What camera?

Hi
I used to own Pentax k100d and then two k20d which i absolutely loved. Having few lenses including Tamron 17-50 i still liked the quality of the kit lens 18-55.
I sold all this and went for a mirrorless Sony nex 6 as i felt i am missing too many good photos of my son by leaving the camera at home due to its size. However, after 2 years i am still not happy. The camera is great but i need even smaller.I will be selling nex 6 and will be going for Sony RX100. This will leave me around £100 for a dslr. Since i lost touch with Pentax models few years ago, I would like you to help with suggestions.
I want a solid pentax with kit lens. Minimum 8-10mp, smaller and lighter than k20d but with as much external controls as possible (k20d was ideal), and with high iso best possible for the price.
Thank you.

You might struggle to meet those requirements I'd suspect, its a lot to expect for £100. You might get a well used K10 / K20 perhaps, but then they sound too big for you now ?

The older and more simple models probably won't offer much in the way of external controls ... mainly buttons and menu options I think.

A quick search found me at Clifton cameras a mint K-R kit (with 18-55) for £179, and a K7 kit for £279. Obviously private or ebay should be cheaper.

There's a K-M at Wex for £102, but I think this is entry level and fairly basic ... ?

I could go for k10/20d but would love a bot better high iso performance. I do realise however that on my budget the choice is restricted.
What are your thoughts on k-x?

The K-x is a brilliant little camera. Not weather sealed, no focus point lights in the viewfinder, plastic construction, but it takes superb images and is very good at high ISO's, not far short of a K-5 in this regard. I would not hesitate to recommend it, I have owned three K-x's and still have one which is on permanent loan to my son at present. The K-x is a Pentax classic of recent years.

Regards
David

if you have had a k20 you will just feel right at home with the k10as the layout is the same but look round you may be suprised what you can find out there

I think you are going to be exceptionally lucky to find a decent DSLR and lens for the price you want to pay.

Just a a thought - forget the Sony and a DSLR and just buy a Pentax Q system. Extremely small and versatile - delivers stunning results with DSLR flexibility. You could pick up a new Q 10 with standard lens for around £110 - leaving you funds to buy one or more of the zoom lenses to go with it.

Carl

Carl,

Correct me if I am wrong but the Q with a kit zoom lens is still too big for a pocket?
And I am worried by the small sensor in terms of the shallow DOF (I know sony RX100 will struggle there too) and the high iso performance.

Thanks.

The Q with zoom will easily fit in a jacket pocket.

The problem with small sensors is too much depth of field rather than too little. It's much more difficult to get any differential focus.

High ISO doesn't have to be a problem. You won't get K-5 performance in that respect, but it's not that poor.



Shot with the MX-1, which has a similar if not the same sensor as the Q-S1

John,

This is what I meant. Small sensor will struggle with getting a shallow DoF which I like.
Maybe there is someone with Pentax Q in Glasgow that I could meet and try it in real life?