No fear hefty1 that I will put it "under" water- I don't even like to go underwater myself so no way would I submerge a camera unless I fell out of a boat- and then it wouldn't matter because I can't swim.

New Orleans, Louisiana and believe me- the question about snow was for when I travel- we never get it here- just rain, humidity and occasional hurricanes. (See why I ask about weather sealing?)

I am a photographer for a small newspaper so I do lots of events, cultural activities and news (no sports- we have a dedicated sports photographer for that- thank God). I also do event photography for my husband's job which entails press conferences, book signings, conferences, lectures etc. Between those two I am confronted with trying to single people out of crowds and very dim lighting. For myself I do architecture and travel photography- was a member of the PhotoShelter Collection before it went belly up, and some portraits.

I came across the k20d in a photography magazine but no one wanted to talk to me about it. From all of the professional photographers I have talked to it has been either go with Canon or go with Nikon. It's like no other cameras exist in the world. But, I'm not so easily persuaded. There are several features, like the weather sealing, that I really like about the Pentax. I've just needed more information. I can't afford a Nikon d300 (I'm not sure I would chose it even if I could) plus lenses, and the Pentax seems to be of a more professional level than the d90. This is a huge investment and I want to be sure I make the right choice.

I am really leaning toward the Pentax k20d the more I read and hear. I went to the one store in my area that carries them yesterday and was waited on a by a Nikon fan. I asked questions about the Pentax, many of which he wouldn't answer (and some he did by his lack of an answer- like when I asked if the image quality was the same as the Nikon and he refused to answer and just abruptly changed the subject.) The point is, I couldn't find out anything about the details of the Pentax that I wanted to know. Such as what does "weather sealing" really mean? Does it mean it won't ruin the camera if you get caught in the rain, or that it is safe to shoot in the rain? What about in the snow? Will it ruin a non weather sealed camera if you get caught in the rain or snow or just live in a heavy humidity area? And do you have to buy only weather sealed lenses (which are bloody expensive!) for the weather sealing to be effective? Any info would be much appreciated.

I am a photography major at the University of New Orleans and I am also the photographer for our university newspaper. I have been shooting with a Canon G9 but am looking to buy my first SLR within the next month. After weeks of research I have it narrowed down to two. The Pentax k20d or the Nikon d90. This is where I stall, can anyone help me decide. By the way, cost is an issue but it is certainly not the deciding issue. This is what I have so far:

Pros for Nikon:
better live view- coming from a point and shoot this may be helpful.
a slightly bigger sensor.
a better LCD screen to assist in auto focus in Live View and checking for sharpness in playback.
the 16-85 wide angle lens with VR- (this is the biggest pro in my mind)
Some of the best battery life currently available.

Pros for Pentax:
Weather sealing (the biggest pro for Pentax)- living in an ultra humid climate I thought this might be a big deal.
In camera stabilization
a better 18-200 lens than Nikon offers (theirs has terrible lens creep) and just starting out I will have to add lenses slowly so a bigger range in the beginning is important.
and as silly as it may sound- it's not a Nikon or Canon which to me gives it a real "cool" factor. I'm not a crowd follower.

The big cons for the Nikon is no in camera stabilization and no weather sealing (I can't afford a d300) the big con for Pentax is the limitations of its live view. So, this is where my ability to decide stops- I don't know enough about SLRs to decide between the two.

Also, I shoot everything from events to news for the paper, and street scenes, landscapes, portraits and architecture for myself.

Please, any advice or recommendations would me more than appreciated.