX20 is not available yet. What price point do you think this will come in at? Previously Samsung have massively undercut Pentax with pricing, hence why I chose my current camera. If this is again the case I dont mind sticking with Samsung, as I'm really a whore and loyal to no one, making the GX20 a very viable option.

So, what are your views? Cheers guys.

Toby
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http://tobyedwards.deviantart.com/

Ooops, i did mean to put this in the Pentax DSLR section.
Help??

is that right? it's a grave omission if so Pentax! Essentially makes the K20D useless for astro photography with any meaningful exposure time. I was really hoping that the CMOS sensor would re-establish Pentax as the brand of choice for Astro photographers.

is that right? it's a grave omission if so Pentax! Essentially makes the K20D useless for astro photography with any meaningful exposure time. I was really hoping that the CMOS sensor would re-establish Pentax as the brand of choice for Astro photographers.

with regard to how big you can print from the K10D, Ben the Pentax sponsored pro who posts here sometimes makes billboards from his K10D. If you and the lens are good enough, you can print as big as you like and then some.

Sounds to me like the only K20D feature which might tempt you is the dynamic range extension. Since we have no test reports yet on how well this works we can only speculate, but if it does what it says on the tin then it could be handy. Other than that, get a K10D and spend the £400 you save on better glass.

Yeah, I found it on pentaxforums.com i believe. I then checked both the GX20 abd K20D manuals and saw it was correct. Long exposure noise can be set to 'on' or 'auto'. Rediculous.

Toby
___________________
http://tobyedwards.deviantart.com/

Just for a change, a completely serious answer from the spider, I dont want to upset another new member

....The K10D would suit you just fine and the money you save will go a long way to buying something a lot better then the standard kit lens.....

I have the K10D and have no intention of upgrading the camera anytime soon, its an excelent bit of kit.

Cheers, I know this question has been done to death, but I'm genuinely in a bit of a dilemma.
Looks like I'm heading towards the K10D though....

Toby

I use a GX-10 for general shooting and recently purchased a DS (very similar to you GX-1s) specifically for infrared. You'll find the K10D a joy to use coming from the GX-1S. If you can get the K10D for that price and don't need live view or the higher ISO performance, the decision is a no brainer. As Mongoose said, spend the money you'll save on some nice glass. The 16-45mm is very highly rated and you could have that for £219 also from SRS.

The K10D is a very capable bit of kit at an extraordinary price. I would just go for it before the supplies run out...

I won't be upgrading just yet either. In a while I'm sure K20D prices will fall.

Regarding Live View it's very early days for DSLRs and IMHO the technology needs more development to be truly useful/useable.

I own the GX10 & find it excellent, in your position I would be tempted to get the K10D & use the "spare" cash for a lens purchase

simon

Maybe once Pentax become aware it could be a problem, a firmware update could overcome it. :

I sincerely hope so! I would think very seriously before buying a camera where the long exposure dark frame subtraction can't be turned off.

Maybe they don't allow it to be turned off because the results are rubbish if it is.

I'll not be buying a K20D yet (sorry Chris), the price of the K10D has halved since I bought mine just over a year ago. I'm sure the K20D will too, and it'll be a better camera by the time a few firmware updates have been applied and support for it's .PEF is not limited to Silkypix.

The K10D is all I need in a camera . . . for now. Besides, I used my Super-A for nigh on 20 years, I think my K10D can last a while longer yet.

According to Pentaxforums Pentax are now aware of the problem. Apparently on the K200d you can turn it off, so it sounds like an oversight on the K20D.

Agreed.

I used my Super A for twenty plus years before moving to the K10D.

The K10D seemed good value when I bought it Christmas 2006, but now it is a bargain.