Moderators - this is quite old news now. Does it need to remain 'sticky'?

Thanks Dex, it's great so far and will be a lot better when my K10D arrives in the next week or two.

Cheers,

Feliz Navidad from deepest spain.

Have a safe Christmas and a happy new year.

The obvious answer here is to buy whatever Pentax DSLR you can for the money your lad has saved. If you have some lenses already and can muster £600 (srsmicrosystems), then the K10D is by far and away the best option.

Shake reduction is good but the models which do not have shake reduction (SR) are cheaper. If he wants to learn the craft of photography, SR is not essential. The best anti-shake system is still the good old fashioned tripod, but buy a good one.

The K100D (SR model) is available at a reasonable price from many online sources, as is the K110D (non-SR).

My personal preference is the *istD or K10D simply because a Pentax battery grip is available for these models.

In all honesty, your lad will be amazed at the images he can capture with any of the Pentax DSLR range. Then, there's the cost of a decent computer and software to get the best out of whatever you and he decide to buy.

Happy hunting.

In that case, if the firmware reload doesn't fix it, it'll have to go to Pentax or another reputable repairer for repair.

I have no idea if the following will work for you but it might. In whichever order suits you:-

1: Remove the battery and leave the camera with no battery overnight.
2: Perform a reset to factory defaults (consult your manual/menu for instructions).
3: Reload the camera's firmware.
4: Try a new/different main battery.
5: Check for the existance of a 'backup' battery (consult your manual), and change it if it has one.
6: Let us know which if any fixes the problem.

Regards,

Yes I did, it's late. Time for my medication . . . and bed.

The *istDS is a superb camera capable of producing as fine an image as any other 6MP camera. The quality of your optics and your technique might be the reason you are dissatisfied with the results. Are you shooting JPG or RAW? If RAW, are you familiar with the necessary 'finishing' required to produce good results?

There could of course be a problem with the camera. Perhaps you could expand on the reasons why you are not happy with it.

To answer your question, buy the kit with 18-55mm or preferably the 16-45mm. It's a cheap way of acquiring a decent lens.

I found the article predictably in favour of the K10D. It's feature set has been well publicised and the early sample shots from real users are testiment to it's capabilities.

I found the final paragraphs more interesting however in that the author describes Pentax as a "very small company" in comparison (Canon & Nikon I guess) but fails to mention anything about Pentax's tie-up with Samsung. A very small company? Not any more.

There you go Tim, thinking again

An opportunity to make your fortune perhaps. I'd buy one.