When Stu62 said that the K3 is a different beast.....boy was he right!
So far I have turned down the high ISO and I have shut off the shake reduction as well.
The flash does make the photos more crisp and I will stop it down and see what happens as well.
I found on the net a woman that explained to another lost K3 user about the ability to change the sharpness of the photos with the direct keys. I touched the button to the right side of the "ok" button and a screen popped up for various choices of images, mono, portrait, etc. going into these with the "info" buttons, she said one can increase the sharpness as all the of the settings are at the midrange.
Well many of your techniques have been very helpful thank you.
Still working on a few more but today is a 10 at the church so they will have to wait.
At some point when I am off the website probation I will try and post a few of the pics.
The K10D seems so simple compared to the K3.
Rev.

So I now have my new Pentax K3 (body only didn't get the lens kit). I have had little time to shoot much with Lent and Holy Week keeping me busy. I did get some snaps around the house and had read a little through the manual. Seems better photos with the flash than without for sharpness? I recently took the camera out to a youth basketball game.....it seems the images aren't really that crisp they came out as rather soft looking? Any ideas? Please keep it simple as I am still reading through the manual. Never has this issue with any other Pentax that I own?

Thanks

Rev

Thanks John,
No Pentax I have is as uncomfortable to hold as the K-01. I have been using it a bit around the house and my hand aches from the box shape in only a short amount of time.
Checked out your website. great photos!
Rev

Thanks for your guidance Bruce.

If the K3 gets around 500 (?) shots per charge is the battery grip a "must have"?

Can offer an opinion on this topic please.

Thanks

Rev

Good evening Stu,

I was very excited when the Ist Ds came out! I paid full price as it was still warm out of production. : ) The camera impressed me a lot. My first DSLR! My wife uses it now and really likes the camera. She found it easy to use and is happy with the quality and size.

The K10 was again a full price new camera for me to buy. It came with the new 18-55 II lens and I knew my Mrs. would need a regular lens for the Ist Ds.

My impression of the K10 has been that it is a brilliant camera. Not big or bulky, sturdy and rugged for all the kind of photography I like to dabble in. Easy to use, cannot say enough good things about it. I guess that is why I just purchased more lenses and never looked at any of the other Pentax models that came out after it? I have to admit some the other models I had never heard of?

I did get the Q and the K-01 both at a store clearing them out at a price I could not refuse but have not used either one really. The Q is so tiny. Yes the K-01 could do more (megapixels and video) and was more advanced but it without a viewfinder I found it odd to shoot? The K10 also fits in the hand comfortably where the K-01 doesn't.

K10 has been to Germany, France, Switzerland and Peru and across Canada and America and I have never had an issue with it ever. I will use it as my back up body, unless the Mrs. wants to move up from the Ist Ds?

Thanks Bruce, just the advice I was looking for. I know it is a big jump from the K10D for me but in the end I hope to be able to use this camera for years to come.

Thanks everyone for your assistance in my search for a new Pentax.

The plan will be to order it sometime in the next two weeks.

When we moved from Canada to the USA our R1 Clergy Visa was delayed and I was without any camera for 9 months as all our belongings were in storage. Then the workload of being new at the church. Finally I am carving out some time with the Mrs. and getting back into photography.

Delighted to have such a great site.

R

KS2 vs K3?
Is there a big difference in these cameras?
Internet reviews have pros and cons for both, battery power, KS2 lens a hassle, etc.
The purchase price seems to be close from what I found on the internet.
Any thoughts one or the other?
I am hoping to use my next "new" Pentax for many years.
Again thanks for the assistance.

Thanks for the warm welcome.
Sadly we had no courses in seminary on Pentax or the fact that I would develop LBA ...lens buying addiction. : o

My lens collection is the following:
Pentax SMC DA 18-55 (came with the camera) and SMC DA 18-55 DA II, Pentax SMC DA 50-200, Pentax SMC FA 50 1:1.4, Sigma 135-400 APO, Tamron SP Di AF 90mm Macro 1:1 and finally SMC DA Pentax 12-24 Wide angle. This is the reason why I would like to stay with Pentax because of the money invested into all these different lenses.

I was debating the K3 or the K3II but not having a flash on the camera with the K3II might limit one?

I tend to shoot sporting events indoors and outdoors, architecture indoors and outdoors, nature, portrait (hoping to learn to do 1930's-40's era).

Better if I had put this info in the first post.

Greetings to you all as a Canuck currently living in Pennsylvania USA.
I have been of fan of Pentax cameras since the ME Super! Through the years I have picked up others such as Ist DS as well as the K10D, the Q and the K-01.
Looking now for a new Pentax any ideas? K3 or K3II? Wait for the K1?
Funds are an issue for me so I need to take that into account.
Any assistance would be most welcome.
RevRobert