You've definitely come at the right time- the K-5 just fell to $1199 for a good while!
Pentax K-5 - $300 instant rebate - Pentax News - PentaxForums.com
The main difference between the K-5 and the
K-r (those are your two choices if you're looking for a new body), apart from image quality of course, is the number of external buttons and the build quality.
You'll find the K-5 to feature a much more solid construction (which incorporates weather sealing), two e-dials, a top LCD, and a handful of buttons so that you don't have to go digging in the menus as much. As far as shooting modes go, both cameras support all the basic modes (P, Sv, Av, Tv, M, B), but the K-r also has a bunch of scene modes for beginners. Their menu system and interface is almost identical.
The biggest advantage in my eyes are the two e-dials- they make manual / hyper program shooting much easier, and also streamline image viewing on the LCD.
If you know your basics (which I'm sure you do), I don't think the K-5 would overwhelm you
See our reviews for an in-depth look at both bodies:
Pentax K-5 - Review Pentax K-r - Review Adam
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