I was enjoying my other passion of competitive off road driving today up in the mountains of Mid Wales, and as I was walking a section I walked down a a slope twards a small river and slipped.
I took off at a trot, then tripped and dived head first into the vertical rocky bank on the other side of the stream. Naturally the top of my head found the pointy rock sticking out the furthest, and I collapsed in a big heap in the stream.
I now have bruises and grazes to my head, hand shoulder and both legs. An extremely stiff neck and shoulder and broken varifocals. If my spelling is all to hell it's because I'mwearing my prescription sunglasses and the keyboard is a mystery.
Oh, I was also carrying my K10 with the kit 18-55 lens and battery pack, and the whole thing was submerged in some very dirty river water and took a nasty crash on the way in there.
I wiped it down with the dry bit of my shirt and pressed the shutter, and it worked ok.
Apart from a slight scratch down the back and a very tiny speck of water under the rear screen it survived far better than I did!
The fact that it's sealed, although this lens isn't, and the reputation for ruggedness is what made me convert to Pentax from Canon, and I hope this is proved to be the case.
Off road motorsport is by it's very nature a hostile environment, the K10 spends a lot of time dumped on the passenger seat of my 4x4, which is open to the elements. It has actually been on the seat while I compete, I just tighten the camera strap around the seat back.
It's also passed around other competitors and spectators while I drive, and peoploe who know about other brands of DSLR always like the feel of it and the features. If I pass it to someone who hasn't got a clue I just leave it set and tell them to "press the big silver button"
I've never been 'precious' about my camera's, I want pictures not an ornament, and this is exactly what I want.
I'm back in action tomorrow, if my aches and pains let me?