I have one of these. It has very low distortion but my standard kit lens, though it has greater distortion, is sharper until the 15mm is stopped down to around f8.

That is my own finding but accords with the tests I've read as well. Some people here questioned my finding but re-testing with a calibrated GX-20 gives the same result.

Here's one review:
Test 1
And a comparison betwen the kit lens and the 15 Here

It's a nice lens to use and well made.

I wonder what the shutter count is on a new Pentax or GX not bought at discount? Not a guess but the actual number.

My GX-20 at £299 came in the same box utterly pristine as a new one, all the accessories were in sealed plastic bags. The battery was separate from the camera in a sealed bag. The body had no mark of any kind, nor any dust on the focussing screen or sensor.

I'd imagine the reason for selling these at such a low price would be that they see no point in stocking what are really such similar versions of the same camera so the Samsung would be discontinued (by this dealer)

The question to me is who would pay £200 more for a Pentax badge? It must lower the value of s/h Pentax and Samsung DSLRs, just as discounting on cars has hit the automobile market.

Yes it does, and in turn the same batteries as the K10D and K20D (branding aside). [/quote]

It would, wouldn't it, being the same camera except for a few cosmetic details? I'd imagine they're made in the same factory.
Anyone British over 40 will recognise this from the car industry - it was called badge engineering.

In the shop, 'Samsung GX-20 Managers Special Offer'.

I paid £299 and got £190 on eBay for my GX-10 body, which seems reasonable to me. My shutter count is 140 but honestly, who cares? My GX-10 was at 3200 when I sold it. I'm told the MTBF is 100,000, so at my rate it'll last me for more than 30 years.

I know, I know, it's all just statistics.

Oh come on! What possible reason could they have for having a down on Pentax fit lenses? A conspiracy?

I used to test motorcycles for a London newspaper and get nasty letters sometimes if I criticised a bike. It was my opinion and findings honestly told. If tester A got 45mpg from a bike and I got 40, what am I supposed to do? Lie and say I got 45mpg? Testers can't win but it's not their bias that's the problem, it's the committed fans' bias.

If you can get a GX-20 from Jacobs for £299 your question answers itself. I have a GX-20 and fundamentally if you get on with the GX-10 you'll get on with the 20.
Technically, both use the same Samsung sensor et al and they are the same camera.

It can't of course, as you imply. The RAW file is data straight from the sensor, the same data that the camera works with. RAW simply gives you the opportunity to adjust the root parameters (white balance, sharpening etc) to your preferences rather than the camera's software engineers.

If a jpg shows more detail than your adjusted RAW, then your RAW adjustment needs amending.

Re the storage, 16Gb SDs come in at £20-30 these days, 500Gb HDs at less than £50. Storage capacity isn't an issue any more, surely?

Go on, you wimp! Buy one. You know you want to. It'll never be this cheap again and if you're not careful you'll miss out. It's a once in a lifetime buy, this one. It'll save you money in the end because you'll keep it for years. It would be a present for your wife, too, because she'd have a happy husband. It'd be madness not to buy it. Just think, all your lenses will fit it so you'll save masses of money! They've only got a few left so you'll have to hurry! There's a price rise next week, they're going up to £750 head office tell me. And anyway, you're worth it.

Just trying to be helpful

I was a professional newspaper and magazine photographer staff and freelance all my working life, for national papers and magazines.

I used Nikon 35mm equipment, Hasselblad and Mamiya medium format. In every case the reason I used this equipment (and every other pro I knew if you include Canon) was that these makers have lenses and accessories that can cover any photographic need. Equally important, they have a professional repair service, with a quick turnaround and will loan you equipment if you're up the creek. They will pick up cameras from your office and on occasion send a couple of repair men round to the office to check people's gear over. Want a perspective control lens - no problem, in London just go and hire one. Ditto extreme tele etc.

Now, retired and an amateur, my cameras are not tax allowable. I am also unlikely again to need a 2000mm lens or to use my camera in the arctic or a sound proof housing for a film set. Thus a Pentax (Samsung) does me very nicely.

As tooks says, there are no bad cameras these days. Just ones suitable and unsuitable for your needs.

AP is a business. If the majority of their readership use Nikon or Canon then they must reflect that in their coverage. Plainly if you used Nikon or Canon products, their coverage would seem 'about right'.
If Pentax were covered as much, you could then argue that they were biased 'for' Pentax.
All reviews outside of the strictly scientific tests are matters of opinion and should be read as such.