I think so too, I would say the K-7 is much better, and possibly what the K20D should have been in the first place considering it looks like they havent really done anything to the sensor IQ sensor wise. Pentax seem to have upgraded the rest of the body to bring it in line with the current Canon and Nikon bodies in the class they are aiming for (which is what most Pentax users have wanted all along).

I would be interested.

Hows the AF speed with SDM and screwdrive lenses?

Sorry, it was probably my juvenile sense of humour, I just had a flashback to my schooldays when I saw it ...

ROTFL .....

I think the reason professional wildlife photographers (as well as sports shooters) use Nikon or Canon is mainly down to lens choice. They need something in the region of a f2.8 300mm plus which Pentax (or Sigma in a Pentax mount) do not provide. Most of us will never need anything like that (note I said need, not want) so it is not so much of an issue. There is currently a "debate" going on in another forum where a Canon user cannot understand why his friend would want a Sony over his Canon, his reply to one answer was : "So you'd suggest buying a Sony, buying a few lenses and accessories only to realise a few months down the line you need a Canon or Nikon? Why not just start there?"

Someone else came back with: (And this is from the owner of a Canon and Nikon lens hire company)

This is so much carp.

If you're seriously into sports or wildlife, and you need something bigger than a 300mm f/2.8, then you need a Canon or Nikon.

If you're seriously into architecture or product photography and you need a tilt-shift lens, then you need a Canon or Nikon.

If you're seriously into extreme macro, you need a Canon and the insane MP-E 65mm.

But if you're amongst the 99.9% of us who don't fit any of those categories, you don't need a Canon or Nikon.

Makes a lot of sense to me.

I know a lot of very happy D300 users .. horses for courses as they say.

Yes the K20D is a better camera than the K10D but not in the areas that I would like it to be, the K-7 on the other hand is looking to be more interesting to me but the pricing is hard to swallow when it is so much cheaper elsewhere. I have thought about a K20D but I know that in 3/4 months time it would go in favour of a K-7 so it seems a bit pointless paying out for one now.

Wont he/she deal through the forum?

No Ebay or Paypal fees has got to be an incentive.

I have looked at the D300 on numerous occasions because I seem to be shooting more and more fast moving objects and to be honest find the K10D AF tracking pretty dire at times. Then I look at the actual image quality from the Pentax and for things like macro, landscapes and fairly slow moving objects it wins hands down. I have decided to curb my buying for the moment (although being a zoom lover I am there lens wise anyway as far as I am concerned) and wait a few months to see what the rumoured D300S is like (and for the K-7 price to drop).

Just done a quick search through my Flickr for pics taken at 500mm with the Bigma, nothing wide open as the light was good but these are all handheld so with a monopod you should get better.