it's something i told myself.

i tend to be quite trigger happy. i take my camera everywhere. i've been with pentax for 6 months, and i'm already 15k frames in. at this rate, my k7 would have only been with me for a year and half before i upgrade. that's acceptable to me.

also, while the dr would be great, i find i can get the job done with the k7 wihout resorting to hdr.

it's just that it takes nailing the exposure, then careful noise reduction. it's excellent practice...

others have mentioned it already.

my general rule when going ultra wide is to try and keep it simple (base your compositions on symmetries, leading lines, frames, a single object with the rule of thirds obeyed), and add foreground interest. it took some time, but it forced me to think about compositions all the time, and this trickled into how i used my other lenses, and i think helped me learn a lot of composition in general.

i owned a sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 when i was with sony. i liked it as a lens, but it was too big, so when i moved to pentax i went with the 15/4.

one last idea. don't forget to look up with an ultra-wide angle. there are a ton of abstract possibilities out there. here are a couple of 10mm shots looking up, from when i was still shooting sony (exif embedded)

enjoy your lens—it'll definitely provide you with images with impact.

i'm not high iso freak, so i'm sticking with my k7.

but the dynamic range at low iso's is what draws me to the k5. my k7 can be pretty noisy if i get heavy on the fill light, even at lower isos, i suspect the k5 would be much better in this regard.

also, the abiity to underexpose then correct during post-processing would also give me a smoother transition to highlights in very bright scenes.

having said that, my k7 certainly gets the job done. 50k frames on the k7 before i'm allowed to sell it on and get a k5. that's the rule. only 35k to go...

hi all,

when i was with sony, i used to use camerapricebuster.co.uk to make sure i got the best uk deal when hunting around.

they've just started their pentax listings. still a work in progress as they add more sites to scan for the pentax lenses, but when it's up and running, i'll certainly be keeping an eye on it as a useful overview of the prices of everything and whether there are any bargains about.

just a brief disclaimer: i have no affiliation with the website—i just find it a good resource.

Chris. I actually jumped ship from Sony to Pentax, and have used both the K7 and A700 a fair amount (about 20,000 frames shot with each camera).

As far as bodies go, the ergonomics of both cameras are excellent. This is a personal thing.

I find TAv in the Pentax invaluable. I can't believe that Sony left this out in the A700 (they could easily implement auto ISO in M mount, but they don't). Also, it's nice to have focus adjusting in the Pentax.

Both are decent enough bodies. Where the difference is for me is the lenses. Sony can't offer you anything like the DA/FA Limiteds. Pentax can't offer you autofocus Zeiss or legacy Minolta glass.

I find it astonishing how the A700 replacement hasn't been announced yet.

In your shoes, I'd choose on the basis of lens line ups.

The K7 is a fine camera. It'll take care of you. I'm not upgrading to a K5 until my K7 has 50k actuations under its belt. The extra dynamic range would be great, but I can make do with what I have just fine at the moment.

hi all,

so it turns out that the advertised one is in m42 mount. i'd really rather in a pentax-k mount since i'd appreciate the a-series niceties if i drop this kind of money on a lens, so i'm still open to offers, if anyone has one of these beasts knocking about...

bedankt, frederik! i've emailed the advertiser for that one.

i'm still open to hunting around here, in case that one falls through. so other leads/offers still accepted.

Hi all,

I'm on the lookout for a Voigtlander 180/4.

If you want, I can either do cash, or a swap involving my 200/2.8 da*.

I'm based in the Netherlands, but am often in London too.

If you want to do things via PayPal, I'll cover the fees.

Grateful for any replies. Thanks!

i'm a convert to pentax too (from a good deal of high quality sony/minolta equipment), for the limited lenses. like the others, i'd be interested to hear about your reasons for changing.

EDIT: how rude of me! i forgot to say welcome. feel free to ask any questions about pentax while you are learning about the system and its intricacies...

have you handled an a700/a850/a900? they are solid cameras. if i was comparing the k20 to a sony camera, i'd compare it to the a700.