Originally posted by LightMeter I find Nikon more like Pentax rather than Canon-both have the best backward compatibility.
Originally posted by LightMeter The cheapest Nikon that meters with manual lenses is $1200.
Hmm.
The way both Canon and Nikon gimp their entry level and mid-range models was a dealbreaker for me, including the metering issue mentioned here. I don't trust either one to stick with their mounts either. Both have shown a willingness to strand their users and make them re-purchase the same glass in a new mount, in order to use newer bodies.
To my eyes, Canon and Nikon both behave more like American corporations, with short term greed being the ultimate motivating factor. Pentax, on the other hand, behaves more like a traditional Japanese corporation, and even a good one at that. They have been very very faithful to their customers when it comes to compatibility and mounts, and they really don't make things unnecessarily difficult for people with even their entry level models.
What it boils down to for me is this: A K-5 will do some things better than my K-r, but there are very few things the K-5 can do that my K-r is unable to. Conversely, there's an awful lot a D7000 can do that a D3100 simply can't, be it not in the build, or crippled in the firmware.