>So, who is this cheekygeek guy? No one of consequence, I assure you. Just an ol' Nebraska boy who schlubs around with Pentax equipment. :)
Seriously, I have been on pins and needles since the "preliminary" results named me the winner. The PentaxForums admin crew has been busy implementing a new site design (which is a big improvement, IMHO) and so making the official announcement got pushed back until this morning. Those here on PDML that also voted for my images deserve a great big thank you, as well. I appreciate the congratulations from *everyone* here as well. Thank you! I'm "chuffed to bits", to borrow a UK expression, to get my hands on the K-3. I bought my K-5II not all that long ago (it is approaching 6000 shutter actuations) and until the price came down significantly I was not in a position to purchase a K-3, so I tried not to look at it too closely. That changed when the preliminary results were announced. I read all the reviews on B&H and Amazon and people are almost universally GUSHING about the K-3. I also downloaded and printed the manual and have been perusing it. I've seem that many people say that the transition from a K-5II will be easy, but I'm especially interested to see and use the following upgrades: • The new AF mode (which many people say makes Birds in Flight [BIF] much easier for Pentax users) • The switchable AA filter (I, like many people, will probably keep it switched off but I do like the fact that they made it a bracketable feature also) • How 24MP compares to my existing 16MP (and how good my existing lenses are on that sort of resolution!) • The multi-auto-white balance feature • The improved video options (I have not taken much video in the past, but with this tool at my disposal, that may change) • The fact that the built-in intervalometer now goes to 2000 (rather than just 999). My son-in-law is doing more and more time lapse and I'd like to give that a try more often. The downside of time lapse is that you can't use the camera for anything else while doing it, so that would be an argument for keeping my K-5II - though probably not a very good one. I also have a K-01. • The two card slots and the 16GB Pentax FluCard B&H is the provider of the K-3 body and the only K-3 body available on their web site comes with a FREE BG-5 grip and the 16GB Pentax FluCard. I use the grip almost all the time on my K-5II, so I was going to miss that until I saw that it was included. I also would probably not have ponied up a Franklin for the FluCard, but I'm sure willing to give it a try if it is going to be given to me for free! REALLY looking forward to next year's storm season now. Darren Addy Kearney, Nebraska -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
