[KxBlaze]

Pros	Price, High ISO quality, movie
Cons	No AF feedback, no top lcd
Rating	10
Price	488
Years Owned	4 months

I can recommend this camera: Yes

Value, Features, Performance & Size
12.4 MP, CMOS sensor, 720P HD video, ISO range from 100-12800, small, compact and light.

Camera Review
This camera is, in my opinion, the best entry level DSLR on the market. It is very user friendly for beginners. Even if you just want to take it out of the box and start shooting in Auto mode that will work great too.

The high ISO performance is amazing. The Kx will beat most semi-pro cameras in this department. Pentax really went to great lengths to make sure that the pictures (above 1600 ISO) still looked good and usable. Actually with the right settings and conditions, pictures taked at 12800 ISO are still "usable", that is just crazy, 12800!!!!.

The movie mode is also another feature that sets the Kx apart. No other entry level DSLR will offer 720P HD quality video or any video for that matter. Shooting in movie mode with the Kx will definitely take some getting use to but once you do, it is a lot of fun.

The compact size and weight are very comfortable for a SLR camera. Hold a Kx and then go and hold a D90, K20D, or a 7D and you notice the difference. This is important for traveling/hiking.

I do not know much about sensors but from what I hear/read the Kx sensor is just as good if not better than the sensor in its big brother the K7 and that is a semi-pro camera. So it is probably safe to say that the Kx has a very good sensor or maybe the best available in an entry level.

Those are some positive points and the good comes with the bad (only very little though)

The Kx does not offer AF feedback (there are no AF conformation lights in the viewfinder) so unless you can see it with your naked eye you cannot tell where in the field of view the camera is focusing in on. ***This is not a problem for me at all because 1) I can set the camera to AF.S and just focus and recompose, 2) I shoot mostly in manual focus (this will help train your photographers eye).

If you have used DLSRs before you might notice that there are not many external controls on the Kx and some people find that to be bothersome (again remember though that this is an entry level DLSR so you cannot expect top view LCD or 2 thumb wheels)

No battery grip is available for the Kx. Again this does not bother me because I have never used on, maybe if I did I would find the Kx lacking more but since I have never used a grip I do not care that the Kx is not fit for one.

All in all the Kx is an amazing camera. If you are on the market for an upper entry level DSLR than you absolutely cannot go wrong with the Kx. In most ways I can think of there is no other camera in the $500 price range that can even come close to the Kx. BUY A KX NOW!!!!!!