I am not a forum kind of guy, I watch, (lurk for info), and I loathe the other famous forum with a passion. Good or bad this thread has inspired me to say something. I joined this forum a over a year ago... I have 12 posts, they were mostly related to selling my Pentax stuff just shortly after I joined. I am a pro with not a lot of fame... as of yet... Let me tell you what I have learned.
After I sold the Pentax, I bought a D200 with an 80-200 and a 35-70 both 2.8 AF D lenses because I was told, and to be truthful, I bought into the age old brand wars. I was seriously disappointed. The auto focus was no faster than my K10 and DA*50-135 in the same conditions. At high ISO there was no difference in noise levels, (I'm not positive but I think the sensors are manufactured by the same company). However, the PRIME processor did a better job at processing the image, the color and tone were much better than the D200.
In my quest for a better image I dumped all my Nikon gear and bought into Canon and some L glass. The high ISO on Canon is really good on the 8.2mp sensors, not so much on the bigger ones but still, the CMOS sensor just has a cleaner look to it. The L glass focuses seriously fast but I don't think it's leaps and bounds faster than the SDM's, they're just quieter... Last week I did a model shoot with a single ring light with a 60 watt model light and a black background and the Canon would not lock on and it doesn't matter who made the camera or that it was fast glass... it wasn't working and I had a pile of missed photo's. I ended up manually focusing for the rest of the shoot.
For those that are complaining about wireless flash... The top end Canon flash is quite a bit more expensive than Pentax and you still don't have wireless capabilities until you drop another $250 on the wireless module that's "sold separately". This is Nikon's only real caveat, wireless flash for everyone at a reasonable price. This really doesn't affect me though, in a flash situation I have learned to shoot in manual and trigger any flash unit I want with after market triggers. I have an ancient Vivitar 285 that's fully adjustable and will compete with the sun for brightness that cost me $15. I spent the money that I saved from not buying two $400 flash units and bought the triggers. Learning how to do this was probably my biggest leap in image quality... no matter the manufacturer.
D3... 1D MarkIII... Blazing fast, you bet, but why? I can't use the 5fps I got now in the situations I am using it in, my camera is set to single shot. If Sports Illustrated calls me tomorrow with plane tickets and a healthy advance to shoot the Cowboys game... OK, maybe... But for you-n-me, for that price, not necessary. 1Ds MarkIII with 21mp, again, if an ad agency calls me tomorrow with a healthy advance to shoot the close ups for Campbell foods for the worldwide ad campaign, yeah maybe... There are serious pros in this forum making a reasonable and in some cases a great income but the folks who actually need or require 21mp and/or 11fps are very far and very few between. This is the marketing machine at it's very best.
I was a nationally ranked sport/competition kite flier for a time and my kites were hand made by a very wise man in France. (The same comparison and minutia bantering happens with kites as well.) And this was his advice to me and it has just recently sunk in and really meant something. In his best broken English, "All kites do same thing, some do some things better but don't do other things well, but they all do one thing same, they fly! Pick one you like that fits you, make do whatever you want, love it and make it yours".
All cameras do the same thing, pick one you like, one that fits, one that makes you go wow, adapt yourself to what it can and cant do, exploit both, love it and make it yours. Nobody defines your style and the way you shoot, who cares if the guy next to you has a white lens with a red stripe. A green or gold stripe is just as, if not, cooler. I challenge you to pick any photo from anywhere you want and tell me definitively what manufacturer shot it and how many fps it was shot at. You can't because it has nothing to do with the badge and everything to do with your eye and your style, end of story.
As for me... I am lusting for that 14.6mp CMOS sensor on that comfortable K body that fits so well in my hands ...and the green trim, oh man... I miss my Pentax. Anybody want to buy my Canon gear?
Scot
P.S. Sorry, the K10 banner is still on my signature. Hope you'll forgive me.