Decisions... please help!

[mwfanelli]

I am looking to step out of the Canon market and try a new system. My choices are as follows,

Olympus E-500

Pentax k10d

Sonu A-100

What I would like to know from you is simple. If you were in my position, which would you go with? I have several manual Pentax lenses, but no guaranty that they will function correctly with the k10d. I can get the k10d with the 18-55 kit lens for just under $1000.

The Sony will come in just under $900 with 2 kit lenses, and the E-500 will come in at about $650 with 2 lenses aswell.

This is a real ball buster for me. I know that many have a fondness for Sony, but I have some trust issues with them. I am worried about image quality with the Olympus, and the Pentax may just be a rather large strech for me money wise, and with only one lens and some image quality concerns there too I am just kind getting boggled...:mad2:

Your thoughts would be great on this!

Thanks!

My immediate response is Pentax. Even with the meregr with Hoya, Pentax cameras are great. Yes, they do work with all K-mount lenses going back to the original K from the 1970s. There is better lens compatability than even Nikon.

I use Canon these days but the only reason I switched was to get the IS lenses for my trip to Antarctica back in 2000. As Pentax was late to market with digital SLRs, I went with Canon again. But Pentax cameras, IMHO, have better metering, better ergonomics, and just feel better in my hand. Besides, they are based in the great state of Colorado!

Personally, I'd skip the Olympus. Its a fine camera but the very small 4/3 sensor severely limits the direction your equipment can go in the future.

The Sony is nice, lots of great features, but I just didn't like the feel of of it in my hands. The direction and decisions of Sony hav been terrible. Personal choice.

[dinor2]

I have only owned one dslr and I still own it! Since this is the case, I am obviously biased towards mine but for what it's worth, I LOVE my olympus evolt e-500! Mine came with only the one lens but I couldn't imagine trading my 500 for any other camera!

I know the lenses and accesories can be pricey but, from all the reviews I have seen all over the internet, they are worth every penny! I have never had a problem with my camera or lens yet, mind you I've only had it a little less than a year but I am absolutely loving my camera!

Happy hunting!