Hi, sorry if you mistook what my post above was saying. The view was offered simply by being an owner of two different manufacturers.
The very first post which I read on page one where the user stated that his friend said he should buy a Nikon as it is an investment is a very contentious issue. This is a Pentax website and for that reason it will always lean towards positive Pentax comments regardless of how good any other manufacturer may be, other manufacturers sites do the same.
About two years ago WDC magazine ran a monthly series called "buying into a system" where each month they reviewed a different manufacturer and the equipment/accessories available for them. It was a fantastic read and really shows how much has been made available by each of the manufactures. This is the sort of article that people should get to read before purchasing any DSLR.
As for the Nikon superzoom, it is just an 18-200mm zoom lens - there is only so much quality that you can get from a lens with so much focal length in it - I bought it because it will be so useful to my wife when she receives the camera later in the year.
It was the the metering in awkward light and the incredible tonal range that amazed me on the D200.
As for me I'm 46 years old and I want to buy one last camera - a full frame as landscape is my main interest, I shall just have to wait and see what comes out in the next six months, but I fear it will not be a Pentax - I do still have my K10D and get a little use out of it.
Anyway don't throw too many bricks at me lol, I gotta go clothes shopping now for my Daughter's wedding so I'll log on later.
Kind regards all - Michael.

I think that too many people spend their time instigating a camera manufacturer war rather than concentrating on getting their photography right. The equipment really is a tool for you to use to reach your end goal.
About four years ago when Pentax released their K10D, WDC magazine gave it a superb review and score, at the time I wanted a Nikon D200 but that was £800.00 body only which I could not afford and Warehouse Express were doing a special offer on the K10D Plus kit lens plus Battery Grip plus 1GB Sandisk Extreme III SD card all for £615.00 so after seeing the review I purchased one and I have to say I was thrilled with it.
Recently I saw a hardly used brand new condition Nikon D200 for £440.00 and got to thinking "I wonder if I mised out on anything there" so I bought it and the new Nikon 18-200 VRII lens with the intention of passing it on to my wife to replace her little Nikon D40 when I go to Full Frame.
The camera sat there for a few months hardly touched while I waited for more pleasing weather to arrive until finally a long weekend in Hunstanton came along - a chance to put the D200 through its paces.
Well I remember a pro photographer saying "you have to remember that the D200 is a professional camera as opposed to the semi-pro K10D" and just setting it up shows that - the amount of available setup options is incredible.
Well the two cameras are of similar spec but I'm affraid thats where it ends, when I tried out the D200 last week I was blown away by the Nikon's image quality, lost for words in fact and that was just using a 18-200 zoom lens, and to think it's now old technology.
I don't regret buying my Pentax K10D - I've had many a good time with it but I'm affraid for Pentax as many user forums are concerned about how far Pentax are dropping behind since the move to digital.
I think the important thing to remember is :-
Buy less equipment
Buy better equipment
Buy the equipment that you need (not a bag of hardly used lenses)
Kind Regards all - Michael.

I'm a bit late on this but if it is any help I have used them. I have a Pentax K10D and a Nikon D200, a couple of months ago I purchased the new Nikon 18-200 VR II lens which had only been about for a couple of months.
It seems that the online camera store called "Camerabox" and Simply Electronics (based on the Isle Of Wight uk) were having and still are having a price war on some of their products. I got my above mentioned lens from Simply Electronics for £502 and free delivery while Amazon UK at the time were selling it at £649, Canera box selling at £509 plus £7.99 P&P, other comapanies selling at £569+ so as you can see I made a massive saving going to Simply Electronics but it is also worth checking Camerabox as well, another bonus was that both companies do Paypal which I prefer. Simply Electronics stated a 5 buisness day delivery and the lens turned up on the fith day, I also emailed them which was also a pleasurable experience as a woman called Emma was extremely polite.
I hope this helps - regards Michael.