Originally posted by Scottie137 I have 0 experience with the Mark II, but is the image quality REALLY $3000 better than the K20?? Or any other Prosumer Model in the 1k price range (40D, D90, A350, etc...) I realize that the 3K gets you a more features and capability, allowing you to capture photos you may not be able to with a lower end camera, but is the image quality itself really that much better?
The camera is 2.7k body only, so saying it's 3k more than prosumer models is a stretch. Is it worth the extra cost? Well, that is almost one of those "if you have to ask" questions. If you're a pro and you *need* those 21 megapixels for your output medium, then yes it would be worth it. If you're like me and print 4x6s and re size web images to 800x536, then good luck seeing a difference. Pretty much in this day and age any modern dSLR is going to produce fantastic results. What you buy comes down to a matter of what you need or want, and how much you're willing to spend to get it.
I have to say, though, that the 5dmkII is pretty tempting. Not so much because any of the camera's features are particularly great, but rather, because the camera is decent enough and would allow use of the 24-105 f/4 at its full field of view. I love my 16-45 f/4, and a 5d+24-105 would give me an equivalent FOV of 16-70 on my K10d. Add in the fact that the lens has IS, is as sharp as the 28-70 f/2.8, comes at a discount bundled as a kit lens, and you've got a mighty interesting package.
I've seen people complain about the "mere" 3.9fps and the fact that it uses the same "outdated" af module as the original 5d. But, if I cared about those things, I probably wouldn't be shooting Pentax. I just hope Pentax releases something amazing with the K30D so I'm not even tempted to switch. I absolutely *loathe* Canon's body ergonomics. The rear thumb wheel drives me crazy, and on top of that their zoom ring is backwards.
As for Nikon and Sony, the a900's high ISO performance is IMO worse than the K20D, and Nikon has frankly lost its mind with their pricing. Right now I think dual system setup with a couple of Canon zooms, and all primes with Pentax(paired with a K-m, maybe?) would be the best of both worlds.