[johnsherwood]

Hey Dave.........I didn't notice if anyone else mentioned it or not, but only a couple of weeks to 'play' with your new toy if you do pull the trigger might make for a less than satisfactory experience with what is a phenomenal camera.

I would probably be divorced at the end of a vacation that I spent with my nose in my new camera's user manual ( not at all suggesting that you would need to.....I've seen some of your shots, and read many of your posts........clearly you know of what you speak.......and shoot!! ). My point is for me I would be less instinctive or spontaneous perhaps if I only had a short time to learn the nuances of new beast. I'd be hung up on trying all the features and it would ( again no disrespect intended ) take away from my photography.

Having said all that I bought my K20 at full pop two or three months after it came out......just because.............and this wont help you...........I LOVE IT!

Buy a new lens you've had your eye on forever and pull the trigger on the K20, right after the K30 comes out. That way you'll have the istD and the K10 and the K20 'round your neck when your out shooting. How cool will that look!

Sorry for being absolutely no help at all.

John

[Mister Guy]

I wonder if there's an option like this in Canada. I'm fairly sure CameraLensRentals don't cross the border, but maybe there's another option up there. I'm strongly considering renting a K20D from CameraLensRentals with the intent to buy and chalking the cost difference up to piece of mind and avoiding buyers remorse. Maybe you can find a place with a price matching policy so you can pull the trigger now, and if the price drops, get it price adjusted then, or return it for store credit within 30 days (whatever the store policy happens to be) and get the next gen assuming it's announced soon.

[daacon]

Thanks for all the feedback - there are certainly pros and cons on each side - the next generation is approaching soon for sure - but the next generation is always approaching soon PMA in March could mean a June or July release here at a premium price and will the K20D drop ? Probably ...Electronics are worse than cars for their state of the art status and re-sale value with a few exceptions in both cases of course.

As for new glass I am fairly content at this point I suppose there is always some glass to covet but these lenses will be around and the beauty of Pentax is they should always fit whatever body I buy (if money were no object I would have a 31 , 77, 85, 300 Pentax primes and perhaps a Voigtlander Macro Apo-Lanthar 125mm )

I will take all the feedback - analyze it, crunch the raw data , throw it in the hopper and ultimately when one asks as question like this it may be a moot point

As for spending my holidays burried in the manaual haha what manual ? Next you will suggest I ask for directions while I am lost Besides I have a long plane ride and perhaps a week before hand .... damn have I bought it yet !

I think today will be a big day as I have to drive right buy a London Drugs .. Where I know one is .... I also know it is the cheapest Canadian price from a reputable dealer I have found ... almost looks like I have been looking ... anybody wanna but a K10D ?

[Mechan1k]

My opinion: save your money! The new generation will be out pretty soon, and then you can either get a K20D for much cheaper or whatever's next-gen.

If I was in your position Dave .... this'd be what I'd be doing.
I really like my K10D's ... they have served me well as well ... I wouldn't mind a K20D ... but I'd like to really see what the newer versions are going to be like.

If the Kx0D isn't up to expectations ... the K20D will be of a lower price once the new one is out ... so it will be cheaper again ... just a little more wait me thinks.

[daacon]

If I was in your position Dave .... this'd be what I'd be doing.
I really like my K10D's ... they have served me well as well ... I wouldn't mind a K20D ... but I'd like to really see what the newer versions are going to be like.
If the Kx0D isn't up to expectations ... the K20D will be of a lower price once the new one is out ... so it will be cheaper again ... just a little more wait me thinks.

Thanks Simon that makes sense - however I am logical all day need a reason for impulse.

Ok my logical reason is as follows : If I buy a K20D now and like it I can keep it. If not I am not 100% sure what the return policy is but it is pretty good. If and when the next gen comes out I can sell the K20D (at a loss of course) but let's say it would cover half or so of the next gen after 5 - 6 months of release. The next gen eveyone is hoping for is faster AF and more fps and better Live View. Well I would appreaciate all of these , none of them are mission critical at this point as I don't shoot much action (my kids are out of HS sports hell one is out of HS and one is almost there, and all the sports I play are beer league type where the action only becomes fast when last call is called!)

See like I mentioned it is like statistics you can twist the 'raw data' justify what you you want haha

I have not purchased it to date - so I may hold out - I think if I get buy this week, the next urge will be in the fall when the next trip is planned so to speak.

The logical side of me agrees with the wait and see - although I hate paying over $1k for a camera and I have to believe the K30D or whatever will be about $1.2 - $1.5 on release - gawd damn I have bought cars for less in my younger days haa. In Canada we don't get as good a deal overall and currently the USD is 20 -25% premium so makes US purchases not all that cost effective.

I am rambling I am not sure who it is I am trying to convice and what is is I am trying to convince them of ...

[Kerrowdown]

Feed your LBA buy more glass.

[vievetrick]

Buy it that way within a week or just after to late to return we will finaly get word of the new model. Than I will buy the new model.... Just wait I think we will be happy. Give it another month or two. Can you rent a K20 for your trip?

[daacon]

Well to wrap this up I thought I have to satisfy my curiosity so I bought one but ... I took it out this morning for a test run - I noticed some dirt or a scratch on the focusing screen (it did not affect the image at all).

The performance was ok - I tried jpg and PEF (had to upgrade CS3 raw file ) - I also noticed some dust on the sensor ! (this could have been me but I was carefull)

Now this was very very limited testing – I played with 3 lenses, DA* 15-50 , 55-300 and DA* 50-135. The jpgs looked a little underexposed to me (that could have been some default setting) but some PP and they came out fine. Did not wow me though as all that different / better than the K10D (of course this is very subjective and I am not a pixel peeper) – I think printed pics might have shown a difference. And I did not play with high ISO setting ...

The bottom line I figured with the mark/scratch on the focus screen it was sign from above saying Dave keep the K10D - so I retuned the K20D.

Now I am completely satisfied to wait for PMA and see what comes next. The K20D should fall in price and likley a few will pop up here.

Thanks again for all the advice .

[vievetrick]

That is a sign for sure. Good choice and I think it will not be long before we hear something