Your camera sounds just fine, the K10D's default is to underexpose slightly - this is to ensure that highlights are not blown out (as they are impossible to recapture in post-processing).

If you're shooting JPEGs then it's probably best to leave your camera set at +0.5EV so that your results are usable straight away; if you shoot RAW then the extra headroom provided by the underexposure means you can obtain superior results when processing on your computer - many K10D users (including myself) think of the underexposure issue as one of the camera's positive selling points!

As for shutter actuations, I think you'll find PhotoMe is generally accepted as being an accurate indicator. I don't know of any other way of checking to be honest.

Excellent judging Amoringello and congratulations to all the entrants, especially Gartmore for a deserved win.

My entry this week was actually a plastic Iguanadon (I wouldn't freeze a real lizard for the comp!) and no, the rivulets of water weren't intentional. I ended up taking around 150 photos from various angles and with various light sources and it's unfortunate that this one came right near the end when my subject had started melting - just loved the green though...

K10D / D-FA100 / f16 / 1-125sec / ISO100 / AF360FGZ with green gel

Only you know if you really "need" it - I'd say you're doing quite well without...

As people pointed out on the other thread, once you get to the stage where you're at the end of your zoom range and want to take it further, *that's* when you want to start looking at a new lens.

You've got some very good photos there; the HDR treatment suits the night shots of the city particularly well. Were all the photos there taken with the 18-55?

Love the colours on this one, nice composition too - makes me think of a tree in some alien landscape. And I'm pretty certain the yellow stuff is pollen.

Good shot! The eye detail's fantastic

Still saving for my 31...

They're very good photos, and with the Tamron I found that around 260mm seems to get you the sharpest results (going towards 300mm from there they do seem to tail off quite a bit). Exposure and focus look good to my eyes and birds in flight are notoriously difficult subjects to capture well - you should be very pleased with your efforts!

I like that a lot! The muted greens contrast nicely with the splash of red in the background and the composition seems just right.

I love taking shots of flowers as they're "going over", you get a lot more variety in the shapes of the petals as they curl up. Glad to see I'm not the only one...

I certainly don't "baby" my K10D but after nearly a year (without any form of protection) the screen still looks like new. I think you'll find your K20 is quite a durable piece of kit.