Funnily enough I took the K-5 to a ski slope yesterday! I was at Tamworth (indoors) snapping a couple of shots of the nephew. The viewing platform is miles away so I had to rely on my (pretty rubbish) Tamron 70-300. I used the camera on shutter priority, continuous AF and auto ISO. I found focus to be acceptable given the limited speed of the lens and available light limiting the shutter speed. Of course there were plenty of missed focus shots for the bin but I'm sure there would be had I been using a Nikon/Canon. It certainly didn't make we wish I had a different camera. If anything I wanted a faster lens and Mr Sunshine!

K-30 reviews are starting to trickle out. Have a look at PentaxForums.com. Personally I'd prefer to hang on for a bit for the K-30 as with all new bodies the prices tend to drop.

I'm going through the shots this morning so I can post some if you want. I've also got shots taken with the GX10 and GX20 from previous years too if you need to see anything. Just remember the (lack of) quality of the shot might be the photographer rather than the camera

The lens release button fell off (replaced under warranty)
No autofocus when doing video (although I don't 'do' video)

Worth knowing, thanks Mark. Out of interest do you not advocate second hand bodies for this reason?

Veato, yeah, I'd love to see some of the output - thanks. The only things with the K-30 are the plastic body and weird battery arangement. The rest of it seems, on paper at least, to better the K-5 for less money. Which is rather interesting, but then I suppose the K-5 is rather old.

Ignoring the "weather sealing" for a minute, does every camera work in the cold? The only other thing I've thought about after another round of reading is MAYBE a four thirds with a tiny pancake MIGHT be pocketable enough for "everyday" and then have better lenses in a bag for on mountain shooting. The sensors seem a fair bit smaller, and it's contingent on me finding a pancake/body combo that fits in a pocket. Dunno how likely that is. These fixed pancake lenses are presumable supposed to be good for landscapes and low light? Or is it other stuff?

Other makes do produce some models with weather sealing. I don't know the merits of the other systems though and it never seems to be pushed in marketing as much as Pentax push it. But then maybe that's because Pentax need to work harder than the popular two to take your money?

A Micro 4/3rds and pancake is a nice option but remember a lot of the more compact bodies offer very little in the way of external controls if you want DSLR like controllability. The upper end of the PEN range and the Lumix GX1 have a few button and knobs IIRC.

I almost got a pancake for my K-5 as Pentax make some stupidly thin ones. In the end I got the X10 as I didn't want to be restricted by a single focal length when travelling light. http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/177428-k-5-silver-special-edition-w-silver-40mm-xs-lens.html#post1849506

I'll dig some shots out later - not sure how many 'sporty' types I've got though. At least it will give you some real world examples.

Well, yes, up to a point. Below a certain temperature there's a risk the lubricants used in the reflex system might thicken up.

Batteries will always be an issue in low temperatures, too. The usual recommendation is to carry several spare charged batteries in pockets close to your skin. When a battery appears to be losing charge, swap it out for a warm one, slipping the cold one in to warm up a bit.

Weather sealing is something that doesn't seem to be a major selling point for some manufacturers, which is odd. From Canon, sealing starts with the 7D and upwards - not certain the XXD range has any sealing to speak of.

The 7D is pretty much bulletproof, if the DigitalRev hardcore durability test is to go by...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCT-YMgjm9k

Mind you, I won't be trying to drop mine any time soon!

It's not that I don't advocate buying second-hand, I'm just saying you should take shutter actuations into account when buying.
You're investing a lot of money in a system when you buy a DSLR, if the shutter fails when outside the recommended count by the manufacturer it may mean a new body (I don't know the cost of replacement shutters).
It's highly unlikely that the shutter will fail - I've not heard of anyone that has reported this, but it's a bargaining tool for you as a buyer and it lets the person you are buying from understand that you're not a total n00b. (8+)

Mark

Thanks guys. I really appreciate all the awesome info in this thread

I read about shutter actuations when I was looking at dSLRs. Most of them seem to be in the 100-150k range and given that only a pro would get into that region, I doubt it's be much of an issue.

That entirely depends on how old the second-hand body is. Also, if the seller did a lot of HDR then bracketing would've been used.
Yes, it's unlikely that the rating will be reached, but it's certainly not out of the question for 50% of that rating to have been reached.

Mark

So how many actuations would be enough to stop you from buying your perfect camera? 50%? 30%? 10%?

That depends on manufacturer recommended count, actual count performed and asking price of the body.
In short, impossible to say.

Mark

When I was starting out, Canon and Nikon were the only brands that covered a full range from beginner to pro, so I limited my choice to those. Canon offered a full-frame camera, which appealed, but I presumed Nikon would follow in time (they did). I went to Jacobs (sadly in administration at present, but still trading) and got talking to a guy there. I took a few shots with the entry level and intermediate level cameras of both, and the Canons both just felt more natural in my hands in terms of layout of controls. I'd found the Canon lens range much more straightforward in terms of knowing compatibility, and I liked the feel of the camera I'd likely be upgrading to in a few years times.

Right, some things have changed with regard to my future plans/employment prospects and I wanted to take all of the info in this thread and pair it with everything else I've since discovered/read, in order to refine my questions.

I want a small sensor camera that will have the following (in no particular order at the moment):
1) Fast enough AF for tracking sports. In particular, skiers/snowboarders, but I'd like to try motorbike trials and motorsport too when I'm not in the Alps.
2) Decent low light performance. I want to shoot cityscapes, indoor without a flash, and the stars (and possibly HDR).
3) Video is not a concern either way as I imagine a compact will be tons better anyway.
4) Decent build, as the primary initial use for this purchase will be on mountain.

Possibly the least important, but I'm still considering it:
5) An upgrade path if I end up becoming good at this. So perhaps buying FX lenses to begin with, not sure.

Price will unfortunately play a key role here, but I don't want an entry-level body and thus far, these are the contenders:
1) Nikon D7000
2) Canon 7D
3) Pentax K-5

The 60D seems like a slightly better Rebel to me, is that fair?

So far, it seems the 7D is the most expensive and oldest. Not sure how I feel about that. But it appears to be the best built and definitely has the fastest burst mode. The D7000 is significantly cheaper, appears to have faster autofocus (particularly with better glass), but I'm not sure if the build is equivalent. The K-5 seems to be perfect on build, weather sealing and IQ, but I'm unsure as to the AF performance with my intended application and the upgrade path and pricing of available for glass for said application.

Thoughts?

The Rebel line is just the US name for the Canon D series. No differences in the spec, as far as I know.

What I meant was, it's just a slightly better 600/650D, whereas the 7D is in a different league. As least that's how it appears to me?