Does anyone have any experience with Pentax DSLR cameras?

I have a Canon Rebel T1i entry level DSLR with the two kit lenses and I'm looking to upgrade. I went to a camera shop in  Rockford and was looking for/at a Canon 7D to upgrade to, but he also showed me a Pentax K-5 that seemed to be very nice, rugged, and felt like a very solid piece of hardware. It's a little slower than the 7D has less megapixels, and can only do 7FPS continuous as opposed to 8FPS but it's like $600 cheaper than the 7D. I just have never really heard of Pentax before. Any experience out there?

Have you seen this comparison?

Pentax is a solid brand..I had one many years ago when I was shooting film.  If you have a couple kit lenses it kinda makes sense to stick with Canon as you have some equipment you can still use with the 7D..otherwise you will have to switch everything over, right?

Yeah but the tough part is, the kit lenses don't stand a chance against one of pretty much any companies actual real lenses. If I get the K-5 body only, I can still sell the T1i and its lenses to a friend or something and then use that to fund getting a real quality lens from pentax or tamron or sigma or something. The tough part is that I'm not like a professional photographer, I've never taken a class or anything, and I'm not necessarily looking to become one or sell prints or anything, but it just feels like something fun/nice I can do on the side other than just golf when I'm not at work. I haven't done much but pretty much anything I've done that I liked or thought was good i put up on here .

..looks like the K5 blows away the 7D at DxO also..good choice.  Yea, since you are not heavily into Canon equipment, sounds like a good direction and it makes sense to me..cheaper and better..win-win situation.  Nice photos btw!  If it's not golf, it's photography for me..and vice versa.  I'm currently using a D700 for last few years..love taking photos.  Are you on Flickr?

IMO Nikon and Canon have better lenses and better resale value.  If you stick with Canon you'll be able to get pretty close to the money you spent on lenses if you chose to sell it.  You might hold off a while as the 7D is due to be replaced so the price should drop soon.

It's just tough because Canon and Nikon have somewhat of a stranglehold on the market in that they are the only two you hear about. I have no doubt that the pentax is capable, its just tough for me to think about getting it without for some reason thinking I'm buying an inferior product. I liken it to golf products, Ping and Titleist/Scotty Cameron are the two companies that seem (in my opinion, dont care if you agree ;]) to have this unorthodox aura about them that they are superior to other brands (mostly just players bragging, but titleists commercials don't help dispell it ;P)  So some people think that Callaway/Nike/Taylormade/Wilson Staff/Tour Edge are inferior despite it not being true. The thing I will say I liked about the Pentax, it was ungodly quiet compared to my current T1i. It barely made a sound when the shutter actuated. One of the complains I've heard about the 7D is that it's very loud. They both felt hefty and weighty/solid, and I didn't mess around with the 7D's controls much because he pulled it fresh out of a box and the battery wasn't charged, but I HATE the control scheme on my T1i since I learned on my parents ND80 and had the dual wheel setup for SS/Ap when in manual. It's a pain in the butt to want to change the aperature or any other setting because once you select something, make a change and go to take pictures, the wheel always defaults back to shutterspeed when in manual. So if I had it set to ISO or WB or aperature....I'll always accidentally go and change my shutter speed instead of anything else lol.

One other complaint/gripe is really just that WHY DOES CANON STICK WITH CF!?  The 7D and all models above it use CF cards where every other manufacturer stays with SD cards. I don't want to have to pay $75 for the equivalent CF card when I already have 3 or 4 class 6 or higher SDHC cards.

Oh and also, what is Flickr? :P

Pentax makes a very good DSLR but as you put it, they are in a lower category because they aren't the market leaders.  If you plan to buy and stick with Pentax then I wouldn't discourage you from buying one.  I have a Canon 5D Mark III currently but stated out with a Digital Rebel XTi.  I invested in good Canon lenses right away and stuck with Canon, going with the 50D, then 5D Mark II.  I ultimately wanted a full size sensor to minimize noise in low light and decided to stick with Canon.

Sony is another manufacturer you should consider if you're not going to stick with Canon or Nikon.  They and Sigma are making innovations that will impact the industry and force Canon and Nikon to take notice.

I agree with newtogolf that Canon/Nikon will maintain their resale value for the most part.  But, as you said, you plan on doing this as a hobby and the K5 is much better than the 7D across the board.  I guess you are at a cross road here..I have to admit there are alot more support and advice groups on Canon/Nikon than Pentax.

I like CF, personally, as it's easier to manage with my fingers.  I also believe that with CF you can get "faster" cards if you do alot of high speed shooting.  I use a SanDisk 8GB UDMA (60MB/s) and it's plenty fast.

Flickr is a community based photo site where you can upload and share pictures.

Here's, looks like, a pretty big Pentax K5 Flickr Group ..

The guys at the shop basically told me that when they came out, CF was still slightly faster and more reliable, supposedly. The problem they have with CF is that its a common occurrence that the pins inside the receiver for the cards can get bent, and that of course the cost to repair the issue if it's not fixable by the shop guys is costly when you have to send it to Canon to get it fixed.

I've used CF for the last 8 years and never bent a pin.  Once you figure out which way the card goes in, I can't see how you'd bend a pin unless you tried to force it.  The issue I have with SD is the pins are exposed, so it's more sensitive to static electricity and damage than CF.  Overall, I wouldn't base a decision on which DSLR to buy based on the memory card, there are a lot more important issues to consider.

You guys can't seriously think I'm discounting it just because of the CF cards lol. For some reason I swear I had something else written..but it was like 1:30 in the morning and I wanted to go to bed :P  Really it's going to probably come down to me going back down, messing around with both a little to get a feel for the controls, then probably just having to choose to pay at least $1000 for the body of the K-5, or at the very least $1600 or $1700 for the body of the 7D. I don't necessarily want more kit lenses since I guess i should eventually just upgrade to the nicer real versions of the lenses to get better quality pictures. I guess another quality question is just how the hell are you supposed to decide on a lens to buy. No one around here exactly rents or lends them to try lol.

You have to decide on what kind of pictures you want to take to determine the focal length that would be best.  I use the site http://www.dpreview.com/ for a lot of my research along with some other web sites.   The reviews on that site are okay, but the feedback in the forums is usually pretty accurate, especially on their experiences with different lenses.  As DSLR's have gained in popularity there are more people without much DSLR knowledge participating in the forums but there are a lot of experienced photograpers (many professional) that have been helpful.

With Canon, if you want the best quality lens you'd want their "L" version.  If you go with non "L" versions then you have the option with the 7D of going with EF and EF-S lenses.  The EF-S lenses tend to be a little less expensive but won't mount in a full size CCD camera like the 5D.  I'd suggest you stick with the EF to maximize your lens investment but using a crop camera will change the focal lengths of the lens so you want to take that into account when you select one.

Some camera shops here on Long Island will rent a lens but they aren't always in great condition.  If you buy from a reputable place they will typically give you 30 days to try out a lens and return it if it's in new condition.

Check out KEH for good deals also..I run through local CL (CraigsList) and Ebay also.

A friend of mine recommended KEH before, I just couldn't remember the name of it lol, I kept ending up at B+H's website :P

I went back to the shop today and ended up buying the Pentax K-5. I went and fiddled around with the Canon 7D, the Nikon D7000, and the Sony Alpha A77. For some reason the Pentax just fit my hands the best and felt the most sturdy.  It's going to take a little while to get used to the difference in control schemes and a few other things, but I really like it so far.