[gm4life]

For the money at $529 USD the KS2 and kit 18-50 is a bargain WR right out of the box! Finding a K5IIs will be much more challenging and potentially expensive. The K70 and 18-135 is great too as a kit but is clearly a little over your budget.

[mikesbike]

When you get your Pentax camera, you will undoubtedly occasionally notice a sense of something shifting inside as you handle it. This is normal. It is only the SR mechanism, which is the in-body shake reduction. Also, if you get a protective UV filter for your lens, be sure to get a multi-coated, or super multi-coated HD type. These cost more, but will be far less likely to contribute optical problems like additional flair, etc.

BTW, the K-S2 does have some newer advanced attractions, such as the Astro-tracer function (requiring the optional GPS module) which uses the SR mechanism to compensate for the earth's movement to prevent stars from becoming dashes during night-scene long exposures.

With the Pentax Hyper system, in Program mode if the camera selects an aperture or shutter speed you would rather change, you can just do it instantly by using the thumb or finger dial without having to change the mode dial first to aperture or shutter priority mode. The aperture or shutter speed will stay where you put it, light being sufficient to permit, until you hit the green button to return to full Program mode. Essentially you can instantly switch to aperture or shutter priority as a temporary condition, which is cancelled if you hit the green button or turn off the camera. You will find it a very efficient tool for making changes on the fly.

In Manual mode, the Pentax Hyper system allows you to instantly set a meter-balanced exposure simply by hitting the green button rather than twirling the thumb and finger dials until you get to a centered meter reading. It is set according to Program line and you can then make adjustments from there. This is very fast operation and great for spot-metering around a scene! I wrote more about a technique using this feature in Bromberger's "Fastest M-Mode ever..." recent thread.

I can't remember how the default is with the KS2, but its AE-L button does double duty as it can be set to function as a back AF button in the button customization menu. For me, I prefer its original function, also important for use in Hyper Manual mode, as you can see in the other thread. I simply use the half press of the shutter button for AF function. For me, being able to lock exposure is very important.