Well, they should at least have published a guidebook ... 'Practice Practice and more Practice - a guide for K5 owners ... ensure you have practiced everything here before buying a better camera.'

In all fairness though, I can see both 'sides' (if there's really sides?) to this - of course more sophisticated AF will help out plenty of us to get more shots in the bag - not always, but more shots, more consistently.

But I know for myself, and surely many others, it would be foolish to imagine that an investment in new equipment will reap higher rewards than investment in our own skills and consistency.

The really significant jump is probably the PRIME III processor - the K7 provided the previous most significant improvement here I believe (over the K20), and since then the flagship models have been stuck with it. The PRIME M improved things but only on the 'Mid / Entry' level offerings - now the elite amongst us have the the latest and greatest!

The buffer speeds are up to 50% faster I've read reported, another 'wish-list' item for many Its looking good all round.

They've respected the core of the design - the pentaprism system with 100% viewfinder is retained right through from the K7 - plus I think there's a slight increase in viewfinder magnification? This along with the basic operating principles of the camera have stood the test of time so I'm glad we're not losing any of that. It should all be detailed properly in the manual of course!

The focus peaking is (I presume) a software addition, but thats something that people have been crying out for, so I can't blame them for adding it. The AF system has certainly added a lot of complexity to the controls thats true, and as I alluded to above, I wonder how much of it will be practical to make the most of 'in the field' ?

There seem to be quite a few little changes incorporated on this new camera that have been requested in various forum 'wish-lists' over the last couple of years. Looking through the specs and initial writeups it does feel to me that Pentax have taken a good amount of this on board and have provided a range of improvements and features to satisfy many users, as well as bump the profile of the brand forwards - the aa filter simulator was the trump card though

One little thing I'd highlight is the continuous shooting options - we have 8fps tops now, but also 3.5 plus 5.5 (I think) - gone is the old 1.6 option of the K5 which was widely sneered at I recall.

I know the difference between 180th & 250th is small, but its desirable if possible - there are surely situations such as using fill-flash in bright conditions when you don't have HSS on a gun available when it could be really helpful?

Its true that the distribution of the cluster of 25 cross-type points is a square array covering an area roughly equivilent to what I would understand a 'centre-weighted' metering system would cover. Only the two non cross-type far left & right points stand outside this central zone.

I not so sure that this is automatically a negative though - from what I understand the 'cramming' of the points closely together is what should lead to improved tracking as the subject's movements can be more accurately analysed. Of course the photographer has to keep things in the central area of the frame, but I wonder if that's what they tend to do anyway now?

It will make a fair few rather confused I imagine...when they start to try out all the new AF options! I love my camera 'fine controls' but the K3 is finer than fine when it comes to AF setups and choices.

I would miss the extra lever selection mode from the K7 / K5 (AF.C, which has been removed from the K3 ), as I like the tactile approach to adjusting things when out shooting. There is a lot of new learning (and 'programming' :wink for people with the K3 system. In continuous mode you can now choose a varying 'array' of points, which you can effectively move around to create an off-centre position for the array, which can be 3x3, 5x5 or 7x7 I understand. Very amazing stuff. In AF.S you can also reduce the active point array to 3x3, 5x5 or 7x7 also I believe.

Its the application of it all I guess that will be the real test of its usefulness. I wonder if those who shoot action and were looking for improved tracking will actually explore these new options, or just prefer to stick with the defaults?

Thats a good price John and truely reflects the high regard out there for the camera.

Its true that in HDR mode the K7 (presumably K5 / K5II also) rattles off the 3 shots in quick succession - although this obviously would depend on the shutter speed. There's no delay in the actual taking of the shots, its the processing of them after that takes about 10 - 15 seconds. Interestingly, one new user of the K3 over on the other forum reported that this HDR processing time is much quicker on the our latest model!

The 'ghosting' feature of Photmatix Pro can be effective if something's moved during the burst - not sure if the in camera software includes such a feature? In any case, your 'non-static' brackets here don't seem to have missed the action Chris

We had a thread running on that topic recently - there was a lot of nostalgia for the particular 'feel' and qualities that the older sensor offered. But others who had made more scientific comparisons reported that the IQ of the newer CMOS types were superior in all respects.

Anyway, looking at those prices listed above (thanks Mongoose), any of the mid priced options look good for our OP - K20 / Kx / Kr / K7

Personally for that money I'd still plug for the K7 - its technology is still modern and it has the most useful features, plus strong construction and WR - unbeatable value.