Just bought a used KR from a guy who told me about the Pentax Forum so I thought I'd look at it. I used Pentax cameras since 2005. I learned to shoot manual on an Olympus camera back in the late 60's. Switched to digital with a point & shoot in 2001. Wasn't real pleased with the results. Was looking for something better and a DSLR. I was trying to find all the models I could actually hold and try out. Went to a Wolfe camera and looked at Canon,Nikon, & Pentax. Found the Pentax to be the most user friendly. I went with an IST DS. Since then I upgraded to to K200 and now have a KR for the live shooting. I will not get rid of the K200 as it will function in ways the KR will not ( auto focus with remote).
I will end up selling my IST. I use these in Crime Scene work and the have performed wonderful. At schools the Pentax has shown it is easier to use than Canon & Nikons.
I enjoy my work as well as travelling. I'm looking at retirement in a year or two and photography is figuring in to keeping me busy. I want to photograph small county courthouses in the north Texas area, railroad boxcar grafitti, and colum style grave stones( mostly from the 1860-1930's).
Looking foward to reading how to improve my understanding of my camera..