I can't decide: Nikon or Pentax

[Ivonna]

Now I feel like the starving mule standing between 2 piles of perfectly nice hay trying to decide which pile to eat from.

For all of you Pentax people - The local shop has just put on clearance the K10D with a kit lens for the same $499 price as the new K2000 (which they don't have & I haven't seen yet). It's the store demo model. The Pentax line doesn't sell very well there as they also only have the K100s ($349 in the box) & it seems they don't plan to carry the newer models. I would need to buy most future accessories online.

The entry level Nikons in the same price bracket are $450 to $550 (D40 &D60) with the kit lens, but Nikon stuff is everywhere.

Common sense? is telling me to get the Nikon and buy some nice lenses with the cash I have leftover. The lenses will eventually keep their value more than the bodies & if I get serious about photography there will always be an upgrade path available.

On the other hand, I played with the Pentax K10D yesterday and it will do so much more (but with a huge learning curve) than an entry level Nikon that I am really tempted by it. Stabilized body, dust reduction, & weather sealed as well as able to use every lens ever made by Pentax. I think the K2000 although new, sounds more basic.

They are very different cameras, but I like them the same amount for very different reasons. Any pros or cons you can throw at me either direction will be totally appreciated.