K20D is in the house

Just picked up my K20D after work.
Popped the battery onto the charger I bought to use in the car during the holiday and it was full when I came home.

First thing on the list was eating dinner and after that I upgraded the firmware to version 1.01.

The first thing you notice is the size and weight of the unit but together with the 16-45 it is nicely balanced though.
It suits my hands a little better then the DS which is a small camera compared to the K20D.

The second thing is that for just about the first time in my life I will have to start reading a user manual... This thing has so much to play with that you allmost get scared by the amount of options, especially in the custom settings.

The large 2.7" display is very nice as well compared to the 2" display on the DS.
The liveview isn't really my thing, I quickly changed the functionality back to optical DOF preview. Maybe I will turn it on again when I go out to try some macro work with it or when shooting in a crowd of people.

Overall the unit feels like it is from a higher class, the sound of the shutter is a little better (not as metallic as with the DS).

What I really like is the much quicker AF, I allways found that the DS was a little slow in the focussing department. My old MZ-10 was a lot quicker alltough that unit made a lot of noise while focussing.

So with the summer holiday coming I have my work cut out during the holiday... Get to know the K20D...

Congratulations Remco. Look forward to seeing some photos soon.

What did you think of the shop -I've never been there myself - are they helpful and knowledgeable?

The people are nice and helpfull, alltough the store is as most stores are a little Canon minded, even their plastic bags have a EOS 40D printed on it...

There isn't a single piece of Pentax kit on display. If you have ever been to "rabbithill" then you will find that the store is very small.
Their warehouse seems quite big on the other hand.

So if you are out to get Pentax gear it is best to check their website if the items are on stock before driving to the store (for me it is about 100km to Urk).

I will certainly buy again in Urk, the prices are good and the people are nice. Only the coffee is better at rabbithill

Thanks. If I do head for Urk I shall probably combine it with visiting some old stamping grounds of mine around the area. We lived just outside Blokzijl for a while and it's always good to go back. Maybe give the Ist Ds a last outing in the Weerribben or something. But as I said I shall hang on a bit longer I think, see if the prices drop any, for longer than a weekend next time!

I haven't got any pictures worth showing yet, but the initial impression is stunning.

The level of detail captured is really great as is the dynamic range which is quite a bit higher as well compared to my DS.

I am glad however that my first venture in Digital SLR's was the DS, with a "simple" camera it is much easier to understand what all the settings do so you can focus on the photgraphic details like composition and lighting.

I would certainly not recomend the K20D to a first time DSLR buyer who hasn't used a SLR before in his life. For those people the K200D or K100D would be a much better camera.

Aha, you found Cameranu also. A great place with very nice and helpful people. I bought my K10D there, and several other stuff. Best thing to do is check there website, reserve the item you want (if available) and pick it up on an day of choice. A very recommended store IMO.
Martin.
PS, congrats with your new camera Remco

Another big shop in Netherlands?!?!?

I've done Rabbit mountain and Kamera-Express but found that with the pound/euro exchange rate it's cheaper to buy in the UK or US (I travel frequently )..

I was in London this weekend and went into:

Jacobs (expensive I thought)
Jessops (token display)
LCE (beware their K20D has the Mk1 lens on the front and bemoan the fact SRS snap the gear up before they do)
CameraWorld
Microglobe (chap not a people person)
York Cameras (Canon and Nikon fanboys)

and managed not to spend a penny....

I think a trip to Flevoland might be in order....not been to Lelystad or some of the villages on the eastern shores of the Ijsselmeer

Success! with the K20 Remco

Peter