Originally posted by From1980 I have been aware of the abundant love among Pentax users for the K10D for a few years now. However when I was making my first, and only to date, foray into Pentax digital I found the K20D, the next "flagship" model, available for a small amount more with a lot of very desirable updated features. Sorry guys, although I do understand preferences in image rendering (like my love for original K lenses) the next model apparently solved some inherent problems CCDs have while attempting to keep up with customers' needs. Noise and artifacts in long exposures and higher ISO were reduced with CMOS use were they not? Features like increased resolution and live view were also sufficient to convince me that for little price difference the later model was the one to have. I often discuss the results of two acquaintances who use the K10D and I'm still convinced my choice was the better value, at least for me.
I've never used a K20D, Dan, so I can't opine knowledgeably. From my reading, it certainly has a number of very welcome improvements such as greater resolution, live view, better higher ISO performance, better SR, pixel mapping etc.
My first Pentax DSLR was the K-7 - sadly long gone, as I sold it to part-fund my next purchase, the K-5 - a wonderful camera that I still own. Next came the K-3, my main "modern" camera. I later added a K-3II when the prices briefly dropped to an irresistible level, and I figured I should own a backup for the K-3. All have been fantastic cameras that I've been entirely satisfied with, and all had / have CMOS sensors.
I bought my first GX-10 (K10D) after reading so many positive opinions, and looking at some of the wonderful photos taken with it... and within a day or two of using it, I'd fallen in love. Aside from the camera's simplicity of operation, there's something about the raw files (I can't quite put my finger on what it is, exactly) that enables me to get results I love with very little effort. Of course, I can get great results with my later CMOS cameras too, but it always seems like more processing is involved, and... I don't know, the files don't feel quite the same to work with. It's curious, and I suppose it
could be my imagination - but I'm not convinced that's the case. Whatever, I liked the GX-10 so much that I stocked up on a further two low-shutter-count units, plus (very recently) a mint and barely-used K10D. My K-3 is used far less frequently now
Either way, K10D / K20D... it doesn't really matter. The point is, these are awesome cameras that do everything most photographers actually
need. They may not have all the latest bells and whistles, and we might have to bring a little more skill and thought to the table in order to capture the images we want... But that's all part of the fun and challenge of photography
And the K20D, like the K10D, is available NOW from all good used equipment sources