So, the KR has been KO'd ? He'll get over it given time.

Lovely and sharp and very impressive ISO 12800. Thanks for posting.

I bought my first (and only) Pentax just about 2 years ago, a KX DSLR. For me value for money is very important and it came with a 2 yr warranty. If a manufacturer doesn't have enough faith in the quality of its products to offer a 2 year warranty then i'm not going to risk it either. I've got a Canon EOS33V 35mm and a couple of lenses but hadn't invested enough in Canon for that to sway me. I also liked the vast quantity of cheap lenses that were available and the fact that most of the range has better than average weatherproofing is also important to me...or it will be when I get my next Pentax which is likely to be a K30.

Two other things that swayed me were the weight of the Kx relative to its size. I wanted a camera that weighed more than 500g and felt 'solid' not a toy and also being slightly smaller than the average male (at 5'7") the camera 'fitted' me very well size and grip wise.

Lastly, as a surprisingly large number of people have mentioned above IT'S NICE TO BE DIFFERENT! The world has got too many sheep as it is.

You say you bought some Duracell the other day to try, do you mean the standard Alkaline Duracell Plus (coppertop)? If so, these aren't designed to be used in digital cameras and will run down very quickly particularly if you use the screen to review pictures you have just taken. 50-75 shots would not be unusual with these batteries. If you use Duracell Ultra then you might get around 100 or so.

If you are going to use disposable batteries then try Lithium which will give 700-800 shots plus much screen reviewing or at about half the cost try the 'in between' option. Usually labelled digital Oxide or something similar. JCB do a pack of 4 for about £2.75 -£3.

Instead of designation letters LR6 (normal alkaline), these are ZR6. Other manufacturers do their own version. These should last between 250-400 shots depending on camera and usage pattern.

As other people have said though you really need the combination of good quality NiMh AND a good quality charger preferably with 4 separate charging channels to individually monitor each battery. I use Ansmann NimH AA/2850 mAh with my Kx and get around 350-400 shots per set easily. I also use an Ansmann Digispeed 4 charger
with built in fan to keep batteries cool as it charges them up fully in about 2 hours. I'm very happy with this combination. I did update the software on my Kx as well.

Is it the same set of batteries you are using or have you bought three different sets?

As stub mentions, you could have a faulty battery which is not 'pulling its weight' and causing the camera to shut down early. It is known as a mis-matched cell
and should have been picked up at production. You can test for this if you know someone with a battery charger that has individual charging circuits as these chargers
can then tell you if an individual battery is faulty. Most battery chargers charge up pairs at a time which disguises the problem.

If the batteries are not faulty then it can only be a fault with the camera. I seem to remember another Pentax User member with a Kr had a similar problem recently, maybe there is a generic power supply problem with the entry level cameras?

Very well done, that's great news. You must be chuffed to bits. Always nice to hear of
other peoples successes. I hope things go from strength to strength.

Have to agree with other posters about the exceptional value for money of K30. I have a Kx and can see the K30 being my next purchase. I would only buy it though with a 2 yr warranty from a 'Pro' dealer. Would have thought this has to be a consideration if you are looking to do things on a semi-pro basis...and it needn't cost you any more.

I took some shots at a family wedding recently with the Kx but only in my capacity as a guest, they had a colleague in to do the job properly. Always hard trying to get a good position when you are not the main photographer, some of my shots were OK, but nothing like the quality they would need to be if I was being paid. The 18-55 kit lens
worked out better overall than the Tamron 70-300 although the extra reach of the longer lens was useful in itself, but to be honest neither was really good enough. I would have liked to have had the Tamron 17-50 2.8 which seems great value...maybe next time.

Wow...unbelievable images. Even the lowest ranking ones would win most competitions hands down. No.20 the bat embryos remind me of Darth Vader before he developed 'attitude'.

I have personal experience of Ansmann rechargeable AA batteries and several of their chargers and can highly recommend them. For photo use their 2850mAh AA NiMh are excellent . They are part of their 'Professional' range and come with a 2 yr warranty.
They are designed to be rapidly recharged and when used in conjunction with one of their high end or mid range chargers (I use a Digispeed 4) they perform brilliantly. This charger individually monitors each cell and so allows you to charge up 1 or 3 batteries as well as in pairs which can be very useful. Comes with a built in fan
to dissipate heat build-up and you get a 3 year warranty...costs about £35-£40 but will repay itself many times over.

Congratulations..great news.