[bsamcash]

You know. I'm not a huge poster on this forum. I've been leeching for years and just last year registered. I've been shooting with Pentax for a long time and I love the brand. Especially their film SLRs.

Now with that out of the way, here's my honest opinion on the K-r - it takes great images. It is not a bad camera, and the focusing issue is noticeable maybe on every 30th image; and that's usually only through pixel peeping.

Nevertheless, I still found myself disappointed with the body, but that's because I preferred the ergonomics of the K-7 (which I lusted after when it came out). Now, I don't need insane ISO, supersonic autofocus, or million stop dynamic range for my work. Are they nice features? Yes. But like I said, I come from a wonderful collection of Pentax film bodies where those features never even crossed my mind.

I still have the K-r (well, C.R.I.S. still has it), and I'm not sure if I want to get rid of it just yet because I like the comfort of have a second DSLR, but I'd pick the older, similarly-priced K-7 over it any day.

So, moral of the story is, "Make sure you think about what you really need and want out of the camera; latest and greatest are nice, but there might be some things more important - what helps you capture the best image possible."

[krebsy75]

Spot on IMO. +1 rep.

My entire house is lit with tungsten. I punted on the K-r for now.

JTWilson, I was in your same position a month ago. See here: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-k-r-forum/129565-k-r-my-cart-but-w...uto-focus.html

Bottom line, I was convinced by several people that the FF issue was a defect and only present in some units. I do NOT believe this to be true. As far as I can tell, the Pentax K-r front-focuses in tungsten light by a significant margin. That being said, I AM keeping my K-r. The low-light is fantastic, the focus speed is great. And the FF issue can be worked around if it is known.

First off, it only seems to be a problem in actual tungsten light. Most of my house is lit by CFLs, but I get generally the same WB as tungsten with them. But I get only minimal FF. In one room, I have a chandelier with actual tungsten bulbs, and the FF is quite pronounced there.

Second, it's not going to be that bad with the kit lens. Most of my indoor shots are at f/1.4, which makes it a lot more noticeable.

If the light is so low that the AF assist beam activates, focus will be spot on.

You can use live view and contrast-detect AF to work around the issue.

And finally, if you must use shallow DOF in a tungsten-lit room, purposely focus behind your subject. Focus on their ears, or focus and lean forward before releasing the shutter.

Many people will scoff at this as a workaround for a brand new camera that costs hundreds of dollars. But for me, it's only one room in my house, and I can live with it. Hopefully, Pentax will release a firmware update soon so I can stop doing that dance. But until then, I'm fine with it.

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I'm in that same boat, except I don't have a 150. But the 250 sure is a bit too strong. I really don't do that much macro though.

[JTWilson37209]

Spot on IMO. +1 rep.

My entire house is lit with tungsten. I punted on the K-r for now.

Oh my sorry to read that....

[JTWilson37209]

I ordered the K-R with kit lenses 18-55/55-300mm, set of 52mm filters (already have a set of 58mm filters) and a remote from B&H. Everything arrived safely this afternoon and while battery was being charged I ate some supper and started reading over the manual. It is going to be a nice interesting learning curve. Oh and if you have not already done so I highly recommend B&H.

[ukwoody]

well done, sure you'll enjoy it!
woody

[JTWilson37209]

I just wanted to let those that are debating about getting the K-R to go for it. My experience with it so far has been great and I am so glad that I purchased it. Now I just need to get my Fujifilm Finepix HS10 sold or perhaps traded for a few good lenses that I can use with the K-R.