The shop was cameraland in Cardiff. The shops seems the be run by 3 guys who have been there for at least 10 years to my knowledge. He told me that Pentax's marketing had a lot to be desired. It was truly a weird experience. Funny thing is very close to this shop is the Camera Centre, a family run affair thats been here for ages. They can be more pricey but with a bit of haggling they do discount. They will be supllying the K10 but are waiting to see what other shops do before confirming a price policy.

I have just had my most surreal experience with a shop assistant ever. I visited my local independent camera dealer enquiring about the deals they were going to be doing for K10. The guys in this shop are very experienced they have been there for years and have normally given sound advice (I bought my MZ-50 from them) but still I had the reply that was both alarming and surreal at the same time. I was told that “I was probably the tenth person enquire about the camera” and that they wouldn't be stocking it as, and this is as he put it "he would very surprised if Pentax were still with us next year. They are struggling badly and this camera (the K10) will make or break them “. He did state that the products are of a high standard but they will not be stocking them because of these uncertainties.
I just found it incredulous that although they had had multiple enquiries the shop was not going to stock it due to an assumption about a company which I can only assume has come about due brand bias, who says the independents offer great advice?

Hi, Luckily I did get the K10 just after Xmas, slightly late Xmas present. Bought from the camera centre in Cardiff, they actually had enquires for 20 camera's but only were supplied with 1! I was lucky enough to walk in on the day they received it. Anyway bought it with the 18-55 and a 2gig card and a small case for £699, pretty happy with that. I must admit I'm amazed at the differences between Digital and Film SLRS.

Getting used to camera is only half of it (its bloody heavy). It took me a while to fully understand why everyone was going on about RAW etc but I'm slowly getting there with the terms and the software. Since I had the camera the weather has been awful so I haven't been able to use it half as much as I had hoped. Hopefully this week end I will be able to make my way up to the Brecon Beacons and make myself more familiar with all the functions by using it more. Thanks for all the help. Oh by the way going by the quality of the pictures posted by various members I think I will hold back posting any of mine!

johnriley,

Thanks again for the quick response. I must admit I'm looking forward to to getting an SLR D and I just wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing.

Cheers

MattMatic,

Thank you for the quick response. The 50M 1.7 does have an A setting so i'm glad this lense will be of use. Thanks for the expliantion regarding the compatibility issue and explaining the crop effect you get with the focal lenghts. The 18-55mm lense looks very tempting the 16-45mm could have the wife leaving through the front door though! Just a quick question though are there specific Digital lenses available where the 1.5x crop doesn't apply or is all to do with the sensor on the digital camera?

Thanks again

Hi I'm hoping to compliment (after reading other threads I thought I better pick my words carefully!) my Pentax MZ-50 with a K10D. I do own a Pentax Sn5 compact which does a decent job but flexibility is just not there. What I'm confused about is the compatibility of the lenses I own. I have an old 50m 1.7 from my P30 days (I learnt everything on that camera) and a 35-80 from the MZ-50. The question is will this lenses be compatible with all the functions the K10 offers (besides the auto focus on the 50mm). Will the auto focus work with the 35-80 etc. Or is buying new lenses a better option. I have been out of the loop for so long I really am getting slightly confused. Thanks in advance for any replies.