Wotcha

Hello all.
Real name is Martin, I am approaching middle age faster than a journalist into a free bar reception, am married with one small and treacherous daughter (bless), and I don't own a Pentax (or Samsung).

"What on earth are you doing here?" I hear you cry, but there is an explanation. I gave up smoking in January, and by way of incentive the plan was to treat myself to a new DSLR. I currently run an Olympus E20p (and a Fuji f40fd) and it was time for an upgrade - a burst of 4 shots and then 40 secs until the buffer is clear again can be the most frustrating thing on earth. I nearly went back to film, but had sold all my Eos 33 and lenses on ebay following an unpleasant incident with Canon (never again).

I digress. I had my heart set on a K20D kit (16-45mm) as the £100 cashback meant it was within my limited budget, but I missed the closing date.

I am now in limbo (and am in danger of being seduced by the Nikon D90), and close to tears going back to my E20p. Hey ho.

I mostly stick to landscapes and portraits, but have been known to snap the odd animal that wanders aimlessly in front of the lens.


P.S. Does anyone know of any difference between the GX-20 and the K20D aside from the RAW format?

Hi Diatribe,
Welcome to the forum, There is difference in the grips as well.

I did hear that K20D owners just won't let go!

Hi Martin, welcome to the forum.
Apart from the RAW file options I think the menu system is different, the body styling is a little more angular in places. Not sure about anything else, they are very similar. No doubt about it both cameras (K20D & GX-20) are very good value.
I would consider the K20D a step up the ladder from a D90 but then I would say that wouldn't I

Hi Martin,
GX20/K20 as greytop said, Nikon I do know about I had the D80 Nice images and a nightmare to use,The against with the Nikon are the cost of the VR lenses and if like the D80 very cut back on functions, But loads of gimmicks, the D300 is the only one I would consider but look at the price.
I can do everything I want with my K20 and even with my backup K200.
My advice is save money and buy some good Pentax fit glass.
Common sense really.
In RAW i only use DNG then no probs with Adobe

Hi Martin
Welcome to the forum.
Before I purchased my K20d I tried both -Nikon D90 and Canon 450D but as I was visiting this forum regularly as a guest ,so in the end pentax won.

So what was the deciding factor for you, Vikram, if not peer pressure?

On another slightly related topic, what would be a good starting lens combination for landscapes/portraits/occasion creature? Is the kit 18-55 version 2 significantly poorer than the 16-45 (aside from the top and bottom end)?

Hello Martin and welcome

Initially (couple of years ago) I considered Nikon. Comparing Pentax / Nikon - Pentax has shake reduction built-in the body which means lenses are cheaper. And you can fit old lenses without problems.

Hi and welcome

Hello Martin and welcome to the forum.

The 16-45 goes slightly wider (those 2mm are actually quite noticeable), is marginally faster @ 45mm (f4 vs f4.5) and has slightly better distortion characteristics at the wide end (not really relevant for landscapes but worth considering for architecture).

The kit 18-55 is a remarkably good lens, and for the money it usually sells for represents an absolute steal. As a start out lens I'd find it hard to imagine you'd have many complaints - have a look at the Pentax Photo Gallery to see what others have made of it.

Hello Martin and welcome to the forum

Good morning and welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the fora.

Despite my good intentions to replace the kit lens with a DA* 16-50 or the DA 16-45 I found my Mk I kit lens good enough that so far I have decided to invest in glass that did something different, e.g. the 12-24mm zoom.

The ability to use all Pentax K-mount lenses back to the originals and the preceding M42 Takumar lenses with shake reduction is a huge plus with my K10D. Admittedly, however, pre-A series lenses are little more fiddly to use, but only a little

Best wishes, Kris.