[fmerges]

Hello,

I recently got my K5 + Grip + 18-55mm kit lens. I bought it without having any Pentax DSLR to try (disadvantages of living on a small island).

The last Pentax I had was an Optio 550, it was my first digital camera, I took really nice picture with it but sadly it broke spending some days in NYC, I dropped it next to where the WTC was , after that some years later I got a Fujifilm FinePix F31d, so far that was my camera, after a friend borrowed me his Canon 50D I thought OK, now I want a DSLR! I checked in the Internet about what would be easily available close to where I live, so when I needed to travel to another island, I took the chance to have in hands two camera that I wanted to try, the Nikon D7000 and the Canon 60D, I had used the 50D so I was thinking to give it a try; when I had the D7000 in hands I didn't like it, it felt weird and to me the Fn button was annoying, next to it there was a D300s, needless to say it felt right in the hands; up to another shop I tried the 60D, I liked the 50D better, so I tried the 7D, that one felt right too; so as I didn't liked any of the cameras I planned to try, I returned back home without camera :-( I looked again and I found mixed reviews about the K5, something I couldn't understand because from the tests it looked better than the D7000, but there was this popularity thing, but one thing that convinced me to just buy it without testing it was the fact that so many people liked the grip and feeling, so I remembered how happy I was with my Optio back in the day, thought what the heck, and ordered the shop where I tried the Canon to get one for me. Once I had it in my hands I really liked it, smaller than the others but it just felt right, after assembling the grip, I just thought wow!

Yesterday I updated the firmware to the version 1.12, have to check this weekend how it goes, so far I haven't had a chance to really use the camera, just sparingly on the weekends. Looking forward to get a nice wide angle for landscaping and a limited to shoot nice portraits of my lil'one.

Cheers,

Florian

[Adam]

Welcome, and congrats on the purchase! The K-5 won't disappoint you, though you might want to upgrade your kit lens eventually

[jbarry]

Welcome and best of luck with your new purchase, hope you have lots of fun as well!

[VisualDarkness]

Welcome! I actually got a Super Nintendo that was bought on Lanzarote.

[imtheguy]

Welcome.
But its got nothing to do with "small" or "Island". Both my K20D and K-5 were bought from pretty pictures in the magazines because local retailers do not carry Pentax. Hopefully that is about to change a little bit.

[jbarry]

I have made most of my purchases, camera and separately lenses on the Internet from Hong Kong but I did a lot of homework first.

[jbarry]

No problems of buying from Australia, efficient service and way-good prices

[Arn]

Welcome to the forum, Florian. Looking forward to your Canary Island photos!

[fmerges]

Welcome, and congrats on the purchase! The K-5 won't disappoint you, though you might want to upgrade your kit lens eventually

Thanks. Yes, I have a lens upgrade plan in mind... but I'm still working on my money printing machine, with my PS camera there was not much to buy, now a new world of options opened in front of my eyes, it's just a matter of cash.

First I have to buy a bag, right now I don't have any but I'm still not sure if I want a backpack, one of those where you can put even your laptop in (would be a way to always carry the camera with me to/back from work - only way of doing photos during the week), or a shoulder bag, I like also those classic ones in leather... why must this hobby be so expensive! :-(

Cheers,

[fmerges]

Welcome.
But its got nothing to do with "small" or "Island". Both my K20D and K-5 were bought from pretty pictures in the magazines because local retailers do not carry Pentax. Hopefully that is about to change a little bit.

Hello,

I was surprised, cause in the shop I bought mine (Saturn) the guy working there in the camera and video section didn't know this camera model, it was the first he sold. When I was in the shop testing cameras the only options were the two known ones, and a mix of everything in the PS category.

Hopefully as you said, this will change in the future; because quality wise, I got more camera for my money!

Nice nick BTW.

Cheers,

[fmerges]

Thanks for your warm welcome!

Cheers,

Florian