I've been using a Canon G5 all this while and when it comes to DSLR, i am simply greenhorn, though reading from the internet helps alot.
I was thinking of getting the K10D & a Sigma 17-70 as my starter walkabout combo.
Today, i learnt at John 3:16 that you must buy the right lens with the right "mount" to fit into the right body! :bsmilie: I thought as long itz 3rd-party, it must be 'universal'! :sweatsm: Haha, i was dead wrong.
Slowly when my wallet has enough strength, i will invest in a Flash 1st, then a dry cabin, a tripod and eventually 2 other lenses, namely a wide-angle and a telezoom.
Any feedback? :sweat:
Well, I think the 17-70 in pentax mount is available from Alan photo. $640 or something. I bought my K100D from them. One thing about the "third party" lenses is that they tend toi have larger sample variation (this might be a problem, but.. no choice ..)
The 17-70 is very well regarded, and will be a good kit lens (better than the standard kit, anyhow.)
Flashes - yes, both the 360 and 540 are available from cathay. Dry cabin - no sweat, it's universal
a wide-angle, how wide? I think the widest available pentax to get is the DA 12-24, in stock at cathay right now for around $1100. It's quite well regarded, some prefer it to the 14mm prime (and i have no idea about wide prime availabilit)
Telezoom is the most problematic. You'll have to get the sigma APO 70-300 (around $350 locally) or tamron 70-300 LD di DG (only get the latest model, don't know about availability in singapore, but i've seen some impressive shots from it. Older tamrons suck compared to the sigma apo.). Both should be alright. The pentax is only a 50-200, and it's also a consumer zoom.
Other options for tele zooms are the 70-200 sigma 2.8 (don't know about local price or availability) and the sigma 50-500 4 -6.3(again, don't know about local price or availability).
Pentax does have a hole in terms of it's tele primes, the pentax 300 f2.8 is probably more expensive than the nikon/canon equivalents (although, with the k10d, it will have stabilization! whee~) and is almost definitely not available locally. I think even in the US you have to order, and there it costs around USD 4500 (i think nikon's is around USD 3000). However, the pentax lens roadmap does show new 200m and 300m primes appearing in 2007! Also, pentax is coming out with a 60-250 f/4 and a 70-300 (unknown) next year, and going by current trends those should be available locally.
So - yes - given those lenses (generally), and assuming you're not going to be buying any fast tele primes ($$$!) i don't think getting a k10D instead of a D80 is a problem. Now you just have to find a k10d to buy!
P.S.: and - you'll need a camera bag - factor in that price! I should also mention that i doubt you'll be able to get the k10d body only, although internationally it seems that the kit version is scarce, so perhaps you may be able to. Even if you get the kit 18-55, the 17-70 IS a step up.
P.P.S: Actually, thinking about it, if that's exactly what you want (i.e. 17-70, flash, 12-24, 70-300 consumer) I think that the k10d is a better buy than the D80 (assuming it's picture quality is similar) except for flash. Even the best pentax flash is not quite as nice as the SB800 (i think) and nikon (for some reason) is regarded as the best for flash photography. I'm not sure why, and i never planned on using flashes
Apart from the flash, the package you get with the k10d will probably be cheaper overall and better in some ways. For example, the sigma apo 70-300 is better than all the nikon branded 70-300s, and the pentax 12-24 is about half the price of the nikon 12-24.