[Rusky40]

im looking to upgrade my trusty Km but im on a very limited budget ideas you clever lot

[Adam]

Go for the K-500: nice and cheap, even new.

[MarkJerling]

im looking to upgrade my trusty Km but im on a very limited budget ideas you clever lot

Well, there is also the K-50, which has just had a price drop: Pentax K-50: $50 July Price Drop - Pentax News - PF Blog

[Des]

im looking to upgrade my trusty Km but im on a very limited budget ideas you clever lot

How limited?

The K-500 Adam suggested is about $US420. For that price, or maybe less, I would choose a demo or refurbished K-30. Or for only a little more, a new K-50.

Looks like the K-50 is being cleared out for a new model - if you can wait a couple of months it will drop below $400.

The K-30 and K-50 have a number of useful features over the K-500, like weather sealing, AF point indicator and horizon level indicator (which I find myself using a lot). They will also hold their value better than the K-500 which has not been a big seller.

One advantage of buying new is the opportunity to bundle lenses into the purchase, like the DA 35/DA 50 or DA 18-135 at heavily discounted prices. You could sell off existing lenses to help fund the bundle.

If your budget doesn't run to any of those, you might be better off keeping your K-m and spending the money on a decent lens or two. A spend of say $200-300 could get some good secondhand glass, which is a sure way to improve your pictures.

[DSims]

I'm not clever enough to figure this one out. What lenses do you have? What do you shoot? What's lacking in the K-m that you're trying to improve upon?

[Rusky40]

i really like both the k50 and k30 but still a little high for me at the moment im not looking for top of the range just a good improvement on my old faithful higher shutter speed more frames p.s more camera dosent have to be the newest one. Any more advice guys

[DSims]

Well then I guess it's the K-500. 330 GBP at Amazon new. Perhaps even less used somewhere.

Its only 2 real drawbacks are features you already live without - no WR and no AF point indicator in the viewfinder.

It has a Pentaprism instead of a Pentamirror; 1/6000s shutter speed; almost twice the fps (6 vs 3.5) for six times as many frames (30), 16MP, full video modes, better AF performance, much better high-ISO performance, custom AF adjustment for up to 20 lenses - what more do you want?


Realistically your only other choices (for the features you mentioned) are a used K-r, K-7, or K-5. But in most ways the K-500 is a better camera than any of them (including the K-5).

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Last edited by DSims; 07-03-2014 at 01:30 AM.