Dave
Thanks for the tip and don't worry about the bias. That's why I posted a similar thread on the Olympus forum to try and get a balanced view.

David
Thanks for the offer but Sheffield is a bit far to travel in my lunch break

I have also just noticed that they hire out equipment.

A K-5 + 16-50 lens would be £150 for the weekend which I would consider.

It doesn't say on their website but does anyone know if this is refundable/offset if you purchase any of the kit afterwards?

Jamie
Thanks for the feedback.

Dave
thanks for the vote of confidence in the 150-500. That is an excellent shot.

Although I live in Great Yarmouth, I work in Brentford during the week and SRS is only 30 minutes away. I intend to have a drive down there tomorrow and have a play.

Hopefully they will have an Olympus E-5 available so that I can finally 'put to bed' my indecision.

Jeff

To be honest I'd rather pay the extra and buy from a reputable UK dealer such as SRS or WEX. That way I can be sure of good service.

Thanks for he link though.

Mike (Judderman62)
They seem to have reasonable T&Cs and they claim that the price includes all taxes. I shall do a lot more research before I commit any pennies.

Mike-P
Judging by the images in your gallery I certainly shan't have any issues with IQ. My compliments on your eye a skill with the camera. You have some stunning shots there.

I've just noticed that SLR Hut are selling the K-5 ii for £599.99.

I know they're from the states but although the reviews are mixed, the majority of customers seem to rate them.

Mmmm, tempting

DrOrloff
Thanks for that fantastic link. Looking through the images I can see that you will need to be extremely fussy to find much wrong with IQ on most of those images.

I think you have made my mind up for me.

I have already looked at the roadmap and the very fact that Pentax have one, compared to Olympus pulling out of future 4/3 development gives me a warm feeling.

I now have 6 months to sell my Olympus kit and restock the bag with new toys ready for our next adventure.

So far I have decided on the following:

K5 ii
DA 12-24 (will probably only use this in towns or indoors so weather sealing is no so critical)
DA* 16-50
DA* 60-250

For a longer lens I may look at the Sigma 150-500 (is this a good choice) or just use a Kenko 1.4x Teleconverter with the above

AF-540FGZ Flash
D-BG4 Battery Grip

Unfortunately that little lot comes to over £4k so I have a lot of pennies to find between now and June. £2k was in my original budget and will start the ball rolling. Hopefully I can get£800-£1000 for my old kit which will offset the cost of the remainder and I don't mind the odd secondhand purchase from a good source.

Please keep the comments coming regarding lens choices etc.

Cheers

Ralph

JohnX
I have seen this site but wasn't sure what kit was used (other than Pentax of course). There are some stunning shots on here
Cheers

Following on from Huw's comment I have come to a similar conclusion.

IMO the Pentax wins 'hands down' when it comes to the camera.
Olympus win 'hands down' when it comes to their zoom lenses.
The m4/3 route (discussed on the other forum) is worth exploring but is probably out of my budget and doesn't quite 'feel right' yet.

IQ is a big issue for me and I am hearing various opinions on Pentax lenses. So, please, could someone post a link to a gallery which shows landscape/architecture shots using the above stated DA* lenses so that I can finally make my mind up whether to jump ship or not?

I would prefer to stick with zooms rather than primes at the moment.

Thanks again for all the comments

Ralph