I may take the plunge into digital shooting and am considering a used body to try it out.

I currently own several Pentax film bodies and a couple of Pentax prime lenses. So I assume a Pentax digital body is the way to go. This one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/8 … amera.html

is in the price range for my experimenting.

I know I have a learning curve ahead of me and I'm not planning on doing a lot of large printing, but will this camera/sensor give me a decent 11x14 print, should I choose to make one that size?

Otherwise, I am more than happy to experiment with all the other features. B/H also has an *ist body but it is only 6.1 megapixel and it is almost as much $.

Thoughts and/or suggestions?

10D is a nice camera.
Good starter choice.

that seems like a pretty good price to me.

the 6mp vs 10mp is not as big as difference as it looks (in terms of resolution),
but newer sensors are are far ahead in IQ than older ones.

When cropped from the original 35mm 2/3 format to 11x14 The K10D should provided a file of about 3350x2634 pixels (11x14 at 239 pixels per inches). Which is easy to bring up to 4200x3300 pixel (11x14 at 300 pixels per inches) with a small amount of interpolation.

I currently use K20D bodies (very similar to the K10D with a different sensor) and very much like the design and ergonomics of the Pentax bodies.

Blue Cube has printed 11x17s from some of my *istD images, so you'll be fine at 11x14 with the K10D.

Using older lenses is a lot easier if they have the "A" setting on the aperture ring (gets all of the camera's features), but even screwmount lenses work with an adapter (stop down metering).

BTW - on KEH.com, you can get the K10D for about $70 less or a K20D for about $70 more than the B&H price.

If I were you, I skip the K10D and try to find a good used K20D.  I'm betting that other Pentax users here will advise you the same.

My experience has been, for an image that is not cropped, any 3MP images will meet your need for an 11x14 print. Now, if you are shooting action or in low light conditions.. then look for a camera suited for those situations. I had the first pro Pentax digital body and it was fine for work with llamas.

The OP might also go to  www.pentaxforums.com and check out their marketplace.  Some good deals there as well.

Do, however, avoid e-bay

Might look for a Pentax Kx digital also...
It's 12.3 MP,a bit more modern processor,faster shot-to-shot performance,shoots HD movies
and uses 4 "AA" batteries...which I really like.
You can find nice clean,used bodies for between $250 and $300
on Ebay...

Thanks to all. I shop at B/H quite a bit and have bought several items from KEH over the years and have always been happy with both places. Not a big eBay guy and will certainly take everyone's advice as I look more seriously at these things over the weekend.

I have been using Pentax since my first K1000 was the "new" camera.  I used a 10D seems like forever before I got a little upgrade crazy and went thru the 20D and now the K5.  11x14 seems to be no problem for any of them.

Now I will use the K5 most because it is the newest BUT I tend to like the K20 actually a little better for ease of use.  Personal choice but I like the menu system better.  Most of my glass is from my older film PZ-1P days.  FA glass is perfect, just have to remember it is a percentage "longer" when used on digitial.  My FA 28-105 IF is rarely off the body, if it aint broke don't fix it.  I have big hands so I have the verticle grip on all of them and the dual battery set to use the grip battery first means i rarely ever have to charge the one in the camera.  The K5 II is out so prices on all the older models are falling, let someone else drive it off the showroom floor and take the big hit for cash!!

I volenteer a lot  with Habitat for Humanity so my "Truck" camera is an older istD that I bought on Ebay.  Low milage, perfect condition with a kit lens for under $200.  Takes great on-site pictures for the web and scrapbooks and never a problem even being handled by multiple people all the time!  We made a lot of 8x10's and seems it should handle 11x14 unless they are really cropped.  6MP was high end not that long ago!!

A digital camera with focus peaking might be good for your older lenses. I use a K-5 II as my main camera but have a mirrorless K-01 that has that. I think the K-30 also. The K-10D & K-20D are good cameras too.

I have had good luck with e-bay purchases.

Dreaded dp

FWIW, I have a 20x30" print of my avatar on the wall done w/ the K10D.  It's a nice camera.

If you had the money, look for a used K-30...better sensor with a *lot* more dynamic range in the shadows.  The K-5 might also be a good option (the K-5II is way too expensive compared to the competition right now)-:

I am still shooting on k 10d and occasionally k 100d. I love the k 10 . You rarely have to go into menu system once configured to how you shoot. I have a friend who has one of my landscapes on A 0  canvas thatvlooks amazing. My only gripe is focussing a little slow on auto. High ISO quite noisy. If I had the money k 5 should be a good improvement. Bottom line I accept high ISO noise and love mine. Dated but still a great camera.