I'm of the same opinion. When shopping for my K-r (and first SLR, digital or otherwise), I thoroughly checked out the T2i and D3100 as well, as they were the Canikon models in my price range.
The T2i felt horribly cheap and plasticky, I didn't like the ergonomics of it at all, especially the way I had to contort my finger to position it well on the shutter release. I didn't care for the menu system much either. The other annoyance with Canon is the unnecessary electronics on the lenses. Having to modify manual lenses to add a chip that tells the camera it's allowed to confirm focus is just silly.
The D3100 felt a bit better in hand, but it just didn't grab me. I hated its UI, and one look through the "guide mode" told me it was
very entry level, designed for someone who wants a better P&S, rather than an enthusiast who will make full use of it. Researching it further killed the idea of Nikon for me, as they gimp their sub-$1200 cameras so badly you can't even meter with manual lenses.
So, I kept going back to the K-r, which I ended up purchasing new for a couple hundred bucks less than the other options. Love the ergonomics, content with the menu system (being fully paged rather than scrolling really helps), and it doesn't feel like it'll get scuffed up from looking at it the wrong way. Add to that the features we take for granted, 35 years of K mount lenses to draw on, in body SR, the green button, etc. and it was a no brainer.
Originally posted by amc654 Ok, so this may be a stupid question (though I am a newbie), what is LBA?
Mouse over it. Lens buying addition. We all suffer from it to some degree, it's highly contagious (and seemingly incurable).