I have had a couple of fairly expensive 'tough' compacts - an Olympus and a Sony TX5 and neither of them have been all that impressive. The IQ is o.k. but not great and I find the menu on the TX5 fiddly to use. I like the convenience of them though and when the TX5 needs replacing I will probably go for a less expensive 'toughie'. In theory the seals need replacing yearly but I doubt many people do. In practice they seem to last for 2 or 3 years without attention then fail. So I reckon it makes sense to buy a bit cheaper, work the thing to death then replace.

In my local Jessops the Q has the most prominent feature in the window display. Maybe that's also part of the deal they have with Pentax to get the exclusive rights for the first few weeks.

It is quicker to access the SR control from the 'info' screen than via the menus. I still miss the K10 style switch though.

That's another debate....personally there is no way I would swap a fast prime for an ultra-wide (unless you have another fast prime, of course). Think of the times when you want shallow dof or there is not much light...

When I bought my K5 I kept my K10d mainly because old camera bodies are worth so little it's hardly worth the hassle of selling. I also reasoned it might come in handy in case the K5 ever went wrong (which it hasn't so far).

However I have found that having 2 bodies is handy at functions, when I put a zoom lens and flash on the K10d and a fast prime on the K5 for available light shots. Not essential of course but makes life a bit easier.

Personally I would recommend getting another 16-45

I have both the 16-45 and the 17-70 (but not the Sigma). The IQ seems similar and the extra range is handy but the frustrating thing for me is that my 17-70 often fails to lock focus in AFS mode even in average lighting. Works fine in AFC though. Yes the focussing is lovely and quiet but I would prefer noisy and reliable myself.

I have 2 holster bags. The Tamrac Evolution Zoom 14 is the smaller bag, it will hold a K5 with 18-55 comfortably or a snug fit K5 with 16-45 or 17-70 (dunno about the 16-50 because I don't have one). It has a couple of small pockets and pouches for cards, filters. My other holster is a Lowepro TLZ 55, which is a fair bit larger than the Tamrac. It will hold K5 plus anything up to 55-300 with hood.

His comments about the quality feel of the Q are certainly true. I was looking for a decent small camera for times when I want to travel light. After trying out the Q I bought myself a Canon G12 (I like the articulated screen and the retractable 5x zoom lens). Initial impressions are that the image quality is good but the Q feels better made, e.g. the rear dial on the G12 feels flimsy in comparison.

I like all of these but number 5 is just superb

They left the hood off so it would look nice and compact....