Pentax Cameras?

[AussieDee]

I'm interested in this - but before I purchase this can someone tell me if it's any good (for a beginner)? I'm still using a cheap P&S. Is it worth $499?

Pentax K10D Kit

Near perfect condition. Miniscule paint-loss on hotshoe mount and strap holder, to the point of you'd barely see it if you were looking for it. Being very picky. Thats seriously all you could fault it. ~10,500 shutter actuations. Bought late '07 and has been baby'd ever since cos I love these things! Selling due to upgrade.

Comes with Sigma 18-50 1:3.5-5.6 DC with cap and hood, also in as-new condition with 58mm Tiffen UV filter fitted since new.

Also included as a bit of a bonus is Sigma 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6 II MACRO, fitted with a 55mm Hoya Grad filter. I call it a bonus because I bought it cheap and it has a couple scratches on the body just above the zoom ring. Can be handy though because it does 1:2 macro.
Items:
Pentax K10D, Sigma 18-50, Sigma 28-80 Macro, Pentax D-L150 Battery, USB cord, Wall Charger.

 

[kayhowell]

I would highly recommend this camera. I bought the same camera at Christmas and paid around $1,200 with tax at a local camera shop. Camera is really great. Would highly recommend. Buy it!!!!

 

[tirediron]

Sounds like a good deal to me as well in fact, almost too good, BUT if you are considering it, pls take someone along who is knowledgable in DSLRs and can test it, or request that they bring it in to a local camera shop to be checked. It might cost you a couple of $$ but bettter that than to find out three months down the road that it has a major issue.

 

[AussieDee]

The person selling it is offering return if broken or whatever.

 

[reg]

Who's selling it? Where's it being sold? Local? Ebay?

 

[tirediron]

The person selling it is offering return if broken or whatever.

Obviously every situation is different; if you feel comfortable that the person is genuine, and that you could in fact track him/her down after (eg you can meet at his home, not some anonymous location). I'd also check what the items are worth in your local used market.

By no means do I want to dissuade you from this, just to be cautious. There are a lot of stories here about people who've been taken. Of course there are a lot more about people who've had good experiences, so...

Let us know what happens!

 

[AussieDee]

It's an ebay auction out of Australia (Perth). Seller has 100% positive feedback rating. There's still 4 days to go with no bids. Starting price is $499. We'll see. I can't afford much. I hate buying on ebay so I look for ones that don't sell electronics on a continuous basis, as I don't trust ebay all that much. But like I said, he or she is offering a return policy on it.

 

[tirediron]

It's an ebay auction out of Australia (Perth). Seller has 100% positive feedback rating. There's still 4 days to go with no bids. Starting price is $499. We'll see. I can't afford much. I hate buying on ebay so I look for ones that don't sell electronics on a continuous basis, as I don't trust ebay all that much. But like I said, he or she is offering a return policy on it.

See how it goes; don't bid 'til the very end though, and maybe you'll get it. Good luck!

 

[elemental]

K10Ds are excellent cameras, and as a Pentax user I have many good things to say about the system. I'd say go for it if everything seems legitimate.

 

[AussieDee]

Thanks! I'll try for it... 3 days remaining no bids yet

 

[deudeu]

The camera is great... those lenses are bad!
Right now, a lot of the K10D users are upgrading to the K20D. So logically, there should be a lot of the K10Ds on the market. If I were you, I would try to find one with a kit lens, rather than those two POS. For $500, it should be manageable.
I mean, for $600 you can get a brand new K200D body only, which is basically a small K10D. Add $70 to that and you have a kit lens with it. Of course, those prices are US prices, so I don't know if it is true in Australia, but it is worth keeping in mind.

 

[AussieDee]

So why are the lenses bad? Can't I replace them? Can I purchase different ones? What sort of lenses will fit this camera?

 

[dangergoinoff]

Don't worry about the lenses.
They are kit lenses.
They do the job but they are nothing spectacular. It sounds like a good deal. As for comparing cameras in U.S. and AUS it's pointless because we pay about 30% more for everything to do wth them in Aus.

 

[deudeu]

So why are the lenses bad? Can't I replace them? Can I purchase different ones? What sort of lenses will fit this camera?

Any K-mount lens will work. So you have plenty of choices.
As far as those lenses are concerned, they are very cheap lenses that I only see one reason to buy: to keep the kit lens when you are selling your body. They will take pictures, so I guess they will do the job, but personnally I bought a DSLR to get good image quality. With these lenses the images you will make are going to be as good or worse than what you would get from a P&S.
So the camera might be a good deal, but if I were you I would consider investing in a better lens. If you don't want to, you might as well buy a Lumix LX2 or a Canon G9.

 

[AussieDee]

Thanks for the info deudeu. For me it's a start and beats a this dang p&s that I have. I keep shopping in the flyers for dslr's but just too expensive for me right now. Atleast this will give me an idea of how to work with lenses.

My biggest issue with my p&s is the lag- the time it takes to auto focus the picture even tho I have it on manual.