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01-14-2011, 09:39 AM   #1
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£600 ($950 US) - what would you buy?

My daughter pulled my K10d off the sofa on to a hard floor, and it got the 'no memory card error' and as such is beyond economical repair.

The insurance company are sending me a cheque for £600. I now have a DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL, F 80-200mm F4.7-5.6 and a flash, and no body.

The obvious replacement is a k7, which seems to be what they have based their valuation on (£600 + my insurance excess is about the average price of a k7 body) and I would like the weather sealing, 100% viewfinder and dual dials, which were very useful on the k10 because I have to use my ancient flash in manual mode, so it's nice to have a dial for aperture and one for shutter.

But then I could get a Kr and getter better AF and better low light capability, and have some money left for better lenses.

But then I'd miss the dual dials and weather sealing

But then I'd want faster AF and better low light quality and some money for lenses

But then ...

You see where I've got stuck!

So, what would you do? Adding much money to the £600 isn't an option at the moment, sadly, but I can get a k7 body for £620 ish.

01-14-2011, 09:50 AM   #2
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I bought the K7 used in excellent shape as an upgrade from the K10 and think you really couldn't go wrong. If you are willing to accept a lightly used body they are cropping up all over from people moving to the K5 and you'd have more change left over than you would from the Kr in most cases. I don't find the K7 AF bad at all and it is far better than my K10. Same with high ISO. I still keep the ISO as low as possible, but I've shot the 7 at 800 and got as good a result as my 10 at 400, and at 1600 it is far better. 3200 is about where 1600 was on the 10 maybe a little better, 6400 I'd avoid. All of them are slightly noisier at 100 than the K10 due to the different sensor technology (CCD vs CMOS)

have a look at the high ISO K7 threads there is one that shows how good it can be at higher ISOs with proper PP

i never shoot Jpeg so i can't comment on how the performance is there

The K7 really is much better built than the K10 was as well IMHO it's a solid little machine. I almost went KR but am glad i didn't now
01-15-2011, 03:21 AM   #3
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Cheers. It's something to ponder. I don't really want to buy used as I'll have no guarantee, and as I can afford a new one I feel like that might be the more sensible option - but then there is a K7 with the 18-50WR and 50-200WR on eBay at the moment that is the price of a new K-& body ...

I used the K10d up to 800 routinely, so I imagine that for my purposes the K-7 will be fine noise wise. I think I'd miss that other control dial, which I am used to having, a lot more than I will miss ISO 12,500 or whatever - you can't miss what you've never had!

I used to shoot RAW all the time, but since the birth of our baby I don't have so much time for processing so I tend to shoot JPEG now, but I quite enjoyed messing about with all the various settings on the K10 to get JPEGs I liked out of it, so I've no problem experimenting with the K-7.

So, K-7 it is, and eBay for my little HD camcorder thing as I won't need it anymore.

The question now is new body and my old lenses (and a guarantee on the body) or secondhand body and secondhand (but WR, and newer than mine) lenses with no guarantee.

Life must be easier if you have lots of money :-)
01-15-2011, 04:29 AM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by Northern Soul Quote
Life must be easier if you have lots of money :-)
life is easier if you have no expesnsive hobbies XD..
if you go for the used K7 ..look into EU based stores..they have the legal obligation to provide one year guarantee..it may be a litle bit more expensive than buying from a particular but, one year guarantee is some peace of mind.. (i think even ebay European Union stores have that duty, even if they don't say it, but i would try an england physical one first..if you can't find good prices go for a european ebay one.).
You could maybe buy a KX..prices are dropping, i found one the other day for 500€ with some fine lenses, a rail for macro,flash...so maybe you can find a KX cheap and hunt down a fine limited to go with for your insurance money.

01-15-2011, 05:15 AM   #5
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I had a slightly similar decision to make but it was between the kr and k5. Really big price difference here. But after using a k2000 for a while, I really wanted something with better low light capabilities which the kr would have fulfilled. I did not want to stay with a beginner camera so the decision was not as hard except in terms of spending the money. If the k7 had better low light capabilities I would have got it in a heart beat. My personal opinion is that if someone is used to dual dials, top lcd, plenty of buttons etc they would not like to go back to a starter camera however good its capabilities. I still use the k2000 but I find myself reaching for non existing buttons and I find the shutter sound harsh etc. Little things but they can secondarily affect the picture taking...It maybe different if it was the only camera one had...

Best of luck with your buying decisions. No pics in your album yet?
01-15-2011, 06:04 AM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by Northern Soul Quote
Cheers. It's something to ponder. I don't really want to buy used as I'll have no guarantee, and as I can afford a new one I feel like that might be the more sensible option - but then there is a K7 with the 18-50WR and 50-200WR on eBay at the moment that is the price of a new K-& body ...

I used the K10d up to 800 routinely, so I imagine that for my purposes the K-7 will be fine noise wise. I think I'd miss that other control dial, which I am used to having, a lot more than I will miss ISO 12,500 or whatever - you can't miss what you've never had!

I used to shoot RAW all the time, but since the birth of our baby I don't have so much time for processing so I tend to shoot JPEG now, but I quite enjoyed messing about with all the various settings on the K10 to get JPEGs I liked out of it, so I've no problem experimenting with the K-7.

So, K-7 it is, and eBay for my little HD camcorder thing as I won't need it anymore.

The question now is new body and my old lenses (and a guarantee on the body) or secondhand body and secondhand (but WR, and newer than mine) lenses with no guarantee.

Life must be easier if you have lots of money :-)

New body + old lenses still take great pictures.
01-15-2011, 06:10 AM   #7
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@ felixkh - true, and that's what I'm leaning towards. Normally with a big purchase I spend ages researching it, but this one has been rather sprung on my after the unfortunate incident with the K10d and the floor!

@ psychdoc - I think you're right about the buttons - every time my finger went for the missing dial I'd be annoyed, and every time I went out in the rain I'd regret it if I didn't get a K-7.

I've added a few pictures btw - will add more when I get chance to search out some good ones :-)

@ Coeurdechene Get thee behind me with all this talk of limited lenses, you're making this harder :-) One day though ... (really want a 77)

01-16-2011, 04:46 AM   #8
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Normally I would advise going for the Kr for the advanced technology (AF and High ISO) but in this case I would say the K7 will make you a very happy (wo)man as it is a big step up and I can certainly sympathise with not wanting to lose a dial.

The suggestion of going for a used K7 and lenses from someone obligated to provide a 1 year guarantee seems a great one to me.
01-16-2011, 04:52 AM   #9
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If you were happy with the K10D, you could get a used K10D for about £200-250 or a K20D for a somewhat more and spend the rest on a faster lens for indoor use (better child portraits)... That's what I'd do.

(Sigma 28mm F1.8 is under £300 new...)

(edit: link to sensor scores)

Last edited by timh; 01-16-2011 at 06:33 AM.
01-16-2011, 05:12 AM   #10
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If you were happy with the K10, then the high iso of the K7 shouldn't really bother you and everything else about the K7 is improved from the K10. I think you can comfortably shoot at iso1600 with the K7, maybe a little higher is you use a good noise reduction software package like Topaz.

At lower iso, the K7 gives really nice results. Very sharp nice and colors and you will find the auto focus to be much more nimble than with the K10.

I probably use an external flash more with the K7 than I would with a K5, but the results are still very nice.
01-16-2011, 06:26 AM   #11
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A note on the 18-55 kit lens. I think the K10D came with the first version of this lens (although mine came - possiby by accident - with the second version (AL-II)). This second version is supposed to be a better match for the newer sensors; the WR version and DA-L version are optically the same as the second version.

Seeing that you live in the UK, You searched for pentax k (13 results) - Page 1 (Used Pentax) - SRS Microsystems
01-17-2011, 08:32 AM   #12
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@ sterretje - Ooh, didn't know SRS did secondhand stuff. Thanks. SWMBO though says that she'd rather I spent £600 on a new one with 2yr warranty than £500 on a s/h one with 6 months warranty.

I do have a 18-55 mk 1 (when it comes back from the insurance company - they wanted everything but are sending the lens back) but if I do get a new body I'll keep this lens and save my money for a more significant upgrade than kit lens to kit lens II. That said I'm keeping my eye out for a bargain macro lens at the moment.

@ Rondec - I had a play with a k-7 at the weekend - it did seem more responsive than the K10

I think it's definitely going to be a K-7 when the cheque arrives - hopefully in time for the weekend. I'll then spend my spring and summer mornings at car boot sales (a UK only phenomenon?) looking for interesting m42 lenses :-)
01-17-2011, 08:42 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Northern Soul Quote

I think it's definitely going to be a K-7 when the cheque arrives - hopefully in time for the weekend. I'll then spend my spring and summer mornings at car boot sales (a UK only phenomenon?) looking for interesting m42 lenses :-)
we have our variants (garage sales - pretty much a spring summer thing) the flea markets are good as well (saw some interesting stuff at both Spitafields and Portobello in October when i was in London. Should have bought more than i did really.
enjoy the camera and good luck on the lens hunt (don't just look for m42, there are some great k and m lenses as well I'm still watching for that k 50 1.2 where the seller doesn't know what it is)
01-17-2011, 08:58 AM   #14
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We've got a fair load of stuff to sell at car boots this year, so my plan is to 'recycle' at least part of it into camera bits.

I will of course keep an eye out for anything with a k mount too, but I was guessing that m42 will be cheaper - but as you say there is always the chance of the bargain being sold by the uninformed seller, which is part of the fun.
01-17-2011, 09:05 AM   #15
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lately a lot of m42 is more costly as canikon users seem to have clued in they can use them and are driving up prices.
I saw an ancient Tokina 400 f6.3 mounted on a mamiya 1000 body yesterday and they were asking $150 (about 90 pounds) Offered him $40 lens only refused. I wish him luck I though $40 was more than it was worth
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